I've been sniped. lol

[starmac]

I had bid on a hollywood press on evilbay, and had the bid for several days right up to the 6 minute mark before everybody started bidding on it. I really only bid on it to watch what it would bring, as I didn't hope to win it for my high bid. It was interesting watching the last four minutes after it passed my high bid, the last bid actually came in after the timer said 0 seconds. It didn't bring as much as I thought it would, maybe should have bid higher, but I hope one of you guys got it.

[Jim Kitchen]

Starmac if it is any consolation I lost a nice Lee .45-70 loading kit to someone tonight as well.

[imashooter2]

I got the link for this free sniping site from one of the posters here whose name I can't remember. It is ad based (no popups), but the Firefox extension "Ad Block Plus" keeps them all off your screen. A pretty basic interface, but it works like a charm. I've used it for a while now with no complaints.

http://biddingscheduler.com

[Love Life]

I want to challenge ebay snipers to a bout of fisticuffs.

[LUBEDUDE]

Looks like more attention was spent bidding on the Senior Turret since it brought almost $200 more, and bidding closed at the same time.

[Jim Kitchen]

That was a clean looking Senior Turret. Did it really have an extra turret?

[starmac]

There was actually more attention on the senior during the whole 7 day auction. In fact I thought about bidding on it myself, just because. lol

My high bid was 301, I sure wouldn't have complained if I had won it, but had no plans to. I mainly bid to keep track of what it did go for. Like I said the last four minutes, and especially the last minute was interesting. I had never actually watched one close out before today.

Yes it id have an extra turret. I should have bid more huh. lol

[waksupi]

I'm kind of rooting for the snipers. I have some grips on there now, and hoping they get in a last minute war!

[btroj]

I'm kind of rooting for the snipers. I have some grips on there now, and hoping they get in a last minute war!

I love capitalism!

[square butte]

I'm not sure why any one who really wants something on ebay even bids before the last 3 seconds. That's when every thing happens. The way the system is set up - why would you want to show your hand until it's too late for anyone to raise their bid. The 15 minute rule would be a more fair way to set this up.

[Crytes]

I allways just set up a proxy bit for the most I'd be willing to pay that way either I win or somebody overpays.

[Wal']

I snipe at the last moment, pick a price & then there's no chance of getting caught up in a bidding war.... win or lose the bid is in at the price I am willing to pay.......learnt many years back with the temptation to just bid one more time. :bigsmyl2:

[Char-Gar]

Tactics and strategy has always been a vital part of buying and selling at auction. Online auctions have not changed that. If folks can't stand to loose then they best stay away from auctions of all kinds. It is what it is.

[M-Tecs]

I don't understand waiting or the sniping programs at all. I only bid once and that's for the max I am willing to pay. Sometimes I get it for way less but mostly I get outbid. How does the max I am will to pay change regardless if it's the first bid or it's placed in the last second?

I prefer the bids to be realistic values well before the auction ends. They seem to stay realistic while bidding wars seem to happen on the ones that run up in the last couple of minutes.

As to showing my hand if I am the first bid on a 99 cent start and I bid a $1,000.00 my bid only show 99 cents until someone bids against me.

If there is a better way please tell me.

[codgerville@zianet.com]

I don't understand waiting or the sniping programs at all. I only bid once and that's for the max I am willing to pay. Sometimes I get it for way less but mostly I get outbid. How does the max I am will to pay change regardless if it's the first bid or it's placed in the last second?

I prefer the bids to be realistic values well before the auction ends. They seem to stay realistic while bidding wars seem to happen on the ones that run up in the last couple of minutes.

As to showing my hand if I am the first bid on a 99 cent start and I bid a $1,000.00 my bid only show 99 cents until someone bids against me.

If there is a better way please tell me.
That is what I do. I bid what I am willing to pay for an item, if I am out-bid, so be it.

[GARD72977]

sniping just keeps someone for seeing they are beat and bidding again. I like the sniper programs because I am the worst at just bidding one more time! It only matters if some one is willing to raise there original bid.

