(EDITED FOREWORD: I am not saying that sniping does not work. In fact, I am saying quite the opposite: it works extremely well. But largely thru exploiting the ignorance of the eBay bidding system on the part of buyers.
I am well aware that there are ways to minimize how much you spend on items you win thru eBay. That is outside the scope of this thread. But if you are mad because you NEVER seem to win auctions at all, read the below; you will learn how to neutralize the effects of sniping on items you place bids on.)
"OMGWTFSNIPINGSUX0RS!!!1!11" threads are like fingernails screeching across a chalkboard for me. I am branching away from this busy thread because people will inevitably add more misinformation after reading the OP without reading any replies.
In a sentence, sniping has worked against you for only two reasons: because you don't understand proxy bidding, and because you as a bidder are not honest with yourself about how much you are willing to spend on an item.
Let's start from the beginning.
eBay provides a convenient proxy bidding system. That means that if "Item X" has a starting bid price of $1, and you bid $5, the current bid price becomes $1. In fact, if you bid $5000, the current price is still $1. Why? Because even though you have authorized up to $5 or $5000 to be spent, $1 is all that is necessary to make you the high bidder. We'll continue with $5 for our example.
Now, if someone else comes along and bids higher than your $1, eBay will automatically increase your bid on your behalf until either: 1) you are once again the high bidder with a bid of $5 or below, or 2) you reach your proxy bid maximum (in this case, $5) and another bidder has offered higher, making them the new high bidder. The exact amount of the "one-up" depends on the cost of the item; cheap items may be a few cents or a dollar minimum increment, whereas items costing thousands of dollars like cars might require $100 or more increase to place a bid.
So how does sniping factor into this? It's very simple. Most buyers tend to bid on items that do not show action, and make a low bid thinking that they will get it at that price. Or they keep making minimum increment bids until they are the high bidder, thinking they are somehow saving themselves money. Both are pointless approaches. If you make a SINGLE bid at ANY time that represents your ABSOLUTE LIMIT for spending, you will either get the item, or laugh at the fool who spent more than you were willing to / more than the item is worth.
The biggest myth is that somehow the outcome is different if you bid late as opposed to early. If this were a true auction system without proxy bidding, that would be true. However, you can bid your maximum whenever you want, and it will automatically be placed accordingly to defend your status as high bidder!
Example: Foo wants item X and is willing to spend $30. Bar is a would-be sniper who will be placing a bid in the last seconds. The current bid price shown is $20 because that's all that is needed to make Foo the high bidder.
- If Bar snipes $30, tie goes to the standing bidder, and Foo wins.
- If Bar bids less than $30, Foo is still the high bidder, and Foo wins.
- If Bar bids more than $30, whether it's $31 or $3001, Bar wins, and the high bid will be SHOWN as $31 because that's all that was necessary to beat Foo. It doesn't mean Bar wasn't willing to spend completely more than Foo (in the latter case).
The biggest misconception is that a good sniper bids $31. Without getting into all the nuances that define "good sniping", suffice it to say that piss-poor snipers bid $31 strictly. Good snipers, OTOH, bid WHAT THEY ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR THE ITEM, and simply don't allow proxy-ignoring, "price-nudging" bidders that final nudge. And in all truth, if Foo was honest about willing to spend $31 in the first place, he should have bid $31. At ANY point.
I'll add that "proper use of proxy bidding" does not equal bidding a stupidly huge amount to win at all costs regardless of its value. That is obviously retarded for reasons that do not need explaining here.
Cliffs:
- you are not makin live bids, you are setting maximums, and eBay does the live bidding for you
- you are not honest with yourself about how much you want to spend, or else you'd be glad you lost at "that" price
- eBay doesn't suck, you suck at it
Questions?
I am well aware that there are ways to minimize how much you spend on items you win thru eBay. That is outside the scope of this thread. But if you are mad because you NEVER seem to win auctions at all, read the below; you will learn how to neutralize the effects of sniping on items you place bids on.)
* * * * *
"OMGWTFSNIPINGSUX0RS!!!1!11" threads are like fingernails screeching across a chalkboard for me. I am branching away from this busy thread because people will inevitably add more misinformation after reading the OP without reading any replies.
In a sentence, sniping has worked against you for only two reasons: because you don't understand proxy bidding, and because you as a bidder are not honest with yourself about how much you are willing to spend on an item.
Let's start from the beginning.
eBay provides a convenient proxy bidding system. That means that if "Item X" has a starting bid price of $1, and you bid $5, the current bid price becomes $1. In fact, if you bid $5000, the current price is still $1. Why? Because even though you have authorized up to $5 or $5000 to be spent, $1 is all that is necessary to make you the high bidder. We'll continue with $5 for our example.
Now, if someone else comes along and bids higher than your $1, eBay will automatically increase your bid on your behalf until either: 1) you are once again the high bidder with a bid of $5 or below, or 2) you reach your proxy bid maximum (in this case, $5) and another bidder has offered higher, making them the new high bidder. The exact amount of the "one-up" depends on the cost of the item; cheap items may be a few cents or a dollar minimum increment, whereas items costing thousands of dollars like cars might require $100 or more increase to place a bid.
So how does sniping factor into this? It's very simple. Most buyers tend to bid on items that do not show action, and make a low bid thinking that they will get it at that price. Or they keep making minimum increment bids until they are the high bidder, thinking they are somehow saving themselves money. Both are pointless approaches. If you make a SINGLE bid at ANY time that represents your ABSOLUTE LIMIT for spending, you will either get the item, or laugh at the fool who spent more than you were willing to / more than the item is worth.
The biggest myth is that somehow the outcome is different if you bid late as opposed to early. If this were a true auction system without proxy bidding, that would be true. However, you can bid your maximum whenever you want, and it will automatically be placed accordingly to defend your status as high bidder!
Example: Foo wants item X and is willing to spend $30. Bar is a would-be sniper who will be placing a bid in the last seconds. The current bid price shown is $20 because that's all that is needed to make Foo the high bidder.
- If Bar snipes $30, tie goes to the standing bidder, and Foo wins.
- If Bar bids less than $30, Foo is still the high bidder, and Foo wins.
- If Bar bids more than $30, whether it's $31 or $3001, Bar wins, and the high bid will be SHOWN as $31 because that's all that was necessary to beat Foo. It doesn't mean Bar wasn't willing to spend completely more than Foo (in the latter case).
The biggest misconception is that a good sniper bids $31. Without getting into all the nuances that define "good sniping", suffice it to say that piss-poor snipers bid $31 strictly. Good snipers, OTOH, bid WHAT THEY ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR THE ITEM, and simply don't allow proxy-ignoring, "price-nudging" bidders that final nudge. And in all truth, if Foo was honest about willing to spend $31 in the first place, he should have bid $31. At ANY point.
I'll add that "proper use of proxy bidding" does not equal bidding a stupidly huge amount to win at all costs regardless of its value. That is obviously retarded for reasons that do not need explaining here.
Cliffs:
- you are not makin live bids, you are setting maximums, and eBay does the live bidding for you
- you are not honest with yourself about how much you want to spend, or else you'd be glad you lost at "that" price
- eBay doesn't suck, you suck at it
Questions?
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