Originally posted by: dethman
Originally posted by: Amused
The way I see it, snipers are just paying more than I wanted to pay. More power to 'em.
The way to use E-bay is to bid the max you'd pay for that item. If someone pays more, they're getting ripped off, not you.
People start seeing the bidding as a competition. When that happens, the idiots start paying more than retail.
the reason why sniping works is because most people don't bid the max they want to pay. typical bidders will bid as low as they can, to feel like they're getting a deal. so sometimes sniping can get you a product at a lower price. why else would their be bids of $4 and $5 on $100 items?
of course, if there is an experienced bidder who put his max bid at the beginning, a snipe would not be effective.
also, in order for the auction to keep from becoming a competition as you mentioned, a snipe is more effective because the other bidder does not know what you are willing to pay, or that there is even someone else interested so he will keep his bid low.