[LeftyDon]

I've found that if I just bid the max. that I'm willing to pay for something and let the auction go to the end. If I don't win then the price was too high, doesn't matter if I lost 2 days before the end or 0.01 second before the end. Too high is too high. Often final prices are much higher that retail on stuff and if you know that and never get in a bidding war then let the snipers snipe.

[Char-Gar]

I don't understand waiting or the sniping programs at all. I only bid once and that's for the max I am willing to pay. Sometimes I get it for way less but mostly I get outbid. How does the max I am will to pay change regardless if it's the first bid or it's placed in the last second?

I prefer the bids to be realistic values well before the auction ends. They seem to stay realistic while bidding wars seem to happen on the ones that run up in the last couple of minutes. Early bidding is what drives auction fever.

As to showing my hand if I am the first bid on a 99 cent start and I bid a $1,000.00 my bid only show 99 cents until someone bids against me.

If there is a better way please tell me.

There are three reasons people sell anything at auction;

1. They are not having any luck selling whatever it is in a private sale and they need to sell it NOW.

2. They don't want to mess with buyers so just put it up for auction to avoid the bother of dealing with people.

3. They are hoping "auction fever" will strike. This is where two or more people get in a bidding war against each other and pride and the need to win trumps common sense or the real world value of the item. A good dose of auction fever over produces a sale price well over actual value.

No. 3 is what is wrong with your method. If auction fever starts, you can end up paying more for the item that you would other wise.

Late bidding or sniping is much like what you do. I figure out the most I will pay for an item and throw it in at the last possible moment. I don't get caught up in auction fever and if some idiot want to pay an outlandish price, then that is just a good thing for the seller. I don't want to be a part of that nonsense, although I do hope auction fever drives the price up. I have sold stuff on Ebay for three or four times when I would have sold it in a face to face purchase.

[M-Tecs]

OK the light bulb just went off. What I was failing to understand is that the sniping programs don't place any bids until seconds before the auction ends thus not allowing another bidder to get auction fever. Thanks for the help.

[Swede44mag]

I learned the hard way when I got into a Bid war and paid to much.
I have been sniped since but I also did not pay more than what I was willing.
When it got down to the last few seconds I was the top bidder only to have them start the clock again.
I was rather ticked off and contacted someone with the auction only to hear that there was more time left.
I learned how to read a clock in grade school so I know I was not in error but how do you beat the system.

Good luck on your bidding next time.

[skeet028]

Well I paid almost my max(70) for a 457 122 HP mould on fleabay. Got the darn thing and it was in really great shape. hardly if ever used and an Older mould. Then went to a gun show and found an as new in plastic box 457 122 HP mould with handles. Bought it for #!@&*()%^$%@# bucks. lets just say..really darn cheap.. The older mould is larger and holds heat a bit better and they both cast boolits of same size..so the new one is going on fleabay soon. I don't need two. I shoulda waited..but been lookin for one for quite a while cause that boolit shoots great out of my Marlin. Guy even gave me a top punch and sizing die for the darn boolit. Guess I am gonna have to use the Lyman or RCBS sizer...rather than the Star. I did buy some other stuff from him at that point though..like 10 other moulds..most in boxes...some I can even use myself..

Last night I won the bid on a Double cavity 311 041 mould for my 30-30 for less than my top bid. Got it with handles for 67 bucks..not real high but then I could have bought a new one from Lyman or somewhere else for 80 bucks..no handles. Let a single cavity one go for 54 bucks earlier. A friend gave me some of that boolit cast sized and lubed and it shoots good out of my ol 64 Winchester... Like shootin that ol gun..

[montana_charlie]

I don't understand waiting or the sniping programs at all. I only bid once and that's for the max I am willing to pay. Sometimes I get it for way less but mostly I get outbid. How does the max I am will to pay change regardless if it's the first bid or it's placed in the last second?
People know what value they place on an item, but that value can 'evolve' if they have time to think it over.

If you place your maximum bid on day one, your bid will increase everytime somebody outbids you ... until you hit your maximum.
If the auction still has hours or days to go, others have time to 'get over the sticker shock' and raise their estimation of what the thing is worth.

