Hate last minute bidders on ebay.

[BigusSchmuck]

3rd time this week this happened to me, getting really tired of it. All 3 times I was the only bidder and then like the last minute (quite literally) someone (or the sellers buddy or another account) decides to bid on the item cause they don't like the price of it. I think I'm ebayed out.

[rag-time4]

Its even worse when you see the winning bidder relist the item at an increased price less than a week later. Billmarioman did that to me with a complete sherlock holmes and im still bitter about it.

[BigT]

It's annoying, but that's how ebay works...  I don't really get angry at it anymore, cuz I just assume there's a high likelihood that it will happen...

[BigusSchmuck]

Well I learned my lesson, buy it now only and buy/sell here on the forums.

[DragonmasterDan]

3rd time this week this happened to me, getting really tired of it. All 3 times I was the only bidder and then like the last minute (quite literally) someone (or the sellers buddy or another account) decides to bid on the item cause they don't like the price of it. I think I'm ebayed out.

Usually people snipe ebay bids at the last minute so as not to artificially drive up the price of an item. I suspect that 1/4 of all of ebays bids take place in the last minute of an auction.

[T2KFreeker]

Yeah, that happens to me all the time. Trying my hand at a seller for the moment to raise money for a Turbo CD unit, so I hope it works. Not something I will be doing constantly though. I hate ebay.

[BlueBMW]

Its even worse when you see the winning bidder relist the item at an increased price less than a week later. Billmarioman did that to me with a complete sherlock holmes and im still bitter about it.

Did you ever find yourself a complete copy of sherlock holmes?  If not shoot me a pm... I might have something.

[A_Locomotive]

Sadly sniping bids is often the only way to win. Recently I noticed that sometimes placing very early bids works as well. I'm guessing maybe people see someone has bid already and they just don't bother, assuming the person who has a bid REALLY wants it. I've gotten a couple of very good deals from doing that.

[hoobs88]

3rd time this week this happened to me, getting really tired of it. All 3 times I was the only bidder and then like the last minute (quite literally) someone (or the sellers buddy or another account) decides to bid on the item cause they don't like the price of it. I think I'm ebayed out.

What was the item? Perhaps I have a spare and you can avoid ebay.

[VestCunt]

3rd time this week this happened to me, getting really tired of it. All 3 times I was the only bidder and then like the last minute (quite literally) someone (or the sellers buddy or another account) decides to bid on the item cause they don't like the price of it. I think I'm ebayed out.

Usually people snipe ebay bids at the last minute so as not to artificially drive up the price of an item. I suspect that 1/4 of all of ebays bids take place in the last minute of an auction.

+1
When I use ebay, I bid in the last five seconds or not at all.  I know what things are worth and I know exactly how much I'm willing to pay.  Sniping is the only way to let the chips fall where they may.  I get it or I don't.  Either outcome is better than letting people sit there and decide they can afford another ten dollars.  Bidding early is like waving a giant pricetag telling the rookies how much a game is worth.  It's like playing Clue:  If you know it's Ms. Scarlet with the candlestick, stopping guessing Ms. Scarlet and the candlestick!  Otherwise everyone else at the table will know you're on to something.

I don't understand why people feel like possessions are stolen from them when they're outbid.  This premature sense of ownership that high bidders feel is the reason auctions became popular in the first place - it needlessly drives the price up.  

I don't mean to sound harsh, Bigus.  I hope you find your game and hopefully you weren't sniped by a reseller, but sniping has been around forever.  It's easy to do price research these days and it's not like we're chained to a desktop computers with a dial-up modems anymore.  Set your limit, bid late, and you'll get better deals.  Good luck.

[roflmao]

I'm with vestcunt on this.

[TheClash603]

Ebay should work like some of the other auction sites.  If there is a bid with less than 5 minutes left, bidding should be extended for 5 more minutes.

[BlueBMW]

Ebay should work like some of the other auction sites.  If there is a bid with less than 5 minutes left, bidding should be extended for 5 more minutes.

Wow, now that would be interesting....

[thesteve]

the only way i get a good deal on ebay any more is to find something that's about to end and grab it.
if i bid early the price will go up, or i lose it.

