I just got outbid on Fleabay =(

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Suspicious-Teach8788

Lifer
Feb 19, 2001
20,155
23
81
My old roommate was an ebay guy and he taught me a few tricks with sniping. I used to sell some stuff too and made a little money here and there but when we would buy we would always buy snipe manually. Open 2 windows (1 with bidding info and the other as main page) and refresh the main page until the last 30 seconds and then start bidding like mad.

Today I got to the top bidder in the last 8 seconds and by the last 2 or 1 second I got outbid. The one I got outbid I was even counting down to my friend 3.. 2... (refreshing) and then I never said 1 but instead dropped the F-bomb...

What do you guys do? Do you use programs? I believe I'm up against a real bid sniper this time as he's beaten me twice today.
 
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imported_LoKe

Lifer
Jun 4, 2005
19,723
1
0
These people are using programs. If theirs is set to bid at the last second, I can't see how you, even with a program yourself, could beat him.
 
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bctbct

Diamond Member
Dec 22, 2005
4,868
1
0
What do you guys do? Do you use programs? I believe I'm up against a real bid sniper this time as he's beaten me twice today.


dude is prolly a computer
 
aphex

aphex

Moderator<br>All Things Apple
Moderator
Jul 19, 2001
38,572
2
91
Originally posted by: Terabyte
Originally posted by: aphex
http://www.auctionsnipe.com FTW
Click to expand...

Does it really work?
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sure, unless someone else bids higher than your snipe amt :)

it just guarantees to get your bid in there with a few seconds left, if someone else proxy bid or sniped higher, they will still win.

Im about 18/20 with auctionsnipe, both losing times because someone bid higher.
 
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Special K

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2000
7,098
0
76
Your first mistake was not putting in the amout you were really willing to pay to begin with. That said, I still like to use sniping programs to take care of those people who like to drive up the price in $5 increments. If you decide the absolute price you are willing to pay, put it in the sniping program for even 5s before the auction ends, then sit back and wait, you can never "lose".
 
mugs

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
You know, it doesn't matter how close to the end of the auction you bid if you bid higher than the other guy... bid as much as you're willing to spend. If you don't win, it's because it was too expensive for you.

You know, you like to brag about going to Caltech, but this and other posts you've made have made me wonder if that is something they want you spreading around. ;)
 
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Suspicious-Teach8788

Lifer
Feb 19, 2001
20,155
23
81
Originally posted by: mugs
You know, it doesn't matter how close to the end of the auction you bid if you bid higher than the other guy... bid as much as you're willing to spend. If you don't win, it's because it was too expensive for you.

You know, you like to brag about going to Caltech, but this and other posts you've made have made me wonder if that is something they want you spreading around. ;)
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No I don't go to Caltech and but I guess that's cuz you haven't figured out Cal stands for California.

Anyways, the point is I don't know how high this thing can go up to. If you're wondering what they are, they're football tickets. They're going for $50 on ebay for a pair while they're easily $50 apiece on Craigslist. I know the retail value is quite a bit too. It's hard to gauge what the price should be on Ebay. Second of all, this is a for a friend who clearly wasn't as wise in getting season tickets like myself.

I've won CPUs before and with those components its easier to judge the price it should be based on their retail price and thus I could find a reasonable price to set my max bid at.

It does matter how close to the end of the auction you bid if you want a lower price. There's reasons for bid sniping and it's not for everyone. If you like to sit back and relax and get that win for sure, you dont need to snipe. Of course if I want to save a little money, you could use a sniping program. I don't exactly trust sniping programs so that's why I do it manually.
 
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nanette1985

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2005
4,209
2
0
Anyways, the point is I don't know how high this thing can go up to. If you're wondering what they are, they're football tickets. They're going for $50 on ebay for a pair while they're easily $50 apiece on Craigslist. I know the retail value is quite a bit too. It's hard to gauge what the price should be on Ebay. Second of all, this is a for a friend who clearly wasn't as wise in getting season tickets like myself.
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It doesn't occur to you that other people may be willing to pay more than you? It is never hard to gauge what the price should be in Ebay: the price is whatever the highest bidding customer feels like paying.

 
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DBL

Platinum Member
Mar 23, 2001
2,637
0
0
Originally posted by: DLeRium
No I don't go to Caltech and but I guess that's cuz you haven't figured out Cal stands for California.