If an item lays there with no bids on it ... for five days ... there's little temptation to throw out a bid that makes you 'top bidder' for a time, but actually encourages others to top it. It you do so, by submitting your maximum bid, you are asking others to knock you out of the saddle.
That same maximum bid entered at the last moment might well catch others with no time to 'evolve' ... and leave you as the winner.

CM

[mikeym1a]

I love capitalism!
I'm one of those 'snipers'. I can't see the utility of telling the world what I'm willing to pay for an item. I watch an item, and if the bidding is within what I'm willing to pay, I wait til the 6 sec mark and make my bid. I win about 65% of the time. However, that 65% only represents about 10% of the items I watch. I have learned to set a limit on what I'm willing to pay, and to stick to it. An auction to me is not a game. I'm there to get what I want at the lowest price possible. Maybe I'm wrong-headed about it, but that is the way I am. :p

[Crytes]

I rarely look that deep but if I caught a seller pulling that I'd add him to the list of sellers I pass on reguardless of how good a deal it looks like. I also pass on reserve auction as I feel like I'm being messed with when they don't just start the auction at their minimum selling price.

[skeet028]

I'm one of those 'snipers'. . I'm there to get what I want at the lowest price possible. Maybe I'm wrong-headed about it, but that is the way I am. :p

You aren't wrong headed at all. I do the same thing. And I also watch quite a few items win about 80% of what i wait to bid on. Sometimes I bid on an item just to make sure i keep an eye on it. But i always do that right at the first. I do not shill bid for anyone. If I win..I buy it. I also do a lot of auctions locally. If I really want something i wait till the last to bid. I recently bought a box of reloading junk at a local auction It was all worth what I paid..but little stuff. The value was in the box..A very valuable box..bought it all for 7.50..a very valuable 200 dollar box but that doesn't always happen. Usually there is someone there who also knows the values.. If you look at an auction as a business you will make out better..But remember..an auction IS a business for some.. It can be for me. But I collect old things just for my self. Look at my wife..Oh I hope she doesn't see this..

[JakeBlanton]

Also, sellers have been known to use another ID to bid on their own items to bring up the price if they don't like the bids that have been submitted so far. I suspect that they are less likely to do that in the last few minutes of the bidding though. In a lot of ways, "sniping" is kind of like submitting a sealed bid. I suspect that a bidding system that automatically extended the end time of the auction if there are any bids within the last X number of minutes of the auction would allow the sellers to get the maximum for their items.

[starmac]

This was the first time I have ever watched an ebay auction close. I usually just put my max that I feel like paying, usually less by a good amount than what it is really going to sell for. I check later to see if I won, usually don't, but then again it's an auction, I wll either get it cheap or turn it down. I have hit the buy it now when it is something I think I really have to have.

[M-Tecs]

But I collect old things just for my self. Look at my wife..Oh I hope she doesn't see this..

This thread is no good without pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Char-Gar]

I have a hard and fast rule, never to bid more than 60% new price on any used item which is still being made. I never violate that rule, period.

If something is no longer made, I will determine what value that has to me and that will be my max bid.

I seldom do a "By It Now", but have found some very good things at very low prices that way.

Ebay is still a place where good buys can be had, if a fellow know the market and has good self control and can walk away from a potential purchase. You walk away from more than you get, but that is the name of the game. I don't buy for resale, but if I don't think I could sell it for more than I paid for it, I just don't buy it.

Yep...I am a sniper to boot!

[HNSB]

The only way I bid on auctions is with a snipe. I use Gixen.
Just put in the max I'm willing to pay, and forget about it.

[montana_charlie]

The only way I bid on auctions is with a snipe. I use Gixen.
Just put in the max I'm willing to pay, and forget about it.
Me, too ... but I do it myself with no need for a 'snipe utility'.

I look at the bids that have been submitted to see how much each bid surpasses the one before it.
If they are going up in small increments, especially if the high bid is noticeably below the actual value of the item, I put in a bid at the end which might double the high bid.

That (usually) assures that I will get the item, and I rarely have to pay anything close to my maximum bid. Instead, the automatic bid is only high enough to beat the next highest.

