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Do any of you "snipe" when using e-bay?


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Posted
Do any of you use a "robot" and snipe when using e-bay, or use one just cause you won't be home to bid? I have used vrane.com before with success but haven't tried it in a couple of years.
Guest DigDoug
Posted

Nope, I haven't sniped. I hate Ebay. I HATE Ebay. Did I mention I hate Ebay? There are too many fake bidders, sniping, fees, non-paying bidders, jackass sellers.

 

Ebay is the equivalent of playing poker online.

Posted
I use ebay and never snipe. I just enter the highest bid I will go. Ebay does that for you. If somebody outbids me then I am not mad cause I know i will not go any higher then that.
Posted

I use ebay and never snipe. I just enter the highest bid I will go. Ebay does that for you. If somebody outbids me then I am not mad cause I know i will not go any higher then that.

That's definately one way to go, but there are some *bleeps* out there who just try to get you to hit your price ceiling, with no intention of buying the item.

Posted

Sniping angers me as well Just seems ucky

 

 

LOL I had just looked into listing my flute on EBAY but havent gotten brave enough to try and sell something. Guess it may sell then if people are getting snipped on them

Posted

I use ebay and never snipe. I just enter the highest bid I will go. Ebay does that for you. If somebody outbids me then I am not mad cause I know i will not go any higher then that.

That's what I always do. Then I make sure to stay away from the comp until after the auction is over. That way I'm not tempted to keep upping my bid:smirk:
Posted

That's definately one way to go, but there are some *bleeps* out there who just try to get you to hit your price ceiling, with no intention of buying the item.

I've found if I really want something, I never place a big early in the game. I just watch and watch till its almost over. Then if the price is reasonable, I will snipe. I think if you bid early it does push the price up...the bidding wars begin.

Posted

Sniping angers me as well Just seems ucky

 

 

LOL I had just looked into listing my flute on EBAY but havent gotten brave enough to try and sell something. Guess it may sell then if people are getting snipped on them

What kind is it--is it open or closed hole? How much would you want for it?

Posted

closed hole Gemeinhardt Model 2SP Silver Plated

 

i wouldnt even know

 

My silly parents bought me a new flute for christmas my senior year....Never did understand that one LOL

 

It was cleaned when i gradutaed and i always stored w/ zigzags on the pads. Its hard cased though the case has sticker residue from the nametags we had to have on it for travel

 

PM if you want more info so we dont hijack LOL

Posted

I do both ...

 

I bid early with the amount I'd LIKE to pay ... then I'll wait till the last 15 seconds to submit my MAXIMUM bid if necessary ...

 

However, I _never_ bid to just to get above the reserve price ... I bid what I want ... if the seller wants to offer a second chance, then I may negotiate ... This works REALLY well, when buying vehicles from dealers (Three cars so far, all for under the reserves, let alone the book values)

 

@shley

Posted

Originally Posted by Gloey

I've found if I really want something, I never place a big early in the game. I just watch and watch till its almost over. Then if the price is reasonable, I will snipe. I think if you bid early it does push the price up...the bidding wars begin.

EXACTLY! Why push a bid up for something, you end up paying more than you need too! I don't bid on anything until the last few seconds!! It doesn't make sense??

Posted
I just bid on something last week that my daughter really wanted. I waited until the last hour or so to bid. There had been no bids on it so far so I thought I had a good chance of winning. I was watching the last couple of minutes so that if I was outbid I could bid again. The winning bidder, not me:( , outbid me with about 4 seconds left. I was disappointed but I found the same thing at a yardsale this week for $1. I was going to spend $15. I was happy.:yelclap:
Posted

Sniping is when someone comes along in the last few minutes of an auction and outbids you :( I hate it and someone did it to me again today on a flute.

Aw, I'll be so happy if you got your flute through my starting this thread! Please let me know if that happens.

Posted

I just bid on something last week that my daughter really wanted. I waited until the last hour or so to bid. There had been no bids on it so far so I thought I had a good chance of winning. I was watching the last couple of minutes so that if I was outbid I could bid again. The winning bidder, not me:( , outbid me with about 4 seconds left. I was disappointed but I found the same thing at a yardsale this week for $1. I was going to spend $15. I was happy.:yelclap:

WOOHOO Congrats!!!!:banana01:
Posted
I guess maybe it isnt just sniping that bugs me cause it isnt the worse thing out there but its how ebay went from a fun place to find off the wall or fun things kinda a yard sale type thing to being where people are using it as job and it just isnt "fun" anymore. Am i making any sense? I dont blame the people that are trying to make a living BUT i think it was at the expense of what Ebay orignially was
Posted

I don't use services that do that, but I try to hold off on bidding till the last few minutes of an auction. That way I don't bump the price up days before, LOL, just to still get in a bidding war towards the end. Sellers probably don't like me for that strategy. ;)

 

It backfired on me recently though. Missed out on something I could have picked up locally because I forgot the end of the auction. Wound up doing buy it now on a more expensive one just to get it here by when I need it. :( Erin better like her bday present LOL.

Posted

I guess maybe it isnt just sniping that bugs me cause it isnt the worse thing out there but its how ebay went from a fun place to find off the wall or fun things kinda a yard sale type thing to being where people are using it as job and it just isnt "fun" anymore. Am i making any sense? I dont blame the people that are trying to make a living BUT i think it was at the expense of what Ebay orignially was

Yes I agree...the people that are using it to make a living by inflating shipping and handling prices really irritate me. I just won't pay the shipping charges most people are charging now. Heck you can even ground ship Fed Ex now for about 4 dollars cause I just used it at work. I had to return a computer bag and used Fed Ex and that's all it was! It probably would be about twice that much on ebay.

Posted

yep and it just leaves such a bad taste to me that i think it "taints" my overall feeling on all things Ebay.

 

 

and it isnt all sellersJust a case of a few ruining the majority

Posted

i dont even mind if the call it a handling fee. I would rather pay $1 there then have someone tack it on the shipping. Do they think I cant see the exact price on the package?? LOL

 

Also I didnt know so many people went to BF sales to get Ebay fodder before. thats about the only thing that bummed me out from this site :( Hate to think of someone waiting in line to get one for a gift lose out to someone getting 3 to sell on Ebay. I know its business but it isnt very christmasy LOL Now I am gonna be even more leery of the people standing up in front at just the right moment. I could ALMOST convince myself that maybe they would be so sneaky cause it is something their child really really wanted....O How Naive I must have been LOL JK

Posted

I used to buy a lot of stuff on the Sams Club auction site. It was a great place for deals and I did much of my Christmas shopping there for 2-3 years in a row. Snipers were present on nearly every auction. Then they got wise to the snipers and went to something they called "popcorn auctions". It there was any bidding activity within the last (maybe it was 5?) minutes of the auction, they simply extended the deadline another 15 minutes. If there was bidding in that extended time window, they added another 15 minutes ... etc etc. That killed the snipers in a hurry and also raised prices equally fast.

 

Then they started breaking down the large lots of items into multiple smaller lots which raised the prices even more.

 

Those tactics killed the Sams Auction site for me in a hurry. :fryingpan

 

Ebay has always been a jungle and they have proven they can make a ton of money following their format of "survival of the fittest (or sneakiest)" . Until they do something to impede the snipers, robots, etc, it's only going to get worse. The same thing is going on with the other on-line auction sites. It's not a place for the casual shopper to play anymore. :cry2:

Guest all2tired
Posted
Only once but I had no idea it was called sniping. I was trying to get a my size Barbie for my daughter and would keep getting outbid at the last minute. So they next one to come onto the block, I watched it until a minute before and placed my bid. Finally got it though
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