Absurd Prices On Ebay

[chuck geiger]

Thanks JJ

[TiVoPrince]

Not  
a problem Chuck. 

This is the stuff Ebay just does not mention or leaves a completely inadquate explanation in the FAQs section.  Mostly because they don't like to acknowlege that snipers (and other non Ebay tools) are real and can be used to 'game' the system for a buyers benefit.  Sellers often complain that these tools are unfair or diminish values although I would be bidding far less, not more if I was limited to only the Ebay tools...

[DKS]

"Sniper" bidding is a process that relies on a psychological effect. When the current price is relatively low, then potential buyers will tend to bid lower than they might if the current price was a little higher. Let's say the current bid is $25. You figure you could part with $50 for it. But if you encountered the same item and the current bid was already $60, you might be willing to go as high as $75. That's the whole idea behind sniping--keeping the current bid as low as possible so the sniper has a better chance at winning.

A sniper will enter a bid in the last few seconds of the auction to catch those who entered lower bids off guard. Some items may have several snipers fighting for the same item, so in the last five seconds or so, the automatic bids may come in fast and furious. And it's all done with software. The sniper is not sitting there in the last few seconds of the auction; they've already entered their top bid into a program that will place the bid on their behalf at a specified time, which is usually a few seconds before the auction closes.

The trick to dealing with snipers is to always assume there's one or more of them out there already, and to bid the absolute maximum you're willing to pay right then and there. If you win, then you've outbid the snipers. If you lost, it just means someone else wanted it more than you did.

There's nothing illegal going on; no funny business on anyone's part. It's all just part of the game. I'm totally with Tivo on this one; bid once, walk away, check on it when the dust settles. It's really absurd to think people will actually sit there watching the clock tick down, ready to furiously click buttons in hopes of beating the snipers--which you can't, since that's all done automatically with software. But some people do it; maybe they get their jollies that way. If nothing else, it helps to fuel bidding wars, and likely results in more than a few cases of buyer's remorse.

[TiVoPrince]

Sniping 
also keeps your name completely secret.  The Ebay randomized name revealed to the public is truly constant and if you want to see if someone (like my nemesis) is bidding on something and bid accordingly.  Not all sellers maintain complete anonymity if a 'regular' customer is bidding.  So even auctions where names are shielded from bidders there is still a possibility of shennagins.

ALSO setting your maximum bid with the shipping and final price in mind and allowing for one incremental bid over a $*.00 result to routinely win by that last bid.  Lots of folks are constantl looking for that nice neat round number for PaysPals accounting ease...

[chuck geiger]

Yeah I don't know where this stands...Most likely he will release me from the obligation. The
stuff he was selling might be worth 75.00 - Not 140.00.

So 997 was the sniper in this:

   chuckgeiger( 0 )      US $140.27   
Oct-09-11 12:48:40 PDT
Pay now
More actions

   l***0( 997)      US $137.77   
Oct-09-11 13:49:12 PDT
--   
   7***t( 1015)      US $71.88   
Oct-09-11 13:47:51 PDT
--   
   l***r( 67)      US $65.00   
Oct-09-11 10:49:36 PDT
--   
   chuckgeiger( 0 )      US $60.00   
Oct-09-11 12:48:25 PDT
--   
   chuckgeiger( 0 )      US $55.00   
Oct-08-11 07:50:48 PDT
--   
   l***r( 67)      US $55.00   
Oct-09-11 10:49:14 PDT
--   
   v***e( 2 )      US $49.51   
Oct-08-11 12:19:13 PDT
--   
   v***e( 2 )      US $47.51   
Oct-08-11 12:18:41 PDT
--   
   e***u( 29)      US $45.51   
Oct-07-11 10:32:15 PDT
--   
   chuckgeiger( 0 )      US $45.00   
Oct-06-11 14:49:19 PDT
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   e***u( 29)      US $41.51   
Oct-07-11 10:31:49 PDT
--   
   n***n( 502)      US $37.77   
Oct-03-11 13:00:56 PDT
--   
   v***e( 2 )      US $37.00   
Oct-06-11 12:35:17 PDT
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   i***b( 35)      US $35.00   
Oct-05-11 18:31:53 PDT
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   o***c( 87)      US $20.00   
Oct-02-11 18:32:43 PDT
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   o***c( 87)      US $5.00   
Oct-02-11 16:12:08 PDT
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   7***i( 136)      US $2.50   
Oct-02-11 23:04:21 PDT
--   
   f***e( 294)      US $2.00   
Oct-02-11 20:23:17 PDT
--   
   o***c( 87)      US $0.99   
Oct-02-11 16:10:46 PDT
--   
   Starting Price      US $0.99   
Oct-02-11 13:49:14 PDT

