Is ebay about to end all sniping?

[greggy]

I can't fairly compete without sniping software as most auctions end at 4 AM for me...and even if I stay up, I'm not as fit and dexterous then as I should be to manually snipe

 

Why don't you just decide on a price, and bid it before you go to bed?

 

Because it leaves you open to shilling...especially with the new "hide-IDs" that ebay uses and it shows your hand too early.

Or have bitter bidders bid up their eBay nemesis because their bid is outbid.

 

In my Ebay favorites, I have a description of the Seller to remind me of what transactions there have been. Next to Ebay seller "greggy" it says, "My Ebay nemesis."

 

You always won when you wanted to.

No, I haven't

 

Well first of all, I'm talking about comics . . .

 

Still, I didn't win the 9.6 Demon 1 from Bobcat. Not that you won but still.

You're too cheap to pay that much so stop acting coy.

[rodan57]

I've never used any of them so, if you don't mind, another question ... what's the difference between sniping and setting a max bid by simply putting it into the auction on eBay?

 

Meaning, setting sniping software at $100 and putting a bit in of $100 when the current price is twenty bucks or so ...

 

If you enter a maximum early on, other bidders can pick away at it, increasing the amount you have to pay.

 

If you hold off on entering your maximum or use a sniping service, your maximum only comes into play to beat another bid.

 

Dennis

[Artboy99]

using sniping software sucks. I hope they can end the practice.

 

If you want an item...bid on it and sit your tail in front of the computer til the auction ends.

 

using sniping software is cheating.

 

I agree completely, my concern here is that me sitting in front of my computer and manually placing my bid at the last 3 seconds is sniping is it not?

By putting a ban on sniping I would like to have more clarification on what that actually means.

 

Artboy99

[nik]

My take is

 

sniping suks when you get outbid

 

sniping rocks when you win

[marvelcollector]

I can't fairly compete without sniping software as most auctions end at 4 AM for me...and even if I stay up, I'm not as fit and dexterous then as I should be to manually snipe

 

Why don't you just decide on a price, and bid it before you go to bed?

 

Because it leaves you open to shilling...especially with the new "hide-IDs" that ebay uses and it shows your hand too early.

 

OK, I just don't get this....

 

What's the difference between being outbid by a shill and a legitimate bidder?

 

And if the price goes higher than you want to pay, what should you care?

Then why should you care when someone outbids you in the last ten seconds or a day earlier?

 

I don't.

 

It's just irritating to know all the activity takes place in the last minute and you can never guage your chances during the auction.

[Dick Pontoon]

This thread is an eye-opener for me. I had no idea so many folks here were against sniping.

[Pitboss]

My take is

 

sniping suks when you get outbid

 

sniping rocks when you win

 

[Transplant]

If you enter a maximum early on, other bidders can pick away at it, increasing the amount you have to pay.

 

If you hold off on entering your maximum or use a sniping service, your maximum only comes into play to beat another bid.

 

Dennis

This is really the issue. Your bid might be destined to win regardless of whether by snipe or early bid. The difference is that sniping allows you to avoid re-bids by other bidders. Theoretically, it shouldn't make any difference if bidders place their max in advance by sniping software or direct entry on Ebay. It only affects bidders who decide to increase their max bids.

 

I think sniping works to the benefit of sellers and buyers. Sellers get people bidding who think their max is a bargain but only if they don't have to go against other renegotiating bidders. This may not be true but at least the bidder bids and doesn't try to wait and then misses the auction end. Buyers benefit for just the reason above. They don't have to be at the computer at the end. Further, buyers get the perception that they will not pay a higher price due to "emotional" bidders. Finally, as greggy pointed out, there is less chance for punishment bids if you don't have to make your identity known early on.

[dekeuk]

 

Ebay probably mistakenly believes that sniping is lowering final prices on auctions. Ebay wants to get back to the "good old days" of 1997-2000 when everyone overpaid for everything on ebay by insane amounts. I sold some "collectible junk" in the late 1990's for over $100 that I couldn't get $10 for these days.

 

But ebay was a novelty back then, and bidders are smarter now. Lower bids these days have nothing to do with the fact everyone is sniping.

 

 

 

 

[snitzer]

This'll never happen, of course, but the best company in position to compete may be Craigslist as folks are already trained to go there to look for goods. But the mission won't allow it.

 

Maybe Amazon starting small, like a "liquidation auction" or something where they sell bulk "leftovers" ... might not be a bad way to test the market.

 

eBay is an investor in Craigslist

[GACollectibles]

Never have used/been a fan of sniping, but I understand that it's use has evolved in response to the imperfect system that is eBay and brings to mind some thoughts:

 

1) In regards to one of the biggest system flaws if it were possible to know you could bid and not be outbid by the use of a shill there would be less risk in bidding well in advance. Punishment bids & bidders creeping up their highest bids due to perceived value once something is bid on(even if it is more than one was willing to pay in the first place) can be grouped in this category and are avoided by using sniping programs.

 

2) Everyone wants to pay what they are comfortable with, but there are also purchases made on the basis that is is a "deal". If an item isn't bid on until the last moment, the "perceived value" is less to most viewers and less likely to attract attention, resulting in a possible lower winning bid. If everyone used sniping this "advantage" would be eliminated.

