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Stop it already

Started by moloch,

55 posts in this topic

Jagull

Jagull

Posted
Posted
And, some people actually have real lives *gasp*, so they don't want to have to "tune in" as an auction is ending to try to enter a last minute bid.

http://bidnip.com

 

you put in your max bid, set the sniping time (eg, 5 secs until auction close) and let it do it's thing. they send you an email confirmation if you won the auction

 

shy.gif

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icefires

icefires

Posted
Posted
Don't get mad...get even. Can you say "punishment bidding"? devil.gif

 

27_laughing.gif That's a good point! Hey, have you ever bid on an item because you've seen that a bidder as bid again, against themselves, to up their 1st bid? It might be dirty pool, but you know that you can hit one more time and still be the underbidder... devil.gif

 

... I'm sad to admit that I've played that game before, even on items that I have NO interest in. tongue.gif

 

Maybe I'm a meanie, but in those cases -- bidding early 2 times becomes fair game I say! tonofbricks.gif

 

That's interesting. Sometimes I play the same type of game, except the other way around. I will place a 2nd bid for only $1.00 more than my first bid, making people think I really want the book, when actually I really don't.

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marvelcollector

marvelcollector

Posted
Posted
I always bid early in the auction. If I don't win the book, I don't care. confused-smiley-013.gif

 

thumbsup2.gif agreed!!

 

Ditto. thumbsup2.gif

 

In fact, (speaking as a Buyer) I have a tinge of annoyance at people who can't decide what is the most they are willing to pay for an item, place the bid and walk away.

 

To wait till the end to bid is just a sign of insecurity or immaturity IMO...

 

Even as a seller I prefer to see early bids... confused-smiley-013.gif

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Scrooge

Scrooge

Posted
Posted
As a sometimes early bidder, it allows me to make sure I get a bid in to a book I really want. I'm absent-minded, and sometimes miss auctions. (And I don't care for sniping software.) Also, having a decent bid in early can sometimes 'scare off' casual bidders who lowball bids to see if they can get a book cheap.

 

I'm glad it was you who made those comments because I know we can have an honest discussion with you thumbsup2.gif so let me ask these few questions:

 

1) there is no difference in the final result to bidding early or setting the snipe at the same time: it helps your absent-mindedness and allows you not to miss that auction. The snipe has the added advantage of "hiding" your interest so why not use that method?

 

2) could you elaborate as to why you "don't care for sniping software"?

 

3) I would agree that generally an aggressive bid would deter competition, BUT the eBay system is not allowing for this deterence (sp?) factor since it uses an increment system and how big your bid is is not revealed to the competition; therefore, there is no real way you can scare off competition by a jump bid in eBay.

 

Scrooge

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Forbush-Man

Forbush-Man

Posted
Posted
I mean, how long were you an eBayer before you figured out the benifits of bidding towards the end of the auction if not outright 'sniping' it? Who are these yahoos?!? sign-rantpost.gif

 

After my second attempt to buy off eBay. I got snipped on the first two items, changed my tactics after that. thumbsup2.gif

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seank

seank

Posted
Posted

I often put in an early low-ball bid one someone just so eBay will send me reminder emails later so I can put in my real bid. I don't use a sniping service.

 

Yet.

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Forbush-Man

Forbush-Man

Posted
Posted
When I first started on ebay I used to get sniped left and right. I then discovered bidnip cloud9.gif

 

thumbsup2.gif

I love using my snipper program. I set the amount & send the "Snipper" up to the bell tower............

 

kittysniper.jpg

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comicdonna

comicdonna

Posted
Posted

I usually bid, as soon as I decide I want the item. I will place a maximum bid, and no more bidding after that. If I want the book bad enough, I will usually get it. If I don't, there's no regrets.

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kidcolt

kidcolt

Posted
Posted

Then why not just have 20 mintue auctions? So basically its a 3-5-7 day show your item to gain watchers and then everyone should bid with 30 seconds left great idea screwy.gif

 

I decide what I want to bid and then bid.....I don't care how much time is left. If I win it for that amount great if I don't great, another one will always become available.

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rjpb

rjpb

Posted
Posted
Funny, we usually get threads complaining about sniping, not early bids.

 

As a sometimes early bidder, it allows me to make sure I get a bid in to a book I really want. I'm absent-minded, and sometimes miss auctions. (And I don't care for sniping software.) Also, having a decent bid in early can sometimes 'scare off' casual bidders who lowball bids to see if they can get a book cheap.