[BigusSchmuck]

I understand what you guys are saying, but if an item has less than 15 seconds on it, then I know for a fact that its the seller not wanting to sell it for that price I was willing to bid for. At any rate, going to avoid ebay like a plague now.

[Supremo_Lagarto]

Hey, I'm a last minute bidder!

Don't hate.

[BlueBMW]

I'll be honest, I toss in the max I'm willing to pay when there are about 8 seconds left.  If I get it, I get it, if someone bid higher, they can have it.

[VestCunt]

I understand what you guys are saying, but if an item has less than 15 seconds on it, then I know for a fact that its the seller not wanting to sell it for that price I was willing to bid for. At any rate, going to avoid ebay like a plague now.

I've been buying and selling on ebay since '98 and the thought of sellers sniping their own auctions has never seemed very practical.  Neither have I seen much evidence to suggest it happens.  Maybe it used to be more common, but all of the jerks who don't know their games' worth just use BIN/BO these days.  

Seriously, a lot of people snipe.  Like Dan said, probably 25% of all bids on ebay happen in the last couple minutes.  A lot of sellers may gouge prices, but most people are still honest.  Also, judging from what my mom recently went through to get signed up, creating two accounts looks like it would be a pain in the butt these days.   Sellers who don't go the BIN route and are willing to wait seven days for an auction probably just want to sell their crap and get paid, not milk every last cent from the market.

For those just tuning in, here's a summary of sniping habits thus far:
*Supremo_Lagarto bids with <60 seconds left
*The item's seller bids with 15 seconds left
*BlueBMW bids with 8 seconds left
*VestCunt bids with 5 seconds left

Clearly, the secret to success is bidding with 4 seconds left!

[roflmao]

Well if we're keeping a record, I typically wait until there are 6 seconds left.

[BlueBMW]

My trouble is that I'm usually bidding from my Phone and there can be a bit of lag.  Now if I'm on my computer... I hit it around 3-4 seconds.

[Supremo_Lagarto]

Bid shelling is something else entirely. I despise sellers who do that. One way to minimize bid shelling it is to NEVER add an item to a watch list. Many sellers will start to bid against their own item using a shell once they notice it has watchers.  Just bookmark it in your browser.

I understand what you guys are saying, but if an item has less than 15 seconds on it, then I know for a fact that its the seller not wanting to sell it for that price I was willing to bid for. At any rate, going to avoid ebay like a plague now.

I've been buying and selling on ebay since '98 and the thought of sellers sniping their own auctions has never seemed very practical.  Neither have I seen much evidence to suggest it happens.  Maybe it used to be more common, but all of the jerks who don't know their games' worth just use BIN/BO these days.  

Seriously, a lot of people snipe.  Like Dan said, probably 25% of all bids on ebay happen in the last couple minutes.  A lot of sellers may gouge prices, but most people are still honest.  Also, judging from what my mom recently went through to get signed up, creating two accounts looks like it would be a pain in the butt these days.   Sellers who don't go the BIN route and are willing to wait seven days for an auction probably just want to sell their crap and get paid, not milk every last cent from the market.

For those just tuning in, here's a summary of sniping habits thus far:
*Supremo_Lagarto bids with <60 seconds left
*The item's seller bids with 15 seconds left
*BlueBMW bids with 8 seconds left
*vestcunt bids with 5 seconds left

Clearly, the secret to success is bidding with 4 seconds left!

Actually, if I suspect bid shelling I will keep bidding until the item's price is much higher than I would ever pay. That way the seller gets to pay a larger fee for winning his own item from himself. That doesn't mean I back out of the transaction if I win, it just means that the seller thinks I'm REALLY, REALLY interested and will hang himself.

[CGQuarterly]

I use eSnipe, and it places the bid with like 6 seconds left.  That was I can set it up as soon as I see the item.  I just type in the maximum that I'm willing to pay, and everything else is taken care of.  Usually I get outbid, but sometimes I score some great deals.  I've been able to purchase quite a few of my TurboGrafx games that way, for a lot less than the usual going rate.  Especially if the auction ends in the middle of a work day.

So I'm sorry that you don't like last minute bids, but that's how the game is played these days.

Chris

[SignOfZeta]

You people are fucking stupid. Just put the max you will pay, it doesn't matter when, then wait for the email to come telling you won or lost. It really is that simple. Anyone who can't understand this super simple concept is probably the kind of guy who plays with the refrigerator for hours on end trying to figure out how if and when the light goes out.

