Yes, that is why Ebay frowns on snipping, because it typically ends up not as high than if you let the bid go up slowly over the duration. Ebay charges a fee to list it, plus a certain percentage of the closing bid price. So, the higher the bid, the bigger the ebay take.
Twice I did eBay over the phone...once I was at a swimming pool, the second time I was in Kalama Wash'tin (a good 50 miles) watching a train go by. Needless to say, my friend on the other end wasn't very smart and I lost both. I won a camera at school awhile back- "going to the lavatory" ment I was going across the building to find a computer... I came back to class 15 minutes later and got an applause (?) that should have been for my winning strategy- a guy I was fighting with topped the bid at $290- so I put in a max of $360 at 15 secs.
I have bought and sold alot on ebay. I have been an ebayer since the begining of ebay. I have to brag that I have an awesomne formula for snipping. I win pretty much 80% of my bids snipping with my "strategy", and that is with a dial up connection. I am hoping something after the first of the year upgrading to DSL, and when I do, there aint no stoppin me.. hahhah.. I would disclose my "Formula", but I can't. Pretty much, because alot of my friends on these train boards may end up bidding against me on N scale stuff, lol.. But, my "thing" has worked awesome for me for several years, and no I use NO aftermarket software... :zip:
The technique of bidding at the last second to potentially score a win is called "sniping" (you are the sniper). There are a number of software tools out there that will do this for you. I have used one called Auction Sentry (Disclaimer: no relation to them at all), where you give it the auction number, and it pulls down the details. You then tell it what your max bid is, and when approx 20 seconds is left on the auction, it will file your bid. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. This tool accomplishes two things: 1) you don't reveal your high price until the very last moments, making it harder for someone else to outbid you. 2) you don't have to be at your computer to manually put in that last minute bid - a great way to win auctions that end at 4am! Peter
It sounds like you may have been the victim of a shill bidder, which is another reason to snipe. Were I made such an offer, I would ask to pay one bid increment over the third-highest bid, which is what you would have gotten it for had the highest bidder not bid.
Sniping is only possible when auctions have an ending time, like eBay. People do try to snipe at bankruptcy auctions, but the auctioneer usually extends the auction, looking for a higher bid. I snipe on eBay during the last 2-3 seconds. When I'm looking for bargains, I'll win about one in five. If I really want something, I'll win about three out of five because I've adjusted my final bid upward. I've often wondered why eBay doesn't automatically extend auctions when a bid is received--say--in the last ten seconds. Just extend it for a few minutes. Snipers would have to come in earlier, and could be countered. I still think that one should figure the highest price you are willing to pay, and stick by that price--no matter when it's entered. I'm pretty cold-hearted about bidding. If I lose it, I'll see it again sometime.
uBid (electronics) does that. Seems simple. The auction is automatically extended 10 minutes when a bid is received just before the original deadline.
I agree with campp, in a perfect world you should enter your highest bid and wait till the end of the auction. I had someone snipe an item I was interested in, only to have the sniper reneg on his obligation to the seller. The seller contacted me if I would like the item because I was the second highest bidder. When I looked at the history of bidding, the snipper increased the amount of the item by $15. The seller and I settled on what was a fair price (taking away all the snipper's bids) Is it possible that a seller can have a third party bid on an item to increase the cost? Just a thought. Bernard
This isn't really a haunting loss, and it was for HO, so it doesn't belong here, but I bid on 10 pieces of model power code 100 flex the other day. I lost and noticed that his reserve wasn't met. Here's the thing though, the price the auction ended at, when combined with shipping was about the same as you would pay for 10 pieces of Atlas code 100 flex at your average Hobby shop. What kind of foolishness is this? Why the heck would I buy something on frickin Ebay for the same as it would cost to by from the guy down the street. DUMB! And what idiot thinks he can set a reserve on frickin track?
I usually don't bid on any item that has a reserve, unless the reserve has already been met and I find it reasonable. Sometimes reserves are ridiculously high. I've seen very reasonable bids on items closed out because the "Reserve [was] Not Met". Yoho, Any seller can set a reserve on anything. I believe you pay to set a reserve whether the item sells or not. That's just from a quick glance at eBay's terms. I shy away from selling there. I don't need the hassle. As in any endeavor that is widespread, eBay draws both the sophisticated buyer/sellers and -- shall we say -- the beginners.
Well, I know he CAN set a reserve, but you're talking about a $30 retail value item. He wanted about $10 for shipping and at $20.50 hadn't met his reserve. That's just pure boneheadedness there. Of course, some online retailers will charge you the $30 and then shipping on top of that, so for those without a local hobby shop, it may still be a deal, but population demographics suggest that there are relatively few people out there like that.
The people that sell like that, don't really believe that most of us would even bid. But, they count on the "beginers", or people just simply dont know anybetter to take advantage of them. I do not think it is ethical at all, and generally woundnt consider bidding with those that inflate their shipping. Some sellers also put VERY low starting bid on items, but jack the shipping way up. Counting on it selling way below costs, but recouping the cost on the shipping. Shipping something for $3, but charging $10, and pocketing the rest because of the low bids. They do this, because the low bid price attracts action, AND Ebay does not put fees on shipping, so it cost the seller less to sell it on ebay. Still squirly, but in cases like that, and if it is still a good deal including the shipping cost, I would consider bidding. But, I do the TOTAL math.
TOTAL COST is a sound principal. Nothing like winning a $1.99 auction when the seller wants $10,00 for shipping and handling. I will not make a bid unless the total cost is about 75% of what I can get it for at the best e-tailers. BTW, I find computer and camera items can be bought for 5-10% on the dollar.
