Sniping

[s&g'sdad]

Good day all. At the risk of sounding uninformed, what does the term 'snipe', mean in reference to bidding on ebay? I've won 4 razors, but using only "normal" bidding. I've seen the term used on a couple of forums here and was just curious. Thanks.

Aaron

 

[AaronX]

it means putting in a bid with seconds to go before ending. This way the current high bidder can not go back on and re-bid. Some people use programs to do it others are more purists.

 

[AverageJoe]

Also, and I don't know if this falls into that category, Ebay has their own program called "Countdown" to do something similar----don't know if that's the same thing, but it sounds like it!! Has "one-click bidding", etc. It's more like a "real" auction in the sense that if you don't watch it, you can end up paying more than your common sense would otherwise tell you!

 

[The Zook]

Sniping rules!

[ hijack ]
It's not snipers that bother me, it's the people that start bidding wars with 4 days left of an auction (unless of course it's my item up for bids).
[ /hijack ]

But yes, sniping is waiting until the last second to put a bid in... that's how I bid 99% of the time.

 

[Austin]

Sniping doesn't bother. I always set the maximum I went to pay and don't worry about it.

 

[wchnu]

Sniping doesn't bother. I always set the maximum I went to pay and don't worry about it.

exactly. If not I would end up bidding wayyyyy over my head.

Fuzzy

 

[BroJohn]

I *hate* snipers.




-- John Gehman

 

[JimmyHAD]

I love these threads where people say they hate snipers. It is a better alternative to fight fair and drive the price of the item up to the max I guess. I am a purist. No sniper programs for me. I like to pull the trigger with 3 seconds to go, my adrenaline flowing and heart beat accelerating. If my bid is high enough I win and if not I don't have the option of going higher then I originally intended in the heat of the moment.

 

[castlecraver]

I used to get angry over being "sniped" on the 'bay. But after being a member here for a couple years, I can tell you its far more infuriating to notice someone's put that sweet vintage Gillette you've been pining for up for sale on the B/S/T, only to find out someone else just replied with "PM sent" about 1 minute before you showed up.

 

[The Zook]

I used to get angry over being "sniped" on the 'bay. But after being a member here for a couple years, I can tell you its far more infuriating to notice someone's put that sweet vintage Gillette you've been pining for up for sale on the B/S/T, only to find out someone else just replied with "PM sent" about 1 minute before you showed up.

Ain't it the truth...

 

[thirdeye]

I *hate* snipers.




-- John Gehman

Surely you don't mean all snipers John! Does that include all of us Marine Corp Snipers too????

 

[BroJohn]

Yeah, I'm referring to eBay snipers, Ray.

-- John Gehman

 

[SepticTank]

I once sniped on an auction at ebay.de, back when you could actually see against whom you were bidding - and it generated 5 or 6 angry messages from the outflanked bidders, telling me it wasn't fair and I hadn't followed their (the bidders) rules and it wasn't my turn to win (lessons in fairness and queuing from Germans )

The seller listed an identical item to close 7 days later and the same folks were bidding - so I sniped again (I didn't even want the second one ).... cue more angrygrams.

Seller listed a third identical one - so I chucked in an early bid and they took the week to nibble away at it (then I got a load of angrygrams that they'd overpaid)....

Sniping rules - it's very rare that I put in a bid (except to spike a buy it now) before the last 5 minutes of an auction.

 

[PedroNavaja]

Sniping is the right way to buy on e-bay.
Lets asume 3 people are interested on the same item, they wait until 30 seconds before the end and then they put their bids/snipes, the higher bidder wins.
The people who get into a bidding fight 3 or 4 days before the end of the auction, all they're doing is increasing the price of the item.

 

[tom myers]

I love these threads where people say they hate snipers. It is a better alternative to fight fair and drive the price of the item up to the max I guess. I am a purist. No sniper programs for me. I like to pull the trigger with 3 seconds to go, my adrenaline flowing and heart beat accelerating. If my bid is high enough I win and if not I don't have the option of going higher then I originally intended in the heat of the moment.

My feelings exactly. I don't see what folks feel is unfair about sniping. It keeps both of us from bidding higher than our common sense would dictate.

Simply set your bid at the maximum that your good judgement allows and if you lose the aucton, the other bidder apparently paid "too much" by your own standards.

Regards,
Tom

 

[BroJohn]

Look, you guys just don't understand. I put in a low, reasonable bid and you're s'posed to let me win. Just pretend I'm one of the Germans that Septic Tank is referring to, above.

Hmmmph.



-- John Gehman

 

[vior]

I once sniped on an auction at ebay.de, back when you could actually see against whom you were bidding - and it generated 5 or 6 angry messages from the outflanked bidders, telling me it wasn't fair and I hadn't followed their (the bidders) rules and it wasn't my turn to win (lessons in fairness and queuing from Germans )

The seller listed an identical item to close 7 days later and the same folks were bidding - so I sniped again (I didn't even want the second one ).... cue more angrygrams.

Seller listed a third identical one - so I chucked in an early bid and they took the week to nibble away at it (then I got a load of angrygrams that they'd overpaid)....

Sniping rules - it's very rare that I put in a bid (except to spike a buy it now) before the last 5 minutes of an auction.

 

[OldGrizzlePus]

I've just about given up finding any "bargains" on ebay. There are too many knowledgable bidders out there any more. And they are willing to pay more than my common sense says is fair. I got a Fatboy a couple weeks ago for a total of about 30 bucks, but only because the seller would not take PayPal for payment. The hot bloods were unwilling to take the risk of sending cash, without any way to know if the selller is honest. I got a fine specimen with no wear and original paint intact.
OldgrizzlePus

 

[dixee6]

Sure is funny how this subject is being brought up again and I just did it again yesterday. I guess if I want something bad enough,......like that razor I missed out on,.....I'll go ahead and put in my max bid I wouldve gone too in the first place and cross my fingers. if worse comes to worse and I still lose at least the other guy had to pay more still and the seller gets more money. See? Even if you don't win it's still a way of getting a last laugh. Ok,.....I'll admit it,...I tell myself that to feel better!

 

[Mejnoon]

I've just about given up finding any "bargains" on ebay. There are too many knowledgable bidders out there any more. And they are willing to pay more than my common sense says is fair. I got a Fatboy a couple weeks ago for a total of about 30 bucks, but only because the seller would not take PayPal for payment. The hot bloods were unwilling to take the risk of sending cash, without any way to know if the selller is honest. I got a fine specimen with no wear and original paint intact.
OldgrizzlePus

Its all about mislabeled/miscategorized/misspelled items