WTF people...

If you are willing to pay $20, enter a $20 bid. If you are willing to pay $20.32, enter $20.32. If you are willing to pay $3 million, enter a $3 million bid. The process is fully automated.

Some on. Seriously.

[BlueBMW]

I think the advantage to bidding right near the end of an auction leaves little time for an incremental bidder to react.  If everyone just put one max bid in, it wouldn't matter when the bids came in.  But since there are many reactionary bidders out there, sniping works.

[nat]

I'm with Zeta here, although I've sniped before in unusual circumstances.

I know far in advance the maximum I will pay for an item, and it doesn't make much sense to wait until the very end to throw my bid into the mix. The reactionary bidders are there either way, and they are extremely stupid. It apparently doesn't occur to them that engaging in back-and-forth bidding wars only helps in quadrupling the price they'll get to pay for the item if they end up winning. I don't see much point in sniping usually, since I'm not going to increase my ceiling on an item based on what the meathead mouth-breathers have bid the item up to.

[roflmao]

My thinking is in alignment w/ BlueBMW.  If someone were to bid early the max they are willing to pay, someone is often bound to come along and bid one increment higher. But if you put off to the last minute to make your maximum bid without giving an opportunity for a higher bid, you're truly letting the chips fall where they may.

[Supremo_Lagarto]

You people are fucking stupid.

Oh wow.  I think I'm in the wrong forums.

[Edmond Dantes]

I don't understand the anti-eBay sentiments.  Yes, sometimes its annoying and you feel gypped when you didn't get an item for a good price (or at all, rather), but well...

Honestly, my biggest issue was I never heard of eSnipe, so I always thought you literally had to be present to bid on things.  This led to so many times where I missed an item I actually wanted to bid on, for no other reason than because I wasn't home.

[Bernie]

This is not true at all.  I have waited till the last few seconds to win certain items before on Ebay.  Do I like to do it, not really.  Its a pain, but if I really want something, I take the time to try and get it.  I have found, like others here, that bidding early half of the time means you gonna lose out.    Now, I will put in an initial bid before doing that tho.  I go back in the last few seconds to put in some insurance if I feel its needed.

I understand what you guys are saying, but if an item has less than 15 seconds on it, then I know for a fact that its the seller not wanting to sell it for that price I was willing to bid for. At any rate, going to avoid ebay like a plague now.

As far as calling people "fucking stupid"  for the way they choose to use ebay; well thats just lame.  Maybe if someone cant understand that by entering the max you are willing to pay, that another bidder will just continue to bid until they are the highest bidder, even if only by a few cents, then that someone should inspect their own intelligence level.    Calling people stupid for the way they choose to try and bid on something is just not cool.  I believe we are all aware of how much these games are worth, and what the max bid we are willing to put in during the last few seconds.

[DragonmasterDan]

I think the advantage to bidding right near the end of an auction leaves little time for an incremental bidder to react.  If everyone just put one max bid in, it wouldn't matter when the bids came in.  But since there are many reactionary bidders out there, sniping works.

Exactly, this is the reason people snipe. I'll snipe if it's something I really want. If it's something I want, but am not as determined to get. I'll place my max bid a ways before and if I win, I win. If I lose then it was more than I wanted to pay.

[sheath]

In my opinion, and unfortunately some experience, the dishonest sellers jack the price up by having friends bid earlier on in the auction.  Those same friends won't tend to jack the price up past the 10 seconds left mark because their pal would have to pay the ebay fees to relist. 

I've always either just used buy it now or waited until the last 10 seconds to enter my maximum bid.  Every time I haven't waited somebody else jacked the price even higher than my maximum bid, or I ended up paying too much (i.e. more than usual) for the game.

[Arkhan Asylum]

I use Yayhoo.Japan since there is no such thing as bid sniping and tool-bidding.

its worth the fees usually

[MasonSushi]

i have had this happen many times to me. Sometimes if I am board, i might try sniping, but its to avoid the seller jacking the prices. More often than not, I get burned by the automated bidding programs, but i might score something every once in a while.

