Auction Sniping

[AVAFREAK182]

Good sites? Is it safe?

Save the bitching.

 

[lxskllr]

???

 

[destrekor]

I had a sniping program I used like 3 times when I needed to.

jBidWatcher or something along those lines... I think... or I could be completely bullshitting.

 

[joesmoke]

Aucting baby!

 

[AVAFREAK182]

heh fixed

 

[lxskllr]

I only snipe in person. It makes the auction more fun.

 

[arcenite]

justsnipe.com

 

[destrekor]

Aucting baby!

Achtung!

 

[Ika]

Doesn't ebay's maximum bid system make sniping useless?

 

[lxskllr]

Doesn't ebay's maximum bid system make sniping useless?

No, because people will get in retarded bidding wars, and pay much more than the item's worth just to win. The only way to play Ebay is to bid your max with a few seconds left. You may not win, but you won't throw money away either.

 

[thecrecarc]

No, because people will get in retarded bidding wars, and pay much more than the item's worth just to win. The only way to play Ebay is to bid your max with a few seconds left. You may not win, but you won't throw money away either.

Or you could have self-restraint, ignore bidding wars, and just put in your maximum budget. Voila, sniping negated.

 

[SunSamurai]

Reported for assassination

 

[lxskllr]

Or you could have self-restraint, ignore bidding wars, and just put in your maximum budget. Voila, sniping negated.

No, because then you don't get the item. I don't bid on Ebay for kicks. I bid because I want to buy something, and sniping is the best way to do it.

 

[TheVrolok]

Or you could have self-restraint, ignore bidding wars, and just put in your maximum budget. Voila, sniping negated.

This is why I never understood all the sniping sites/programs. I just always set my max bid to whatever I was willing to pay. If someone out bid me, then eh, oh well, I didn't want to pay any more than that.

 

[Crono]

This is why I never understood all the sniping sites/programs. I just always set my max bid to whatever I was willing to pay. If someone out bid me, then eh, oh well, I didn't want to pay any more than that.

Yep. Sniping is only good if you absolutely must have that item because it's rare, or if you are in a hurry. Otherwise it's just better to set autobid to your max from the get-go, and if someone bids higher, oh well, just try a different auction and set a new max if you think you need to.

 

[Leros]

This is why I never understood all the sniping sites/programs. I just always set my max bid to whatever I was willing to pay. If someone out bid me, then eh, oh well, I didn't want to pay any more than that.

Other people don't put in their max bids. They put an extra $5 in when they see you've outbidded them. I've gotten things really cheap with sniping.

 

[uhohs]

myibay
gixen

etc

 

[frostedflakes]

Doesn't ebay's maximum bid system make sniping useless?

Yes, assuming people understand how proxy bidding works. I've tried to explain this to my parents to no avail. I just say "OK, what's the maximum amount you'd be willing to pay for this item? Put that number in and eBay will do the rest," but they still just keep bidding incremental amounts like a traditional auction.

 

[TheVrolok]

Other people don't put in their max bids. They put an extra $5 in when they see you've outbidded them. I've gotten things really cheap with sniping.

If they're putting an extra $5 in, then their maximum bid includes that extra $5 which is above my maximum bid. I don't see how this is any different. It's more than I'd be willing to pay. Sure, you might be able to bid $1 more than my max and snipe it at the last minute, but I don't want to pay $1 more, if I did, I'd have set that as my max bid.

 

[TheVrolok]

Yes, assuming people understand how proxy bidding works. I've tried to explain this to my parents to no avail. I just say "OK, what's the maximum amount you'd be willing to pay for this item? Put that number in and eBay will do the rest," but they still just keep bidding incremental amounts like a traditional auction.

It took me awhile to get my parents to understand this. They just assumed that it would automatically bid their "max bid." I had to drill it into them that it would bid up incrementally until it reach the max bid, not bid it outright.

 

[Leros]

If they're putting an extra $5 in, then their maximum bid includes that extra $5 which is above my maximum bid. I don't see how this is any different. It's more than I'd be willing to pay. Sure, you might be able to bid $1 more than my max and snipe it at the last minute, but I don't want to pay $1 more, if I did, I'd have set that as my max bid.

Your way:
The bid is $10.
They bid $20, which raises the bid to $15.
You're willing to bid $50, so put your max as $50. Raises to $25.
They bid $30, which raises your bid to $35.
They bid $40, which raises your bid to $45.
Then they decide to give up.
You pay $45.

With sniping:
The bid is $10.
They bid $20, which raises the bid to $15.
Nothing happens.
You snipe a max of $50 at the last minute, which raises the bid to $25.
You pay $25.

It works because most ebayers don't put in their true max bid. They're willing to put in a bit more when they get outbid.

 

[her209]

Never put in my max bid early because there will always be assholes who just bid up the item and then leave.

 

[cherrytwist]

jBidWatcher works for me when I use it (rarely)

 

[Dirigible]

Your way:
The bid is $10.
They bid $20, which raises the bid to $15.
You're willing to bid $50, so put your max as $50. Raises to $25.
They bid $30, which raises your bid to $35.
They bid $40, which raises your bid to $45.
Then they decide to give up.
You pay $45.

With sniping:
The bid is $10.
They bid $20, which raises the bid to $15.
Nothing happens.
You snipe a max of $50 at the last minute, which raises the bid to $25.
You pay $25.

It works because most ebayers don't put in their true max bid. They're willing to put in a bit more when they get outbid.

This is exactly what happens. It's retarded, but it happens. Put your max bid in early and you'll often either pay more than if you'd sniped or lose out completely. Snipe and you often pay less and win more often.

 

[TheVrolok]

Your way:
The bid is $10.
They bid $20, which raises the bid to $15.
You're willing to bid $50, so put your max as $50. Raises to $25.
They bid $30, which raises your bid to $35.
They bid $40, which raises your bid to $45.
Then they decide to give up.
You pay $45.

With sniping:
The bid is $10.
They bid $20, which raises the bid to $15.
Nothing happens.
You snipe a max of $50 at the last minute, which raises the bid to $25.
You pay $25.

It works because most ebayers don't put in their true max bid. They're willing to put in a bit more when they get outbid.

Ah, so you're saying most people don't actually use the "max bid" functionality and instead sit there and bid manually? So you're able to throw a manual bid in the last minute before they put their last manual bid in? Seems pretty dumb on their part, but I suppose if most Ebay users do that, then yeah, sniping would work. Sorta like the prisoner dilemma, but less logical. I guess I didn't count on bidders doing that.