 

If there were to be a drop off in bidding once sniping is eliminated, I think a good portion of the reason is the flawed eBay system itself, without confidence that auctions are on the up & up(already compromised by the way bidders are displayed in an auction, you can't tell who they are on larger $$ items) there will be reduced interest in submitting full value bids that one might submit in a more secure process. Ultimately eBay is responsible for bidders finding a way to feel safer with their bids.

 

Anyway,

Go Pats!

 

End of

[GACollectibles]

Ebay probably mistakenly believes that sniping is lowering final prices on auctions. Ebay wants to get back to the "good old days" of 1997-2000 when everyone overpaid for everything on ebay by insane amounts. I sold some "collectible junk" in the late 1990's for over $100 that I couldn't get $10 for these days.

 

But ebay was a novelty back then, and bidders are smarter now. Lower bids these days have nothing to do with the fact everyone is sniping.

 

 

 

 

The higher prices back then were largely in part to items being available that people didn't have access to before, and as the popularity of the site grew and the source/number of items grew substantially, items that were once "scarce" were now commonplace.

[greggy]

Ebay probably mistakenly believes that sniping is lowering final prices on auctions. Ebay wants to get back to the "good old days" of 1997-2000 when everyone overpaid for everything on ebay by insane amounts. I sold some "collectible junk" in the late 1990's for over $100 that I couldn't get $10 for these days.

 

But ebay was a novelty back then, and bidders are smarter now. Lower bids these days have nothing to do with the fact everyone is sniping.

 

 

 

 

The higher prices back then were largely in part to items being available that people didn't have access to before, and as the popularity of the site grew and the source/number of items grew substantially, items that were once "scarce" were now commonplace.

Ummmm...things were CHEAP back in the day.

[GACollectibles]

Ebay probably mistakenly believes that sniping is lowering final prices on auctions. Ebay wants to get back to the "good old days" of 1997-2000 when everyone overpaid for everything on ebay by insane amounts. I sold some "collectible junk" in the late 1990's for over $100 that I couldn't get $10 for these days.

 

But ebay was a novelty back then, and bidders are smarter now. Lower bids these days have nothing to do with the fact everyone is sniping.

 

 

 

 

The higher prices back then were largely in part to items being available that people didn't have access to before, and as the popularity of the site grew and the source/number of items grew substantially, items that were once "scarce" were now commonplace.

Ummmm...things were CHEAP back in the day.

 

Referring to higher prices on items that now receive lower bids. Many things that I was able to sell were for crazy money(over $100 for magazine ad for Buck Rogers toy that I couldn't sell for a nickel today, other examples to go along with generally common stuff that yes, sold at cheaper prices) as they were highly inaccessable in the collecting marketplace beforehand.

[armydoc]

perceived value once something is bid on

 

This is part of why I snipe. Some of the stuff I bid on is only bid on by a small # of the same bidders. It seems that as soon as someone of that group bids, the percieved value of the item increases and attracts more bids by the others. I don't like people knowing that I want to add an item to my collection in advance. As stated previously, I also have little faith in people and I think shill bidding is rampant in our hobby (which sniping protects you from).

[GACollectibles]

perceived value once something is bid on

 

This is part of why I snipe. Some of the stuff I bid on is only bid on by a small # of the same bidders. It seems that as soon as someone of that group bids, the percieved value of the item increases and attracts more bids by the others. I don't like people knowing that I want to add an item to my collection in advance. As stated previously, I also have no faith in people and I think shill bidding is rampant in our hobby (which sniping protects you from).

 

Ah yes, hence the motto "People Suck".

[armydoc]

perceived value once something is bid on

 

This is part of why I snipe. Some of the stuff I bid on is only bid on by a small # of the same bidders. It seems that as soon as someone of that group bids, the percieved value of the item increases and attracts more bids by the others. I don't like people knowing that I want to add an item to my collection in advance. As stated previously, I also have no faith in people and I think shill bidding is rampant in our hobby (which sniping protects you from).

 

Ah yes, hence the motto "People Suck".

 

I guess so. Damn, my post does seem pretty negative when I reread it.

[greggy]

Ebay probably mistakenly believes that sniping is lowering final prices on auctions. Ebay wants to get back to the "good old days" of 1997-2000 when everyone overpaid for everything on ebay by insane amounts. I sold some "collectible junk" in the late 1990's for over $100 that I couldn't get $10 for these days.

 

But ebay was a novelty back then, and bidders are smarter now. Lower bids these days have nothing to do with the fact everyone is sniping.

 

 

 

 

The higher prices back then were largely in part to items being available that people didn't have access to before, and as the popularity of the site grew and the source/number of items grew substantially, items that were once "scarce" were now commonplace.

Ummmm...things were CHEAP back in the day.

 

Referring to higher prices on items that now receive lower bids. Many things that I was able to sell were for crazy money(over $100 for magazine ad for Buck Rogers toy that I couldn't sell for a nickel today, other examples to go along with generally common stuff that yes, sold at cheaper prices) as they were highly inaccessable in the collecting marketplace beforehand.

No my fault you are behind in the times.

[DrWatson]

This thread is an eye-opener for me. I had no idea so many folks here were against sniping.

They aren't against sniping. They are against losing.

[greggy]

This thread is an eye-opener for me. I had no idea so many folks here were against sniping.

They aren't against sniping. They are against losing.

Word