For the longest time I Ebayed like Zeta suggested. I just put my max bid in and then waited. It was amazing that i always paid my max bid, or i got way over bidded by all the snipers at the end of the auction. To have a fair chance I had to go last minute bids, or BINs.

[thesteve]

i snipe at times, mainly to try to close before the reactionary bids respond.
its not that i am trying to insure i win, just that i get the best price if i do

[futureman2000]

Holy crap, Yahoo.japan.... never thought to look there.

[Supremo_Lagarto]

I've been using eBay for about 9 years. I don't put in the max amount that I want to pay for an item. I usually find about five to ten listings of the same item. I follow them through bookmarks on my browser (watch-list alerts the seller of demand in their control panel, so I don't use that). I put in a reasonable bid at the last minute and may raise the max by five to ten dollars. About a tenth of the time I win. That may seem like long odds, but if you do the arithmetic it isn't.

However, if I notice obvious bid shelling, sometimes I will actually bid considerably over what I would actually be willing to pay (but in small increments) just to see if the seller is dumb enough to keep bidding against me with his shells. I'm pretty sure that a few months ago a seller bidding against himself bid over $100 on a Phenom 9550 CPU. I bought the same CPU from another seller for about $46, but it was fun to mess with the guy was trying to rip me off. Due to eBay's exorbitant fees he wasted a nice chunk of change.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

You people are fucking stupid.

At least some of us are smart enough to understand that some people will competitively bid something beyond reasonable prices just to 'win'.  Obviously it won't always work due to other snipers or a previously set higher max bid, but why give 'em a chance to react at all?

Some on. Seriously.

At least I can spell 'come'.

[VestCunt]

I think the advantage to bidding right near the end of an auction leaves little time for an incremental bidder to react.  If everyone just put one max bid in, it wouldn't matter when the bids came in.  But since there are many reactionary bidders out there, sniping works.

Exactly.  I'm kind of surprised that Nat, Zeta, and others don't think sniping is effective.  Dorky?  Yes.  Waste of time?  Maybe, but it certainly saves money.

I can't count the number of times I've seen fairly valuable items sitting in auctions for low amounts.  If there aren't many early bidders and the price remains unusually low, people begin to underestimate the item's value and don't expect sudden bid increases.  Every time I bid early and lose an auction, I look at the history and, sure enough, there was some reactionary idiot bidding away in the last two minutes: "$25? Nope...hmmm...$28.99?  Nope.  Golly, let's see here, $31.28??"
 

You people are fucking stupid.

Oh wow.  I think I'm in the wrong forums.

Don't take it personally.  Zeta's a stand-up guy, but he doesn't mince words.  I got into it with him once, but I've since realized he's always right.  This little discussion about hovering over our computers to snipe kids toys on ebay was due for a reality check.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

This little discussion about hovering over our computers to snipe kids toys on ebay was due for a reality check.

If only someone would invent software that'd place last second bids automatically....

[MotherGunner]

No one person is "always right" (nothing against Zeta).

[Dyna138]

I learned a long time ago if you want to get any kind of deal on Ebay you have to snipe auctions. If you outbid someone early they might decide to bid an amount they didn't plan to just because they've been "outbid" and now have some desperate need to have that item. It's like vestcunt said in his post people get a premature sense of ownership and tend to retaliate when they've been outbid. Everyone bidding within the last 10 seconds seems to be the best way to do it, everyone lays their cards on the table and whoever bids the highest wins the item. If I get outbid I think big deal there'll always be more where that came from.

[RR1980]

Also with bidding on auctions alot of times people end up bidding more than they were going to in the begining because towards the end of the auction they kinda feel like "well I already have this much in I might as well go this much more" so bidders alot of times end up going into bidding wars. There's been a number of times where I listed an item as BIN at a certain price and it didn't sell then I would list it as an auction and the auction would end up going for more money than my original BIN price.

[nat]

I think the advantage to bidding right near the end of an auction leaves little time for an incremental bidder to react.  If everyone just put one max bid in, it wouldn't matter when the bids came in.  But since there are many reactionary bidders out there, sniping works.

Exactly.  I'm kind of surprised that Nat, Zeta, and others don't think sniping is effective.  Dorky?  Yes.  Waste of time?  Maybe, but it certainly saves money.

What? In what way does it 'save money?' I've observed it, in fact, does the exact opposite.

