Ebay Question

[1sikbITCH]

I don't mess with Ebay much. Occasionally when I need something I'll search to see if I can get a better deal than I can elsewhere.

First time I noticed one of these, it was about 1 hour before an auction ended. I was ready to win my item for $1 and one of these things jacked it up to $4 (right under my Max bid). No normal person ever bid, and I won the auction. They are named in variations of x***x and even though they all come with feedback you can't view it.

Example: u***d

Are these sniping bots? I felt like it was the seller bumping up the price, but since they'd get kicked off for doing that I assume they are snipers instead. I haven't found anything on the Ebay site (I admittedly didn't look very hard).

 

[ppdes]

Wow, there are still people who bid before the last 10 seconds?

 

[l0cke]

U***D or whatever is when the seller chooses to keep the bidders name anonymous

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: l0cke
U***D or whatever is when the seller chooses to keep the bidders name anonymous

Correct

 

[CrazyLazy]

They are just anonymous names, not fake accounts. If you aren't using a sniping program for ebay you should be, there are plenty of free ones online and it is pretty much strictly better than bidding days in advance.

 

[1sikbITCH]

Oh gotcha.
I only have occasion to bid a couple times a year, and it's usually for mundane stuff like vacuum bags and the like. I find one ending in a few hours, enter my max bid, and then go about my business.

Next question. In the sale I saw tonight, a couple of the bidders were not anonymous. Why would the seller keep some anonymous but not all of them?

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: l0cke
U***D or whatever is when the seller chooses to keep the bidders name anonymous

Right, so you can't tell who's doing the shilling for him/her....which is exactly what's going on most of the time.

If you'll notice, a lot of times when your bid gets bumped up, it's by people with zero or very little feedback.

I don't buy much on Ebay anymore, but when I do, I snipe manually.

I don't understand the people who promote the proxy bidding. It doesn't matter if I'm willing to pay 20 bucks for something....I'd much rather get it for 12 if I can. So I don't give the seller or whomever I just outbid a chance to bump me up to see what my max. is.

 

[ballmode]

I get asked that sniper question all the time and don't know where I can get a program...

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: ballmode
I get asked that sniper question all the time and don't know where I can get a program...

http://www.google.com/search?q=ebay+sniping+software

 

[alkemyst]

YABEFTOS post.

Yet Another Blame Ebay For Their Own Stupidity post.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: ppdes
Wow, there are still people who bid before the last 10 seconds?

yes its caled 99% of ebays userbase who cant sit in front of a computer waiting for stuff to end all day long