[ljudice]

My current strategy on Ebay is to use the mobile app - it notifies you about 4-5 minutes before an auction ends. I watch it until about 1 minute before the end - and almost 100% of the time end up winning by bidding exactly the maximum I am willing to pay.  Doing it sooner reveals my interest - and signals "demand".

Prior to the mobile app, I almost always forgot in the 3-4 hours before the end of a listing.

I rarely bid for anything on Ebay except an out of production freight car here or there, so I am not that motivated - and I don't want to overpay.

[ljudice]

Re: bid process

I remember once I idiotically mistyped and entered something like $6000 instead of $60.00 as a maxium bid. I was in a state of panic for about 2-3 minutes until it ended and I won at like $25.00

[wcfn100]

I'll admit I do like a good story about how someone just missed out on an item by $.50. 


Jason

[SkipGear]

It's really absurd to think people will actually sit there watching the clock tick down, ready to furiously click buttons in hopes of beating the snipers--which you can't, since that's all done automatically with software. But some people do it; maybe they get their jollies that way. If nothing else, it helps to fuel bidding wars, and likely results in more than a few cases of buyer's remorse.

I don't buy enough to bother with a sniping program. If there is something I want, I will watch it to the end and snipe it myself if possible. I usually wait till the last 15-20 seconds before I ever bid on an item. If I win fine, if not then I will look again later. If it ends in a time that is inconvenient for me. I will usually bid very early and let it ride.

[Chris333]

I always try to bid at the end of an auction. I write my max bid down in front of me and stick to it. There have been many items I wanted to wait to bid on and forgot so you have that too. And for some reason what ever my bid is I add .06 cents to it.

Took me 3 weeks to finally get an iPhone, kept getting out bid over and over. Then I got one for $190, weeks later a guy at work sold me a newer one. I resold mine on ebay and got $260. I was just hoping to get my money back and got lucky.

[sizemore]

www.auctionsniper.com

Put in your price, set your time and walk away. Ya win, ya win. Ya dont, ya don't.

The S.

[Nato]

   "Buy High. Sell Low." My bigger gripe is you have sold it, shipped it,it has been recieved by the buyer,but the Friggen Pay Pal or what ever the payment system is holds your money and makes intrest off it for a week after. Nate Goodman (Nato). "Who use to over bid on BLW and Tex-n-Rails write in auctions and win."

[DKS]

My bigger gripe is you have sold it, shipped it,it has been recieved by the buyer,but the Friggen Pay Pal or what ever the payment system is holds your money and makes intrest off it for a week after.

Eh? I can deposit a PayPal payment directly into my checking account the minute I receive it.

[SkipGear]

Eh? I can deposit a PayPal payment directly into my checking account the minute I receive it.

+1

I never have understood this complaint. I can add and subtract to my PayPal account at will. They only have your money to play with as long as you leave it in the account.

[Bob Bufkin]

I've had many problems with Paypal.  Not buying of selling but I've had some morons in the Phillipines buy computer gear using my accountat least 3 times.  Paypal did catch it but why the hell did it happen in the first place.  I'd just as not use Paypal because of this.