That is a bad idea, though, if a lot of bids have been put in by one guy. He could go crazy at any time and cause you to pay through the nose just to be the winner.
It's a judgement call ...

CM

[bedbugbilly]

I've bought and sold on evilbay for years . . . I'm sitting here smiling as I read your posts of "I bid on it just so I could see what it went for" . . . you know, they have a wonderful little button you can click on that says "watch this item" . . . . just thought I'd mention that so next time you guys don't feel the need to bid to keep track . . . just sayin' . . . LOL :-)

[skeet028]

This thread is no good without pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

M-Tecs.. I never ever take pictures of my wife. I like livin.. Now my first wife..I'd send ya picture of her...but she died last Thanksgiving. I even went to the funeral ..in Florida. Clear from Wyoming. Went up to the box..stuck her with a hatpin..didn't move so I figgered she was really dead... So I pulled out that 13 inch oak stake and drove it through her heart. Them darn people called the Po-leece. Cop gets there..looks and said to me ..um sir..why did ya drive that stake through the dead ladie's heart..well I worked with too many cops not to know them..Said to him..ya have to understand officer..That was my EX-WIFE!!! well he mulled that over ..looked around a bit..kinda took me over to the door went outside and said..ya gotta be a little quieter..but I have a couple of them ex-wives..Get outta here..quick!! YeeeHaaa

[starmac]

I've bought and sold on evilbay for years . . . I'm sitting here smiling as I read your posts of "I bid on it just so I could see what it went for" . . . you know, they have a wonderful little button you can click on that says "watch this item" . . . . just thought I'd mention that so next time you guys don't feel the need to bid to keep track . . . just sayin' . . . LOL :-)

I use the watch feature a lot, when I bid on something tosee what it goes for, that means I will have a big smile if I win it, and that happens sometimes, when for some reason it doesn't get any bids. In this case I wasn't really after it, but still came within 130 bucks of what it brought, which is what I would have paid for it and SMILED. lol

[EDG]

Bidding against many people is like playing poker.
I will slow roll them and maybe bid the time up to 1/3 or 1/2 of what I might really pay.
When it comes time to snipe the other snipers may bid me up 10% while I tack on 50% or more.
Basically I am just lulling the other snipers into sniping much lower than what I am willing to pay.
I have won bids like that and left $30 of bid unused and have won by an extra $.03 too.
Then there are a number of bids that I have lost by pocket change too.
It is great fun to bid up a previous bidder by partial increments until his max bid is shown to be only a few cents higher than my bid.

[skeet028]

I use the watch feature too but I think they only let ya watch 50 items.. I have actually bought an item or two I didn't really need just by bidding at the first.. But even if I win one like that..I will never lose money. If I bid I can either use it or sell it.

[BrassMagnet]

I'm one of those 'snipers'. I can't see the utility of telling the world what I'm willing to pay for an item. I watch an item, and if the bidding is within what I'm willing to pay, I wait til the 6 sec mark and make my bid. I win about 65% of the time. However, that 65% only represents about 10% of the items I watch. I have learned to set a limit on what I'm willing to pay, and to stick to it. An auction to me is not a game. I'm there to get what I want at the lowest price possible. Maybe I'm wrong-headed about it, but that is the way I am. :p

I hate to get sniped!
I have learned. Now I snipe EvilBay/FleaBay.
I lost a bid for .43 Spanish 310 dies there recently. Looked like no interest at all until the last 30 seconds. I wasn't able to get a new bid in fast enough. Anyone want to sell some .43 Spanish 310 dies? I have Lee dies, but I could also use RCBS or other nicer die sets. I'm also willing to trade.
Now for bidding strategy. I prefer to just bid what I am willing to pay. Sometimes, I realize I really want it and it is really worth a lot more to me than that. Some stuff I just watch to see what the going rate is.

[Garyshome]

Early bidding shows some interest in the item. Catches bidders eye. Trying to get bidders interested, or start the bidding war early. Or just to throw a bid on an item and you might get it for a lowball price.

