Barely budget related----Ebay sniping services??

[jagafen]

Which one do you use? Is it complicated to set it up? I've never done it, but there's something that was listed that I've been looking for for about 6 months now...I'd hate to miss out on it, and am considering sniping it rather than neurotically watching the auction. Are there any cons? Is there anything I need to be worried about using a sniping site/service? any input is appreciated.

 

[TangaroaTiki]

I have used Auctionsniper for years and love it. I never watch auctions anymore. Very easy to set up and cheap too!

 

[Shreggor]

Why not just post the absolute max you are willing to pay for the item as your initial bid and call it a day?

 

[jagafen]

Why not just post the absolute max you are willing to pay for the item as your initial bid and call it a day?

Because, there's still 3 days left and only one other bidder...if I put my max bid in now, and it's over hers, that'll just jack up the price sooner....no need to turn a $5 item into a $20 dollar item with 3 days left. That will overinflate the cost come auction end....also, I'm not exactly sure what my "max bid" is yet....I want the item, but am not willing to pay my left arm for an item that will get worn 2x...KWIM?? If there's another bidder on it in the next few days, I'll throw my bid in, but I'm not going to start a bidding war with 72 hours to go!!

 

[gk90]

gixen.com is free, has very good reviews and very simple to set up. I've used it a few times with good results.

As to why not just post the absolute maximum bid, here's an economic explanation from wikipedia--they have an entry on "auction sniper":

Experienced bidders of online auctions with fixed ending times often prefer entering bids late in the auction to avoid bidding wars (multiple rounds of bidders each increasing their maximum bid to temporarily regain "current highest bid" status) or bid chasing (where the presence of an existing bid encourages others to bid on the same item).
Economic analysis of sniping (Roth and Ockenfels, 2000[2]) suggests that it is a rational gain-maximizing (i.e., price-minimizing) strategy for bidders in auctions which fulfill two criteria: 1) the end time is rigidly fixed (such as those on eBay), and 2) it is possible to gain additional information about the "true" value of the item by inspecting previous bids. For example, a novice antiques buyer may prefer to bid in auctions which already have bids placed by more experienced antiques buyers, on the grounds that the items which the experienced buyers are interested in are more likely to be valuable. In this case, more informed buyers may delay bidding until the last minutes of the auction to avoid creating competition for their bids, leading to a lower winning bid.
Analysis of actual winning bids on eBay (Yang and Kahng, 2006[3]) suggests that winning bidders are more likely to have placed a single bid late in the auction, rather than placing multiple incremental bids as the auction progresses.

 

[dis-happy]

No way would I post my max bid at this point. You are quite correct in waiting. Personally, I like to snipe myself at the end of the auction...such the adrenaline rush!

 

[jagafen]

I have used Auctionsniper for years and love it. I never watch auctions anymore. Very easy to set up and cheap too!

No way would I post my max bid at this point. You are quite correct in waiting. Personally, I like to snipe myself at the end of the auction...such the adrenaline rush!

Wish me luck...I'm going to try out Auction Sniper.....the first 3 sniped auctions are free...can't hurt, and they are quite reasonable! Thanks for the input. FWIW, there are now 2 bidders, and "my" item is now $7.50!

 

[shoes99]

DH uses Esnipe. He has had good results. He used to stay up late to catch California auctions, now he just uses esnipe..

 

[TangaroaTiki]

Wish me luck...I'm going to try out Auction Sniper.....the first 3 sniped auctions are free...can't hurt, and they are quite reasonable! Thanks for the input. FWIW, there are now 2 bidders, and "my" item is now $7.50!

Good luck! Let us know how it ends

 

[mjkacmom]

Because, there's still 3 days left and only one other bidder...if I put my max bid in now, and it's over hers, that'll just jack up the price sooner....no need to turn a $5 item into a $20 dollar item with 3 days left. That will overinflate the cost come auction end....also, I'm not exactly sure what my "max bid" is yet....I want the item, but am not willing to pay my left arm for an item that will get worn 2x...KWIM?? If there's another bidder on it in the next few days, I'll throw my bid in, but I'm not going to start a bidding war with 72 hours to go!!

Agree with you 110%! It drives me nuts when inexperienced bidders start a bidding war days out. I see no reason why not to wait for the last couple of minutes, so even if you war, the ending price will be much lower than one that has gone on days.

 

[Shreggor]

Because, there's still 3 days left and only one other bidder...if I put my max bid in now, and it's over hers, that'll just jack up the price sooner....no need to turn a $5 item into a $20 dollar item with 3 days left. That will overinflate the cost come auction end....also, I'm not exactly sure what my "max bid" is yet....I want the item, but am not willing to pay my left arm for an item that will get worn 2x...KWIM?? If there's another bidder on it in the next few days, I'll throw my bid in, but I'm not going to start a bidding war with 72 hours to go!!

I sell on Ebay all the time. So I can see how many people are watching my items. I've had some rare items up and never seen a bidding war when people bid early. I really dont think that happens much anymore. I guess you never know.

 

[dclfun]

Most people now bid in the last 10 minutes or less. As to a sniper service, I don't use one because I visit Ebay via Ebates where I get a rebate for anything I win. If you use a sniper service you can't use Ebates. It may not be a huge rebate but it adds up. With that and Ebay's cash back, I usually have about $40 "free money" each month to spend.---Kathy