Trick Of Year

[Jack Russell]

eBay

Got email eBay notice sale ended in three hrs. At this time I was the winning bider. It had got to my max bid. I knew there was no way I could win at that amount bided. I was set for the last min. bid. Up comes ONE Min. before auction ended. I clicked on the winning bid. I could not believe the trick pulled on me. Instead of confirm bid I was asked my I D and Password. I email eBay how un fair this trick was. No reply ---(very uncouth)

After auction ends you can see what each bid was. That is how I know I won with the amount bid at last min.

eBay is very very BIG and could care less if I won or not >As all of you know the saying ONE MONKEY don!t stop the show :Monkey:

 

[jokers]

Hi Jack,

Sorry to hear of your eBay grief. As you no doubt figured out, clicking the auction link in an email sent to you does not automatically log you in. What you decribe doing is an attempt at "snipe" bidding and is very unscrupulous, I would never do this myself. If I were however to attempt this, I would log into eBay directly an access the auction through "My eBay". There are other tricks as well as services that will help you with snipe bidding, but because of their "unscrupulous" nature, I`ll leave those details for you to find elsewhere. :angel:

Russ

 

[balaban9331]

bidding

i always bid at the end.maybe not down to the last second,but pretty close.i found that you just drive the price up too much bidding before.i'll agree with maas,put your maximum bid and hope that someone doesn't want to pay more.if they do,you'll get them next time.there are always more items to bid on.robert.

 

[eyolf]

I seldom even look at ebay anymore. It is just too much risk, a lot of bother and effort, weeding out the unscrupulous thieves peddling their junk there.

MY policy previously was to decide what the item was worth to me and bid that amount. Say what you want, but sniping is unfair to those who play the game honestly, or who must limit their time online.

And that says a great deal about those who snipe.

 

[Al Smith]

Snipes

It also helps if you have a fast connection,and a fast puter,or so I'm told.:angel:

 

[Jack Russell]

No Snipe

Item was listed for six days. Had bided on it until I was High bidder. I knew that item was going for more than I bided.As all you Good Buddies know some one will wait to the last min. to bid
By the way I had gone through My eBay. eBay knew my I D and Password. There was no reason not to let me confirm my bid. By the time eBay stalled me from biding auction was closed

You know what that made me mad.

 

[Derek]

ebayseemssus

G'day...I have only been to ebay this last week..Tring to replace some stolen climbing gear..

The first thing i noticed is the same item by the same seller seems to be everywhere.. Then you have all the "buy nows"
Thats just adds, nothing to do with "auction"..

Then i have found that slightly different searches give so many different results, nothing seems to be "linked"

I have been to many "live" auctions before, and you never know if the auctioner took a bid from someone swatting flies,or his mate or the vendor...But at least your there...Ebay just seems a bit sus to me..I did bid on the only harness (worldwide?)
a nice looking blue petzl full body harness (jock_dude),Although I think it's for glaicer work, but I was despret, and it seemed cheap at the time...As soon as I put in a bid up would pop "You have been outbibbed" I put in another, same thing,and another,

I realize now the proxy bids are automatic,but all this "spipe"? ill go and read mikes link and will know a lot more..I can see that only experinced people are going to win a bid..

I'm glad now i've been out bidded. I have a harness comming up from Aussie..Is it my searching or is there only the antique climbing spikes available world wide? could someone eles have a go? I thought the site had just about anything...Derek...

 

[Chris J.]

Different strategies for different circumstances

I always go to my eBay first, that way I have to log-in; better safe than sorry. I've used to do the last minute sniping by going just over the high bid, but that didn't allow much time to increase my bid when someone else already had in a higher max bid.

The best strategy that I've found is to decide the max that I'm willing to pay, then place my max bid with two minutes left (making certain that I'm seeing the real auction time). That way if someone's bid goes over my max, oh well they were willing to spend more than me. This strategy also helps to fend off the last minute bidders who are only willing to enter the minimum above the current winning bid.

If the item is something that I really want, then my strategy changes. I put in a high max bid (but not too early in the auction), then wait & hope that no one else pushes the bidding that high. If possible, I closely watch the last 15 minutes of the auction so that I'll have time to up my bid if I want/need to. Of course monitoring the auction isn't always possible.

Some times you win the item, other times you see the item go to another bidder (deeper pockets and/or a better strategy). That's ebay.

 

[pallis]

When it comes to bidding, the more unscrupulous you can get, the better. Always wait until about the last 45 seconds of the auction, and bid the maximum amount you are willing to go, or get one of the unscrupulous services to do it for you. Lacking any scruples at all, I prefer to do it myself.

Derek,
If you look on eBay long enough, you'll probably find your stolen gear.

 

[stihltech]

ebay

Great place. Used 029 gets 320.00 when new ones go for 299.99 everyday at a dealer. What a money saver!

 

[eyolf]

<i>How do you come up with the idea that sniping is un ethical or dishonest?</i>

Well, many people seem to agree with that premise. In a live auction, where people are competing with each other for an item and the auctioneer is trying to whip up interest and maybe even fool the bidders into believing there may even be greater competition, everyone can see what is going on.

What can be seen on ebay?

It's a rigged game, rigged in the favor of the store (ebay), first, and the seller, 2nd. So people try to figure out "cheats"...don't bid until the last possible second to avoid paying too much. Playing with more than one sniping service, hoping to choke out the other bidders (remember, even ebay's massive banks of computers have limits)... all in hope of swinging things back in one's own favor.

