Do you ever just get sick of the sniping on Ebay auctions?15644
 Masculinity takes a holiday.
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EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user | |
| For the last 2 days I was the high bidder on an Ebay auction. I start following the end with 2 minutes left and of course lose the auction by 1 dollar at the final second. It would be a different story if I lost by a lot but being 2nd bidder to a sniper is really irritating. Not frustrated at the sniper, just frustrated at Ebay for making sniping the best way to bid. I made money for the seller, I made money for Ebay and I raised the perceived Market Value of the book, making it potentially more expensive for me next time I try to buy one. If I had just stayed out of the auction both the sniper and I would be better off, Ebay and the seller would be worse off. I don't know about you guys but I feel used and demoralized in these situations. I usually end up just boycotting Ebay auctions for a year or so until I forget about the irritation. I much prefer the MCS auctions where time is added after last-second bids. As both a buyer and a seller I think it's a better way. Any of you guys get irritated like this after Ebay auctions? | ||
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manfred_spain private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I got upset with it nearly 20 years ago when I started buying on Ebay, but real quick you switch to sniper mode because it's just the way it works best on Ebay. They were never going to operate like a true auction that extends the end of an auction when a bid comes in at the end. I really don't know why anyone would bid early. You're just costing yourself money as other bidders look to bid up your minimum. Snipe it at the end and you may save money. Sign up for a 3rd-party sniper service and put the price you are willing to pay. Set it and forget it. |
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Attackpilot private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I hate that to. What I have had to do is when I am outbid. I don’t immediately bid again. I will wait til 10 seconds left. And add 20 dollars above what I want to spend then drop it like it’s hot. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. | ||
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 Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Even as a seller, snipers are not my favourite. Sure, they make me a little extra money sometimes, but they cheapen the experience and can even drive away the repeat buyers I would prefer to work with. There's just not much to respect about someone who lets a program they buy/download do all the work that should be done through the use of knowledge, skills, and shrewdness. Seasoned, repeat buyers remember that the seller is a part of the equation, too, and they go to the trouble of leaving feedback and being cooperative and respectful. Snipers are usually looking for the easiest way to expend the least amount of effort while not caring about who they screw over in the process. I can't recall the last time a sniper could be bothered to leave me feedback. They're also the ones voted most likely to be deadbeats, and when that happens, I, as a seller, get diddly-over-squat. So do snipers actually make me more money? Not much, really. The times it works out are balanced by the ones that refuse to both pay and communicate, leaving me to wait until an unpaid item claim closes. By that time, other bidders have moved on and making a second chance offer is pointless, so I wind up putting the item up for auction a second time. It's a waste of my time and a source of frustration. I'd be just as happy if sniping programs were not A Thing. Obviously, not all snipers are like that, but enough of them are that I'm pretty sour on the practice. |
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 COLLECTOR
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dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Not really. Most of the stuff I get I get via BIN or make offers on. When I do bid i bid the maximum I’m willing to spend so if I lose it, I’m glad I didn’t spend that amount of money on it | ||
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Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Here's a buyer I would be happy to work with. | ||
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CatCovers private msg quote post Address this user | |
| As a buyer, I much prefer ebay's method of auctions having a fixed and unchanging end time. Just about every time I've bid on an auction that extends, I've walked away with nothing but frustration. Perhaps my experience is unusual, but here's what just about always happens to me... I find something I want, I wait until the last 30 minutes or so, I place my bid. I'm the high bidder. Time ticks down to just a few seconds left, and someone bids. Not enough to outbid me, but enough to add five minutes. Rinse and repeat until it's half an hour past when the auction was supposed to end. I either end up eventually outbid or end up paying pretty much my max bid - which makes me think someone's shilling, trying to push the price up and possibly bring in more bidders. Either way, it's aggravating as hell. Snipers are vastly preferable. |
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Masculinity takes a holiday.
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EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @CatCovers I have to say that at MCS I haven't had that experience. Most auctions I've been in end on time. I've seen some extended but not for very long. It happens so rarely to me that the few times I put in a bid that extended the auction I kind of felt like a jerk among gentlemen. But I suspect you may be referring to experiences with bigger auction houses and bigger items. | ||
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Masculinity takes a holiday.
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EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by manfred_spain @manfred_spain I think that's really the thing is that sniping becomes a "do it or don't bother bidding" situation. I've done some manual sniping in years past but now I feel like I probably have to sign up for the professional service or just not participate in auctions. I always felt like Ebay should find a way to recognize and encourage the 2nd place bidder...as that one bidder is responsible for a decent amount of marginal value in auctions. Without the 2nd place bidder auction prices would probably fall by 5% to 10%. If Ebay had a program to give reward points to the second place bidder, I suspect auction prices would go even higher. |
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Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @CatCovers WOW, I hadn't thought of it that way! I do my selling/buying on eBay, and while a few things are not great, I'm glad I don't have to deal with what you described. I wouldn't even want to deal with that as a seller. I like to be there when my auctions end so that when I have lightning-fast buyers who pay immediately, I can show my appreciation by responding immediately and getting a shipping date for them. I would not be happy to have auctions extending so that I won't be able to make plans for days/evenings after bidding is supposed to stop. @EbayMafia I actually have little-to-no issue with manual sniping. Thought still goes into the bidding, you don't overextend yourself financially so the deadbeat issue rarely comes up. I've had at least a half-dozen times when digital snipers couldn't pay because a bunch of auctions ended and afterwards they found out they couldn't cover all the cost (I know this because a couple of responsible ones 'fessed up and told me). |
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Darkseid_of_town private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I dont play that game on ebay anymore, far too much shill bidding for my tastes, and ebay makes little effort to clean it up since it puts money in their pockets. I like the MCS method of adding time, and allowing the book to determine its value, not a clock. As far as sniping and all that, if you are going to play on the playground learn the tricks and use them like the cool kids or always play at a disadvantage. .....but you have the choice and make your own bed |
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Briten private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @EbayMafia I realized a long time ago that you need to set your max bid and walk away. As long as you put what you are comfortable with spending you should do fine. |
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 If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
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xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by manfred_spain this is what I do, which also nicely acts as a way to make sure I don't get caught up in auction fever and spend more than I want to. |
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CatCovers private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by EbayMafia Mostly smaller, actually. I don’t know if it happens at places like Heritage - I don’t swim in those waters!  |
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cesidio private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Been on both ends. Those are the rules. If ebay and other auction sites allow it...it is what it is. No point in either getting upset or celebrating just move on to the next item. 20+ years ago lost a Mickey Mantle rookie, later that same month won a Nolan Ryan rookie. | ||
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andy49 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| When there's something I'm determined to win, I snipe with a bid I feel is far and beyond what someone else's max bid is, but still a price I'm willing to pay. If I win, that's great. If I lose, at least the winner didn't get it cheap. | ||
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 past performance is no guarantee of future actions.