Others here are making cases in favor of sniping and yet seem oblivious to the fact they're actually outlining many of my arguments against it.

Also with bidding on auctions alot of times people end up bidding more than they were going to in the begining because towards the end of the auction they kinda feel like "well I already have this much in I might as well go this much more" so bidders alot of times end up going into bidding wars.

Bidding wars are idiotic, and I question anyone who enters into them, unless you happen to be someone with a limitless supply of currency. If that's the case, then.... more power to you. I want no part of them, and participating in end-of-auction shenanigans would seem to increase the chance of involvement.

If you outbid someone early they might decide to bid an amount they didn't plan to just because they've been "outbid" and now have some desperate need to have that item. It's like vestcunt said in his post people get a premature sense of ownership and tend to retaliate when they've been outbid. Everyone bidding within the last 10 seconds seems to be the best way to do it, everyone lays their cards on the table and whoever bids the highest wins the item.

The way I see it, the bidding wars and reactionary bids are going to happen regardless of when I place my bid.

Since the maximum I'm willing to pay for an item is determined in advance, and has absolutely no bearing on what dopey bid war mongers and reactionaries might bid an item up to, it makes little sense to wait until the final moments to place my bid.

Maybe if someone cant understand that by entering the max you are willing to pay, that another bidder will just continue to bid until they are the highest bidder, even if only by a few cents, then that someone should inspect their own intelligence level.    

Huh? When I bid the max I'm willing to pay, I'm bidding the max I'm willing to pay. If someone else is willing to pay more than me, that doesn't mean I'm going to increase my maximum to outbid them. That would mean my initial bid.... wasn't really a "maximum."

You see the problem with this mentality is it is exactly what fuels bidding wars. Bidding wars and sniping in general only encourage you, as a buyer, to spend more than you should. You might "win" the item, but the only REAL winner in these scenarios is the seller.

I guess it really all depends on your priorities. If all you care about is winning the item, at any cost, then sniping would seem to definitely be the most effective method. Me, I'm more concerned with not overpaying for stuff, not supporting gougers, and finding the absolute best possible deals. Sniping, by its very nature, would seem to be the antithesis of this mentality.

Also, people have lamented about being forced to pay their max bid when they bid early. This doesn't make sense to me. My maximum is never usually so high that I would regret paying it. My ceilings would actually be considered extremely miserly by most people here. If you don't want to pay high, don't bid high. It's that simple. You're not going to win every time. Maybe not even half the time, depending on what you're bidding on. But I guarantee you'll save in the long run, and you'll save yourself a migraine or two along the way.

(All that said, yeah, I've sniped an auction or two in my time in extreme circumstances on, uh, very "special" items. It should also be noted that these auctions I sniped ended up being some of the most expensive transactions for me.)

[Samurai Ghost]

Yeah I only use Yahoo Japan auctions, but I'm in Japan.
But their bidding system is pretty good. On most auctions if you bid sometime in the last 10 minutes the end of the auction will automatically be extended for 10 more minutes. This can occasionally lead to annoying bidding wars that draw out the end of the auction by an hour or more, but at least it gives everyone a chance to bid how much they want and feel out the other bidders.

[Edmond Dantes]

I'm jealous of you people who are in Japan.  I really am.  You get a more complete PC-Engine and SFC library.  I mean seriously, I think the only America-exclusive games the Turbo had were Beyond Shadowgate and AD&D:  Order of the Griffon, and while I'm sure they're decent games... those, versus the likes of Ys and Langrisser, its just no contest.  And then there's all those classic anime.  Much as I love Thundercats and He-Man, I would rather have grown up watching Dragon Ball, Mashin Eiyuden Wataru, GoShogun and the non-shitty version of Go Lion.

I was born in the wrong country...

Oh, I'm sorry, did I interrupt some debate about eBay?  My apologies.  Go right ahead.  Forget I'm here.

[SignOfZeta]

I think I've figured this sniping thing out. Its a classic Man Versus Self situation.

The reason you can't just bid your max and walk away is that you don't actually know what your max is. You should. You need to know yourself before you can know the world around you.

And here's the real mind fuck...

Most of the people complaining about snipers are....


...are you ready for this...?


...they themselves are the snipers as well. Its like Blade Runner up in this bitch!