But it's still cheating.

It's the same reason that drugs are frowned upon in the olympics. Maybe we should just be competing based on whose body can metabolize the largest doses of steroids.


Remember, two or more wrangling over an item on ebay is still competition. But there's something disgusting and immoral in competing at cheating.

And in the end, the house (ebay) wins first, and the as$wipe that stole your stereo or chainsaw wins second.

 

[sedanman]

In a live auction the bidding ends when no higher bids are placed, if the bidding never stopped neither would the auction. In an online auction, the auction ends at a point in time, a FIXED point in time. I see nothing wrong with bidding at the last possible second. The end time was common knowledge to all involved. Is filing your taxes at midnight on april 15 cheating?

 

[Derek]

nomoreforme

Thanks eyolf, you make an exelent point (S) I just lost all my stuff to theives..How do I know some prick in england hasent just done the same to somebody eles..No thanks I might be supporting wide spread crime rings by buying stuff over the net..

Are there any sort of security checks done?? How many items are there on it?

Whats the old expression , If its to good to be true it proberly is'nt..

bye bye ebay...

Stihltec, you could proberly get them in assorted colors to lol..
BARGIN

 

[Chris J.]

Last minute bidding isn't cheating

Ebay auctions have a set ending time. There is nothing wrong with keeping an eye on the auctions & the ending times, & then putting in your max bid at the wire. The bidding by proxy is there to help folks who aren't in the position to monitor the auctions-simply put in your max bid when you're able, & then hope for the best.

Ebay auctions aren't perfect-they do favor the bidders who are able to stay on-line & follow the bidding. Maybe the powers that be at eBay could end all auctions a little early, say randomly from 10 to 2 minutes early. That would thwart last minute bidders, but what would it do to the selling price? In some cases it would help by forcing people to show their hand before they want to, which would give other people the chance to overbid them. In other cases it would hurt the final price because some folks would decide not to bid, or drop out early, for fear of paying too much.

 

[pallis]

Sniping isn't cheating as long as every bidder can do it. Bidders who don't want to snipe, or can't be online when the item goes out can use a service, or they can simply bid the highest amount they are willing to go, and hope that they outbid the sniper. In a way, eBay snipes for you. If someone bids in the last 30 seconds, and your high bid is higher than theirs, they've been automatically sniped. It's the rules, the way the game is played. I promise I won't get mad if your highest bid beats mine. I never bid more than I think something is worth to me.

The bidders who chip away at an item until they finally beat the highest bid by the minimum amount are the ones who irritate me. If Joe bidder bids his highest and goes to work, he has a good chance of beating the last second sniper. A chipper will get you every time. When you get two or three guys chipping away on the same auction, the seller is the only winner. But, that's part of the game too.

 

[Jack Russell]

Scruple (eBay)

Every post has brought out good points are views about auctions.
This is why or one of the reasons this Site is so good the members will join in an express their opinion.

Question---When you have lodge in given your I D and password and waiting for the auction to get near the end to make your max. bid and you have one min. to bid. You enter your bid an GOOD Old eBay STOPS you in your track with I D an password I did that when I lodge in. In was Un Fair---I know for a fact You can not Beat a Man at His Own GAME(are can you)

 

[Chris J.]

I've never had that happen,

but now that I understand what you're saying, I have to say that I'd be really POd. Was there a long gap of inactivity from the time that you logged in? Have you tried asking eBay about it? I'd be interested in hearing their answer. Maybe eBay has enacted some measures to limit/thwart last minutes bidding?

My .02, Chris

 

[pallis]

Jack,
Okay! Since I'm home baby-sitting, and have all day long to snipe away on eBay, I'll try to answer your question. I think I know what you are talking about. You hit the bid now feature in your email, and it took you to a confirm bid page that requested your user name and password. It was probably safe, but I don't give out anything through e-mail. Your best bet is to set up your personal page with eBay. When you find an item you want to bid on, click on watch this item. That will put it in your items watched list. Bid your highest, or wait and snipe it at the last minute, or chip away on it, whichever you enjoy the most, or think will win the item for you. If you get an email that you've been outbid, just open your browser bookmarks, click on "My eBay" that you've bookmarked, find your item, and have fun. I'm here all day, so if this doesn't help, feel free to send me a PM. If I can't help you, I'll confuse you so much you won't care anymore.

Pat

 

[NeTree]

Sniping is alot of fun.

I have my Bronco listed on Ebay; no bids yet, but 67 people are watching it. This should be fun!

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

There are some online auctions that have a set ending time, but will extend that time by ten minutes if a bid comes in in the last ten minutes. It eliminates sniping. It gives the bidders time to bid again, just like a live auction.
The problem with that format is that it lacks popularity because you don't feel good as a buyer, you don't feel like you got a deal. Sniping attracts buyers.
As a seller, you want buyers.
Some sellers have shill bidders bid on their auction to drive up interest and prices. That's unethical and against the rules.

Eyewolf, i think you're trying to make eBay like a live auction, and it's not. It's more like a sealed bid auction. You don't know if you won or even what the other bids are until its over, when all the bids are checked by the computer.

If you still contend sniping is unethical, what exact amount of time would a late bid become a snipe? Ten minutes wouldn't help the guy at work without a computer, so what time?