Auction Sniping?

[feezle]

Also, another thing you may want to keep in mind. Bid odd amounts. If you are willing to pay $50, bid $51.72. That extra $1.72 is going to win the item for you when 5 other people try to throw $50 even on it.

 

[DVCKev]

If I want something that bad on Ebay I will just snipe it myself at the end of the auction, I couldn't be bothered with paying for services which may still not get you the item. I usually start about 30-60 seconds before the end of the auction, and have never been outbid in a war. It takes about 10 seconds to get your bid through in my experience. If it goes over my limit I wait and bid on another one. That is the thing with Ebay and people getting caught up in wars at the end of auctions and paying way more for something than they need to, there is almost always another one for sale or there will be in a couple of days. I think people forget that lol.

 

[RitaE]

Auctionstealer.com gives you 3 free snipes a week - more than I'd ever need. I think it bids about 10 seconds or so before auction end.

You can purchase additional via paypal or a faster bid time, but I've never tried that.

 

[tlbwriter]

What everyone is saying about a proxybid is true........however.... If you wait to put in your bid, there is less of a chance of being outbid because your competitors may not have put their maximum price in as a proxy bid. So yes, in theory, putting in your highest bid right away should satisfy you that you did everything you were willing to do to win the item. In practice however, you are better off waiting and not possibly sparking a bidding war.

This.

I haven't done any sniping in a long time, but when I did, I used eSnipe. Easy to use and inexpensive. I know some people do their own sniping but I'm not always available when an auction ends, and this way I can put in my max bid and just stop thinking about it until I get that e-mail.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We use sniping software through Mozilla. It's free. We're not always near a computer at the end of an auction, or get bizzy doing other things and forget to run in and bid, so it's convenient to just have the puter do our bidding with six seconds left.

 

[feezle]

If I want something that bad on Ebay I will just snipe it myself at the end of the auction, I couldn't be bothered with paying for services which may still not get you the item.

Neither can we. Which is why we use services for free. I often forget to be at my computer in time. That is why it is nice to snipe it and forget it.

 

[tlbwriter]

If I want something that bad on Ebay I will just snipe it myself at the end of the auction, I couldn't be bothered with paying for services which may still not get you the item.

When I was using eSnipe, you only paid if you won the auction. I'd rather pay a quarter (or less) than set an alarm to be in front of my computer at the right time.

 

[KristenF]

I dont use a service. I watch it and dont bid til its almost over. works 99% of the time

 

[fireflymedic]

I have not gone to an auction site in so long because of that. not gona waite days of no bids to be beaten out at the last min.

If I do go I try to only bid on stuff going out that day or use the buy right now option.

plus the shipping and handling seems like the price of most stuff can be got at the same or near same other places on net.

 

[duffy]

I used to think this way also..but...if you really wanted something and set your max bid at $50.00 and then in the last 5 seconds it went to $51 and you lost it, then yes, I would have been willing to go that $51..the beauty of auctions for seller...just a LITTLE more .

I used to think this way also, but then I was agonizing over why didn't I just bid a little more?? So, I ask myself, (using your example of $50), IS $50 my absolute max? Would I pay $51-really? And if so, then apparently, $51 is my new absolute max!! And then, would I pay $52? I keep going like this until I say, that's it! $58.01 and not a penny more! SERIOUSLY! That is my bid.

So, if I lose, I know that I didn't get auction fever and paid more than I wanted to pay.

 

[nunzia]

I used to think this way also, but then I was agonizing over why didn't I just bid a little more?? So, I ask myself, (using your example of $50), IS $50 my absolute max? Would I pay $51-really? And if so, then apparently, $51 is my new absolute max!! And then, would I pay $52? I keep going like this until I say, that's it! $58.01 and not a penny more! SERIOUSLY! That is my bid.

So, if I lose, I know that I didn't get auction fever and paid more than I wanted to pay.

Yes..that happens..and really..on the one item I really really wanted, I sat there at almost midnight watching the seconds tick down and BOOM sniped at the end with no chance to bump mine up, but who knows how far I would have had to bump it up to actually win.. Really rare item and have never seen it again before or since, but maybe one day...

 

[SandrA9810]

Of course on the seller's stand point, it's a lot of fun to watch the bids go up and up at the last minute.

We sold a remote one time, The final bid was for over $60. Just a couple hours earlier another one ended at $40. Buyers get excited by the bidding war and often times will spend more than they're wanting to pay for the item. It's not like it's an extremely rare remote or really even worth that much, but they got caught up in the excitement of "winning". Can't say I was complaining about an extra $20 bucks.