Seriously, three morons bid 32 times in the last 5 minutes of an auction, all three of them complaining that the others are snipers. Like crabs in a fucking bucket, I tell you.

Figure out what your max bid is. Your max for what you will pay. Maybe its $20, maybe its $22.50, maybe is $225,250, whatever it doesn't matter. Enter the value, walk away, either win or lose. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT ANY OTHER EBAYER DOES. If you truly bid your max, then you were truly outbid, and always would be, regardless of how many people bid what and when.

Its really is that simple. It really really really is.

Anything else is like...that guy you know who is always moving the gear lever in his automatic transmission-equiped car for no apparent reason.

[DragonmasterDan]

I think I've figured this sniping thing out. Its a classic Man Versus Self situation.

The reason you can't just bid your max and walk away is that you don't actually know what your max is. You should. You need to know yourself before you can know the world around you.

And here's the real mind fuck...

Most of the people complaining about snipers are....


...are you ready for this...?


...they themselves are the snipers as well. Its like Blade Runner up in this bitch!

Seriously, three morons bid 32 times in the last 5 minutes of an auction, all three of them complaining that the others are snipers. Like crabs in a fucking bucket, I tell you.

Figure out what your max bid is. Your max for what you will pay. Maybe its $20, maybe its $22.50, maybe is $225,250, whatever it doesn't matter. Enter the value, walk away, either win or lose. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT ANY OTHER EBAYER DOES. If you truly bid your max, then you were truly outbid, and always would be, regardless of how many people bid what and when.

Its really is that simple. It really really really is.

Anything else is like...that guy you know who is always moving the gear lever in his automatic transmission-equiped car for no apparent reason.

Yep, people snipe because it limits retaliatory bids to a few second window if they get the high bid. Then people complain about it. I see sniping as part of the system of ebay at this point. I also like the fact that everyone has universally accepted the term "sniping" I started using it 9-10 years ago, I don't know where everyone else picked it up from but it's in wide use now.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Seriously, three morons bid 32 times in the last 5 minutes of an auction, all three of them complaining that the others are snipers. Like crabs in a fucking bucket, I tell you.

If you bid more than once, it's not sniping.  Duh.

Figure out what your max bid is. Your max for what you will pay. Maybe its $20, maybe its $22.50, maybe is $225,250, whatever it doesn't matter. Enter the value, walk away, either win or lose.

That's exactly what I'm doing, the only difference being that nobody else knows that I'm interested in bidding until it's too late to increase their bids.

[SamIAm]

Ebay bidding is a very complex psychological game.

If I bid early, it's only when I'm the first bidder, because I want to establish in other people's minds that there will be competition for the item if they want it. This is to scare them away.

If I bid early, I'll also bid far below my max because I want anyone who outbids me to feel comfortable, like their only competition must not have wanted the item very much. When they take the high bidder spot like this, they are not likely to boost their bid very high, which is beneficial for me if I plan on sniping them.

It's all about creating that false sense of comfort and low-competition in the minds of people who decide to go against you.

Also, I don't think anyone has a clear max for items most of the time. Between the "no-regret price" and the "definite-regret price" is a gray area that can shift around depending on all kinds of circumstantial and emotional factors. The only way it's easy to decide on X amount is either if that's all you've got, or if you're 100% certain you can get the same item from another source for the same price.

EDIT: I do think that Yahoo.jp's 10-minute system is a good idea.

[Sparky]

Well even sparky used ebay way back in the day and are you ready for it?... i am with zeta and nat on this one, Well in the area of bidding your max early that is,
but hey you have to love when zeta goes off on a rant he always some how brings cars into the meaning

Anyway for me, your not fooling anyone that you have found "the game" that everyone else missed and you sitting there with a loaded finger to press at the last second will make all the differnece.

Look, I used to drop my close to max bid anywhere from a day up to 5 minutes, and then to scare off others i would drop my max bid and bid against myself!!! oh yeah......this way they would think i was a crazy bastard and if they bid against me they would be in for a battle to the very end... hahahahaha... i actually did that as i thought i had the answer to ebay, like that even works and sounds ridiculous... everyone thinks they have the trick to ebay so what ever works for ya but when your sick of it the f@ck ebay club will be waiting

hugs

<<edit for my damn spelling>>