 

Bottom line, people should bid up to what they are willing to pay. That way, the highest bid wins, whether it was made three days ago or in the last few seconds.

 

I often do the same myself - though I often put in a placer bid early short of the full amount I'm willing to pay.

 

I'm starting to rethink my resistance to sniping software as I recently spaced out an auction where I'd planned on throwing in a late bid for 60% over the final selling price.

 

The "scare-off" bid used to work better in the early days of ebay - when everyone wanted a deal - but it just seems to set one up for competitive or even punishment bidding anymore - (punishment bidding being a-hole behavior I don't understand)

 

As for the most someone is willing to pay - that is often influenced by the how much someone else is willing to pay

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Comicdey

Comicdey

Posted
Posted

I like the watch bid....knowing full well I won't win with it....

 

 

what drives me crazy is when I place a large bid and then it gets pumped up at $5 increments.....

 

so I rarely place those kinds of bids...

 

I miss out on a lot of auctions that I want though, so the sniping services are worth the money if you're hard core...

 

which I'm not...yet.

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heinlein99

heinlein99

Posted
Posted
As a sometimes early bidder, it allows me to make sure I get a bid in to a book I really want. I'm absent-minded, and sometimes miss auctions. (And I don't care for sniping software.) Also, having a decent bid in early can sometimes 'scare off' casual bidders who lowball bids to see if they can get a book cheap.

 

I'm glad it was you who made those comments because I know we can have an honest discussion with you thumbsup2.gif

 

( screwy.gif27_laughing.gif)

 

so let me ask these few questions:

 

1) there is no difference in the final result to bidding early or setting the snipe at the same time: it helps your absent-mindedness and allows you not to miss that auction. The snipe has the added advantage of "hiding" your interest so why not use that method?

 

2) could you elaborate as to why you "don't care for sniping software"?

 

3) I would agree that generally an aggressive bid would deter competition, BUT the eBay system is not allowing for this deterence (sp?) factor since it uses an increment system and how big your bid is is not revealed to the competition; therefore, there is no real way you can scare off competition by a jump bid in eBay.

 

Scrooge

 

I guess you're right about using sniping software; I just have some kind of psychological bias against it - it's almost like 'cheating' to me. (Like fishermen who use depth finders - you need that kind of technology to catch stupid little fish?!) But, I guess I could be more aggressive. I DO snipe, often; I just don't use any fancy software to do it for me. (Of course, this only works if I'm at the computer.) Again, I just bid up to what I want to pay for a book, so if someone is trying to punish-bid against me, they may end up buying the book. I'm a cheapskate.

 

Here's how I see early bid scaring off more timid competitors: If you bid up to what you want to pay - let's say for example $100 - someone may chime in with a $30 bid. That gets knocked down so it's up to $31. The person bids $50, that gets knocked down too. The person bets, let's say, $80 - you're still high bidder and they may say, 'Screw it, this guy's serious' and quit. If they bid over $100, though - that's okay, because even though they won the book, it sold for more than you were willing to pay for it (the original $100). Note: this doesn't work against particularly aggressive bidders or people who just have to have that book - but then, you probably weren't going to win against them anyway.

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icefires

icefires

Posted
Posted
I always bid early in the auction. If I don't win the book, I don't care. confused-smiley-013.gif

 

thumbsup2.gif agreed!!

 

Ditto. thumbsup2.gif

 

In fact, (speaking as a Buyer) I have a tinge of annoyance at people who can't decide what is the most they are willing to pay for an item, place the bid and walk away.

 

To wait till the end to bid is just a sign of insecurity or immaturity IMO...

 

Even as a seller I prefer to see early bids... confused-smiley-013.gif

 

Huh? Folks who snipe auctions are insecure and immature? What? screwy.gif

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mar-vell

mar-vell

Posted
Posted

I usually place a token bid on the auction early- basically declaring my interest in the auction. My early bid is usually nowhere near what i am willing to pay. That amount is usually realized in a snipe. Sometimes i bid an aucion up if it is sitting too low because i have noticed that quite often auctions that sit at very low prices until the end induce a bidding frenzy that carries the price out of reach because an inexperienced ebayer got too excited about a great deal! As far as I am concerned

it doesn't bother me whether you bid early or snipe just as long as you don't outbid me on something i want!

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