[montana_charlie]

I wasn't able to get a new bid in fast enough.
The cure for that is for your first bid to be every nickle that you are willing to pay.
If you do that early in the auction you will probably be outbid.
If you do it in the last ten seconds you have a decent chance of success.

CM

[220]

I just can't see any real benefit in snipeing, your maximum bid is your maximum bid regardless of if it is topped with seconds or days to go.
If someone is willing to pay more so be it.
If the seller has used a shell to try and run up your bid they will quite often, get stuck with the highest bid, I have been contacted and offered an item as the 2nd highest bidder, I tell them they need to disregard every bid from the shell and I am interested in it at what ever the my bid was to get over the 3rd highest bidder.

[skeet028]

Well sniping is kinda like trying to get an item for less than it's value. If you don't bid till the last the price may be more in line with what you hope to pay..not what you are willing to pay. It is kinda hard to create 2 ebay accounts unless you maybe have a business. They get too much info on you to get 2 or more. Now shill bidding is a real problem on one of the firearm sites. The dealers have friends etc that bid for them..That Is why I WILL NOT try to buy any guns on line..except for maybe one site. If you frequent one site you can really tell shill bidders. And most are shilling for other dealers. Good stuff will never go for a good price. But if you go to some of the firearm auctions across the country sometimes you can get a great deal. I have done so numerous times. I caught an auctioneer shill bidding at his own auction one time..buying for himself without letting anyone in the crowd know. When they found out he almost went out of business. He is meticulous about letting them know who is bidding now. I snipe..unless i am not home..but I will sit and wait till the last 4 seconds to bid on something I REALLY want..Why oh why..do I really want SO many things??LOL!

[EDG]

Right just your opinion.


There are three reasons people sell anything at auction;

1. They are not having any luck selling whatever it is in a private sale and they need to sell it NOW.

2. They don't want to mess with buyers so just put it up for auction to avoid the bother of dealing with people.

3. They are hoping "auction fever" will strike. This is where two or more people get in a bidding war against each other and pride and the need to win trumps common sense or the real world value of the item. A good dose of auction fever over produces a sale price well over actual value.

No. 3 is what is wrong with your method. If auction fever starts, you can end up paying more for the item that you would other wise.

Late bidding or sniping is much like what you do. I figure out the most I will pay for an item and throw it in at the last possible moment. I don't get caught up in auction fever and if some idiot want to pay an outlandish price, then that is just a good thing for the seller. I don't want to be a part of that nonsense, although I do hope auction fever drives the price up. I have sold stuff on Ebay for three or four times when I would have sold it in a face to face purchase.

[EDG]

That is the true value of sniping


The cure for that is for your first bid to be every nickle that you are willing to pay.
If you do that early in the auction you will probably be outbid.
If you do it in the last ten seconds you have a decent chance of success.

CM

[paul h]

I just can't see any real benefit in snipeing, your maximum bid is your maximum bid regardless of if it is topped with seconds or days to go.
If someone is willing to pay more so be it.
If the seller has used a shell to try and run up your bid they will quite often, get stuck with the highest bid, I have been contacted and offered an item as the 2nd highest bidder, I tell them they need to disregard every bid from the shell and I am interested in it at what ever the my bid was to get over the 3rd highest bidder.

I've watched enough ebay auctions over the past 10 years to see that when people start making bids early, that the price will go higher than if the bids are all made in the last minutes of the auction.

The advantage of sniping software is you are less likely to get in a bidding war, and if you can't watch the close of the auction you can have your bid placed at the last moment.

There is a lot of psychology in auctions, and sniping is most likely to get you the best price. Why bid early if that will lead others to bid up the price and cost you more money?

[CastingFool]

I'm guilty of sniping bids on eBay, but you also have to follow a strategy to win on Ebay. Don't bid on the first item you see that matches your wants, needs, or whatever. Take your time, what you want may be in demand this week, but maybe next week it won't. Figure out what you want to pay, and don't go over it. if you lose by a couple of dollars, don't sweat it. You can look at completed bids to check on what people are paying for stuff. Kinda gives you an idea where to set your price. Use a sniping program, too.

[MtGun44]

I ONLY snipe.

Bill