Anyways, the point is I don't know how high this thing can go up to. If you're wondering what they are, they're football tickets. They're going for $50 on ebay for a pair while they're easily $50 apiece on Craigslist. I know the retail value is quite a bit too. It's hard to gauge what the price should be on Ebay. Second of all, this is a for a friend who clearly wasn't as wise in getting season tickets like myself.

I've won CPUs before and with those components its easier to judge the price it should be based on their retail price and thus I could find a reasonable price to set my max bid at.

It does matter how close to the end of the auction you bid if you want a lower price. There's reasons for bid sniping and it's not for everyone. If you like to sit back and relax and get that win for sure, you dont need to snipe. Of course if I want to save a little money, you could use a sniping program. I don't exactly trust sniping programs so that's why I do it manually.
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1) By not using a sniping program, you create a lot more work for yourself.
2) By bidding manually, you are being taken advantage of by those who use a sniping program who are able to secure the item for less than it would have gone for if you also used a sniping program. Basically, sniping works because of eBay users like yourself.
3) Use a sniping program and you will be a lot happier.

 
RossMAN

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
78,927
389
136
ElFenix

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,393
8,552
126
i still don't understand how sniping is any different than entering a proxy bid with a short amount of time left. a friend of mine who was really into sniping couldn't explain it. i doubt anyone else can.
 
DrPizza

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
167
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
Originally posted by: ElFenix
i still don't understand how sniping is any different than entering a proxy bid with a short amount of time left. a friend of mine who was really into sniping couldn't explain it. i doubt anyone else can.
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I can't figure it out either, except that maybe helps you avoid being outbid by morons who are willing to pay more than an item is actually worth. i.e 1 minute left in an auction, item is in mint condition, retails for $40. Shipping on the item is $10. Current price is $10. You put in a proxy bid of $29.00, saving yourself a whole dollar over amazon.com. That ups the current price to $11. Idiot puts in 15, your $16 comes up as the current bid. Idiot thinks, "wow, he outbid me really quick," bids $25, your bid of $26 comes up. Carried away idiot bids $28, you have $29. Idiot, so caught up in outbidding you, bids $35. Idiot wins the auction.

That's not too horrible, but then, if you actually need that item, you have to either go to Amazon else bid on another of that item on ebay and wait for that auction to end.



Personally, I still don't know why E-bay hasn't really gone to more of an auction format.
At an auction, when they're saying "going, going, gone", someone doesn't simply insert a slightly higher bid between going and gone. As soon as a higher bid is made within the closing seconds, that should simply extend it. Even on ebay, it wouldn't be that hard to extend an auction for 5 minutes if a last second bid comes in. That would tend to raise the price of items, increasing ebay's profits. And, it wouldn't stop people from getting good deals, although in the short run, a lot of idiots will end up paying more than retail.
 
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jatwell

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
1,730
0
76
Almost hate to post this in case they change the pricing policy (ie: free) but this site has been working for 1-2 years now for free sniping:

http://www.esteal.net

I usually put a delta time of about 4-5 seconds, anything less and it can be unreliable. Seems to work great for me.
 
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Schfifty Five

Lifer
Oct 20, 2005
10,978
44
91
Originally posted by: ElFenix
i still don't understand how sniping is any different than entering a proxy bid with a short amount of time left. a friend of mine who was really into sniping couldn't explain it. i doubt anyone else can.
Click to expand...

Using a sniping program to bid at the last second of the auction at your maximum price is no different than bidding yourself at the last second putting in your maximum price.
 
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MrWizzard

Platinum Member
Mar 24, 2002
2,493
0
71
Why use a bot why not manually bid in the last 5 seconds.... I have done it for most of mine with no problem. I even am nice and bid to be outbid about 1 day before the auction is over so they can't complain about sniping.
 
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Auric

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
9,591
2
71
The main point in sniping is not "beating" another bidder but not revealing your true interest until the last moments -unlike an early proxy bid which would contribute to raising the price over the duration. However, there is no benefit versus simply entering a proxy bid in the final moments given that, again, you want to win only up to the price you are willing to spend and not irrationally "beat" another bidder and thus "lose" by over paying. In any case, you must bid first so that your future bids will take precedence over others.

Ergo, to "win" in short:
-make first bid
-enter max proxy bid near end
-observe snipetards whip themselves into a frenzy only to lose or otherwise spend more than you were willing to anyway
 
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