 

[Lucky4me]

Sniping used to be the only way I bid. Skyauction recently started something to counter sniping. If a high bid comes in during the last three minutes, the clock automatically starts back up for three more minutes. ACK! I hate it!
So now I wait until three minutes a few seconds before I bid my max bid and pray no one else does the same thing.
My most recent win was two tickets to see Chicago in nyc- 3rd row orchestra and a $100 restaurant gift certificate. I got it for $97. I was very happy with that, even though I was sweating out those last three minutes!

To bid early on anything is just taking the chance of spending a lot more money on said item.

 

[nunzia]

Sniping used to be the only way I bid. Skyauction recently started something to counter sniping. If a high bid comes in during the last three minutes, the clock automatically starts back up for three more minutes. ACK! I hate it!
So now I wait until three minutes a few seconds before I bid my max bid and pray no one else does the same thing.
My most recent win was two tickets to see Chicago in nyc- 3rd row orchestra and a $100 restaurant gift certificate. I got it for $97. I was very happy with that, even though I was sweating out those last three minutes!

To bid early on anything is just taking the chance of spending a lot more money on said item.

That sounds really sneaky and unfair..what is Skyauction..is it like Ebay?

 

[arihillfarm]

I used to think this way also..but...if you really wanted something and set your max bid at $50.00 and then in the last 5 seconds it went to $51 and you lost it, then yes, I would have been willing to go that $51..the beauty of auctions for seller...just a LITTLE more .

When this happens to me, I always tell myself that the winning bidder may have set a much higher max bid than what it took to win the auction. Sure $52 might have won the item, or it might have gone much, much higher had there been another bidder.

-Astrid

 

[arihillfarm]

Also, biddingscheduler.com is completely free. It loads all of your ebay watched items and you can scroll down and schedule snipe bids on items as you like. I've used it many times in the past, but now can get cash back either through mrrebates.com or upromise.com so I end up manually bidding to get the cash back.

-Astrid

 

[duffy]

That sounds really sneaky and unfair..

How so?

what is Skyauction..is it like Ebay?

Skyauction.com

 

[nunzia]

How so?



Skyauction.com

I think it's sneaky since, if I'm understanding this correctly, you can go into a bid with 5 minutes left, make your bid and think it's almost over and then..whoops...more minutes added. End time should be end time..or, I may have not understood.

 

[duffy]

I think it's sneaky since, if I'm understanding this correctly, you can go into a bid with 5 minutes left, make your bid and think it's almost over and then..whoops...more minutes added. End time should be end time..or, I may have not understood.

I have been to more "live" auctions than I can begin to count. The kind with real, live auctioneers and real, live people. This format is how those work.

The auctioneer asks who is willing to pay, oh, say $10. If someone is, then that's the highest bid. He'll ask if anyone wants to bid maybe $11. If someone does, they signal him and the high bid is now $11. When he hits a number, say, $22, and no one will bid $23, he says, "going...going...GONE!" If someone quickly decides to bid before he says "GONE!", then the auction keeps going, now to see if someone will bid $24. The auction runs as long as needed, if people keep bidding.

Without having read how Skyauction works, this sounds like what you're describing. I don't see anything sneaky about it, unless they're trying to do this without your knowledge of how it works. Now that you know how it works, you either accept it and work with it, or reject it and don't participate.

Nothing "sneaky" about it. You will have to stay at your computer as the time ticks down, waiting to see if you will win, or if someone else will bid higher and time will be added.

 

[nunzia]

I have been to more "live" auctions than I can begin to count. The kind with real, live auctioneers and real, live people. This format is how those work.

The auctioneer asks who is willing to pay, oh, say $10. If someone is, then that's the highest bid. He'll ask if anyone wants to bid maybe $11. If someone does, they signal him and the high bid is now $11. When he hits a number, say, $22, and no one will bid $23, he says, "going...going...GONE!" If someone quickly decides to bid before he says "GONE!", then the auction keeps going, now to see if someone will bid $24. The auction runs as long as needed, if people keep bidding.

Without having read how Skyauction works, this sounds like what you're describing. I don't see anything sneaky about it, unless they're trying to do this without your knowledge of how it works. Now that you know how it works, you either accept it and work with it, or reject it and don't participate.

Nothing "sneaky" about it. You will have to stay at your computer as the time ticks down, waiting to see if you will win, or if someone else will bid higher and time will be added.

Of course, at live auctions I expect that too..and I'm standing right there seeing all the action going down until it's over. But if I had won the auction, then gone for a coffee and come back and they said, oh..someone bidded higher so we gave it to them after you thought you'd won...I know this is not the same comparison, but online auctions are not real life personal auctions, and they should have a set in stone end time, no matter what, IMO. Skyautcion looks like it's for flights and such, so it isn't really what I thought it was. I wouldn't bid from them...the beauty of online auctions is NOT having to sit at my computer...for live auctions I'll just go to them.