Sniper Bids.

[totti]

Eg. I place my highest bid. It is outbid with a few minutes days or seconds to go. I sit there and I think about it for a while and like most people I increase my bid..

I've highlighted the inconsistency there.

Bid once. Bid high. Forget everyone else.

Difficult to do sometimes, but it's foolproof if you stick to it.

100% Correct, couldn't agree more...

 

[Chris]

Bidding high early will cost you more. There'll always be people trying to increase their maximum bid in small increments until they have the highest bid.

I let them have the highest bid until the last few seconds of the auction.
Then I bid high and pray that the snipers don't raise the price too much.

Agree with this although I usually only use a sniper if it's in unsociable hours.

 

[daj]

I snipe because I forget and miss things, I cannot understand at all how people think its cheating ...If you have bid your max bid what difference does it make if you are outbid 4 days ....4 hours ...4 mins or 4 secs from the end your OUTBID? :roll:

The other day I wanted something lots and waited by the pc counting the mins to make a bid ...The PC sh@t itself and by the time it rebooted the auction ended ...Yeah brilliant so glad I hadnt loaded it up to snipe :roll:

 

[weeman_mtb]

Never used a sniper but if I really want something then I put my best bid in with about 8 seconds to go, other bidders probably presume that I'm sniping though.

The main problem with this is that I have a memory like a sieve and forget to bid on most stuff, even if it's been in my watch list for days.

 

[doctor-bond]

Bid once. Bid high. Forget everyone else.

Difficult to do sometimes, but it's foolproof if you stick to it.

It's foolproof if everyone else sticks to it. But in an auction situation many unenlightened people are willing to add a small amount to what they thought their 'maximum' bid was in order to 'win'. Here the is all-too-common situation where snipers are useful:

Bidder one puts in what he thinks is his maximum bid for that NOS XT Sharkfin: £8
I put in my max bid for the Sharkfin and forget about the auction: £10
Bidder one sees he's outbid and bids again, and perhaps again until, he's bested my offer. He 'wins' the fin.

Or:

Bidder one puts in his maximum bid for that NOS XT Sharkfin: £8
I set my sniper for my max bid: £10.
The sniper outbids the first chap close enough to the auction so that he can't change his mind. This means I win the auction and buy the fin for a quid or so cheaper.

Then I curse myself for paying too much for something that is only worth £1.04.

Also - surely there are better things to do than hang around waiting to the last few seconds of an auction to manually put in a bid?

 

[weeman_mtb]

Also - surely there are better things to do than hang around waiting to the last few seconds of an auction to manually put in a bid?

Yes, you're right! Somebody recommend me a good sniper then, just googled it and there were loads :? .

Edit : Please.

 

[technodup]

Bid once. Bid high. Forget everyone else.

Difficult to do sometimes, but it's foolproof if you stick to it.

It's foolproof if everyone else sticks to it.

No, it's foolproof end of story. What does it matter if someone bids £2, then £3 or £4 if you've bid £5? Admittedly there may be occasions where you might pay more than you think you had to, but ultimately you only pay what you've offered to pay. Fannying about increasing bids incrementally might add to the 'excitement' but if I bid higher than you on the first day I still win. Highest bid wins, no matter when or how many others are placed.

Also - surely there are better things to do than hang around waiting to the last few seconds of an auction to manually put in a bid?

Agreed. I've got nothing against sniping. I don't use Ebay much but have sniped in the past. I just can't understand all the fuss about it. AFAICS the only people moaning are the ones who 'lose' an auction and think they've somehow been cheated by not bidding higher than someone else.

 

[daj]

Do the moaners actually realise you dont always win sniping? If someone has bid higher you still lose ?

 

[not_fat_matt]

I use this one http://www.auctionsniper.com/

Useful if im at work etc, plus it removes the temptation to get carried away

 

[videojetman]

i have never used a sniper. but its not cheating.
i personally like watching the last few minutes of an auction.
its such a buzz, especially if its something i really want.
like when i got my rc100. i beat the best bid by £20 in the last 1/2 second.