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KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| If it's something I really want I'll watch at ebay or any other auction as it counts to zero.....but mostly I place my max bid and wait.....mostly I don't win...but sometimes I get unexpected wins too!!! Picked up the prelim cover art for Hawkman #17 from Murphy Anderson for only $180 - not in a million years did I think I would win at that low price I had actually forgotten I bid on it - lol!! was a nice surprise to get the invoice email!  |
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CatCovers private msg quote post Address this user | |
@KatKomics Those unexpected wins are rare, but so very sweet.  I own a 9.8 CGC copy of a random issue of Detective I happened to need. When I went to look for it on ebay, I found several listings, all raw except a 9.8 with free shipping and a starting bid of $9.99. I put in a $10 bid and no one else touched the auction. I felt guilty enough I offered to pay for the shipping when I won, since that alone was going to cost more than I paid, but the seller declined. |
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Towmater private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I snipe on eBay all the time. That is the best way to win items. When I purchase at Comic Link I place a tracking bid and snipe there too. Haven't placed a sniping bid in a awhile there as I'm not buying but I do still put in tracking bids. It allows me to see the final price long after an item has ended. | ||
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 I don't believe this....and I know you don't care that I don't believe this.
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GAC private msg quote post Address this user | |
| right or wrong, sniping is the way of the land....I don't see anything "wrong" with sniping (it's not illegal) but I do see how being sniped would be frustrating. This is also part of the reason I never do auctions..ever...BIN's eBay, MCS etc. I pay what I believe is fair and there's no waiting for an auction to end.....only to inevitably get sniped. | ||
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 " . "
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Davethebrave private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I don’t see any issues. You choose what you are willing to pay and you go with it. Anything else makes no rational sense. As for “shill bidding” being rampant on ebay. No, just no. Transaction volumes are too high and there are transaction costs once an auction closes. Shill bidding on ebay is not going to make or break anything and should not impact a rational bidder. |
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 Please continue to ignore anything I post.
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southerncross private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I don't do eBay for other reasons. Sniping a buck is way too easy. Books I bid on at the auction houses if I'm winning and I get sniped it's probably the next bid which isn't a buck. It's like the next increment so like $25 or $50. Snipping me that much, they can have it as this is over my max bid. |
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jayscomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
@Briten Quote:Originally Posted by Briten I wish that was the case. A couple years ago, I put a max bid of 9K on a 9.6 Silver Surfer #1 SS and willing to go bit higher, which was the going selling price at the time. The loser seller cancels my bids cause he felt it cheated the other bidders out thinking I was someone who was trying to scare away bidders. Blocked me from bidding. Funny thing is the book sold for around that price point anyways. Go figure! |
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Masculinity takes a holiday.
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EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by southerncross Now this is a solution that would work for me. If the sniper were required to beat my bid by 5% or $20 in order to end the auction with a last second win, I would be cool with that. But winning by a dollar at the final second just discourages early bidding. And I don't see how it's in the best interest of Ebay or the seller to discourage early bidding. |
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andy49 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by EbayMafia I've been an early bidder and sometimes it turns out that I'm the only bidder. If you put in a reasonable bid to begin with instead of trying to get something at the cheapest price possible, you'll probably continue getting sniped. |
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Darkseid_of_town private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by DavethebraveWell since I worked for ebay during the nineties on the Powerseller Platinum program I will have to let you know you are badly informed, and yes it still goes on daily with people inflating the prices for their own items. Rather naive and yes, it can heavily impact a bidder, especially a rational one....one of the worst ones is where a shill bidder jumps in, drives the price higher at the close of the sale, then cancels his bids dropping the auction on you at a far higher rate than you would have paid originally. It happens all the time, and just yes, sorry |
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 I haven't aired it out. It's part of the provenance.
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Galen130 private msg quote post Address this user | |
I permanently closed my fee-bay account over a year ago because of all the shenanigans with them AND buyers. Looks like I left just before the  really hit the fan. I don’t miss it and I wasn’t a fan of the sniping. |
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ProdigalSon private msg quote post Address this user | |
| it would be easier if eBay limit you to bid only a certain amount of times, as I've been outbid within the last minute by a bidder who dropped 5 bids or more, barely increasing their max bid, trying to beat me out as low as possible. or possibly, would work better if a bidder had to wait 5 minutes before being able to bid again, because if you're trying to beat my max bid by a handful of change, you obviously don't want the item very much. |
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Darkseid_of_town private msg quote post Address this user | |
| The ones that tick me off are where i place my bid, they bid much higher, outbid me, then cancel their bid so they can see what my bid was.... | ||
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andy49 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| yes, those people should have their accounts canceled | ||
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