ebay bidding (1 Viewer)

i have a question for all you ebayers out there.
for the second time in a month, i've been outbid on an item, but the winning bid comes in AFTER the auction ends. and, i'm using the ebay countdown application, so it's in real time and all that. i know of the usual strategies of bidding with, say, 5 seconds left so no one has time to place another bid, but this is something else. i feel that people are using some sort of automated bidding application where a computer places the bid with literally one second left or something. i just don't understand it. anyone experience this or know what the hell's going on? it's pretty frustrating to see the clock count down to zero so you think you've won, only to be told you didn't...
 
I believe many people use those "sniping" services out there (automated bidding devices). That could explain why you have been outbid in the very last second...
 
I HATE sniping programs and refuse to use them, but understand that others do. This is a sure fire way of having a real shot at getting things. Still, if the other guy's sniper goes off higher, it will not matter anyway.

Of course, you'll make him pay more for it, though!

Bill
 
There's nothing that will allow a bid after the auction ends, so they are getting in in the last two seconds. Risky, but indefensible. Unless, as Bill pointed out, someone already outbid you.

Which is what makes sniping harmless. Whether you enter in the most you want to bid 5 days or five seconds before the end, if someone wants to pay more, they'll get it.
 
thanks for the responses.
does anyone here use the ebay countdown thing? of course i know that you can't actually bid after the auction has ended, but it counts down to zero seconds left, i'm still the high bidder, then it ends, and it says i was outbid. the other bid doesn't show up until the auction has ended. it just seems weird, and i knew that a person couldn't be doing it without some sort of automated program or something.
when it happened today, it was on a $5 pair of pants, which is why i wasn't worried about padding my high bid with 5 or 10 more bucks. it's only happened on things i didn't really care if i won or lost. if i really want it i'll get it. i was just wondering what these people were using...
 
why not simply deciding, how much you would want to pay for it (=how much it is worth to you), give that amount (in time), then forget about the auction till it's ended and they tell you? It makes things easier and avoids heart-attacks. And prevents you from paying inconsiderately high prices in the last second.
 
well yea, there's always that. :)
i was mostly wanting to know how people were bidding with literally no time left. on non-collectable items no less. i never thought someone would wanna snipe me on some 5 dollar corduroy pants using an automated system, but i guess i was wrong. thanks all, it makes more sense now...
 
At the risk of permanently alienating Bill, I snipe everything I buy on eBay. The only exception is the occasional "make an offer" or "buy it now" item.

From a buyer's perspective it's the only smart way to bid.

When I'm selling things I hate it, because you can't gauge the actual interest until the last hour, or minutes, of the auction (watchers do not equal bidders).

But as a buyer, bidding any other way is just shooting yourself in the foot.
 
do you use the automated method? i've never tried it but i'm sure i've been beaten by it.
 
Yes, I use this. It gives you 3 free snipes a week. Any more than that, you have to pay them. But it's never failed me.
 
[...] From a buyer's perspective it's the only smart way to bid [...]

not sure about that.

In the early days of ebay (talking about 2000+ when they didn't even have a German dependance), I sometimes used the trick to open several [not just 2] windows with the auction in question, prepared them with different bets (so I just had to push one button) and used another one to be updated, refreshing the page all the time.

Of course this method (or the more professional way of using programs) is of help sometimes, when you yourself aren't too sure about, What to pay for this item or How bad you want it.

Nowadays I prefer to clear up for myself, what it's worth to me and just type that amount. Sometimes I see this doesn't apply and I have to rethink it and sometimes go in again with a higher bet.

And since ebay doesn't show my 'real' bet, but only the current 'price', I think that's a good way to go.
If somebody types in his price and he can't beat me, he is forced to think it over himself and maybe bet even higher.
But if things like that happen Not in the last seconds of an auction, you can be sure, the person has THOUGHT about it and doesn't just hack on the keys to GET that damn thing.
 
not sure about that.
I am.

If I am willing to pay $100 for a book that has an opening bid of $50, how do I, as the buyer, benefit from entering my $100 bid and letting it sit there for days? All that does is attract other people to the auction. "Hey, someone bid on this, they must know something I don't know!" And they bid, get outbid by my $100, big again, bid again, bid again - suddenly I'm paying $80, $90 or my maximum of $100 for a book I may have got for $51 with a snipe. Especially back when you could see the bidder's username - certain bidders would always drive prices higher, because everyone knew that so-and-so knows their stuff, and if they want this item it must be worth bidding on.

Anyway, I've been sniping since 1998 through various methods (before it had a name and a million enemies), and I can tell you that on 75% of the items I buy on eBay I end up paying less than my maximum by sniping. If I lose, I lose. I would have lost anyway because I didn't want to pay $101 for the book. That's what drives bidding wars, the small increments. People think, well, I was willing to pay $100, so why not $110? Or $150.

I like how you call the bids "bets" though, that's probably more accurate for a lot of these things. ;)

I'm a seller too, and when I'm on that side of the fence I hate sniping. It's nerve wracking. But as a buyer I think it's foolish to make an early bid on eBay.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top