This is topic Ebay sniping in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 09-18-2005, 03:37 AM:
 
Is sniping with bidding tools or programs allowed on ebay? Or is it just considered unfair? Do you have any experience with bidding tools?
 

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Posted by Brian Michael Weidemann (Member # 2243) on 09-18-2005, 05:27 AM:
 
It's just morally reprehensible and cause for a good spanking, is what it is.

I'm sure they have some note about it in their Terms Of Service, but I figure if you want that limited edition Michael Bolton import LP on vinyl THAT badly, you would make yourself available at the auction close to be logged on, to cheat everyone else in REAL TIME, not automatically.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the whole POINT of proxy bidding so that this isn't necessary? The only people you're sniping would be other snipers, and it's just reduced to a dirty, underhanded, "I saw it first, gimme GIMME, MINE MINE MINE" type of game. Is it THAT important to you to hear Michael Bolton with the hisses, scratches, and pops; the way he was meant to be heard?
 

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Posted by Fred Georges (Member # 505) on 09-18-2005, 08:01 AM:
 
I disagree, sniping helps prevent bid creep. Let me explain. I see an item that has a $10.00 start with no reserve. It's worth a max of $100.00 to me so that is what I bid (conventionally) thru ebay. You come along and see that I have bid $10.00 (my reserve of course is hidden) You show an interest & bid $12.00. Bid too low, try again. So you keep bidding up to say $60.00 Bid still too low, try again. You lose interest. Now, I have to pay a minimum (assuming no other bids) of $60.00 when the auction closes. Sniping prevents this. If you see the $10.00 start with no bids showing you might just put in a bid of $20.00 so I've got ya beat and only have to pay say $21.00 for the item.

Sniping also alows you to change your mind & cancel up to the last minute without the hassle of a Bid retraction. Anyone who's serious about eBay snipes. It does NOT mean you'll necessarily pay less for an item as the other guy probably is sniping too. I've won some terrific stuff for very little money. I've also paid thru the nose when it turns into a Horse race. Bottom line, the Guy or Gal with the most dough is gonna beat you every time snipe or not. Sniping just keeps the casual user at bay. eBay that is.
 

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 09-18-2005, 09:37 AM:
 
Do you use a program or do you sit there in the last 5 minutes and snipe?
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 09-18-2005, 11:50 AM:
 
I'm too cheap to buy sniping software. If I want something bad enough I'll be up at 5am or whenever to deal with it.

But generally I don't snipe. I just bid my max, just like I'm supposed to, and let the proxy do its thing. If someone else has more money than I've got for the item, so be it.

Fixed ending times can hurt the seller when sniping occurs, since the time can run out before the ending sniping frenzy has run its course, thereby depriving him of those last higher bids. Some auction sites, like Yahoo Japan, effectively kill sniping by automatically extending the ending time of the auction by an hour or so after every bid. With floating ending times, he with the most money will win, just as it should be.
 

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Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 09-18-2005, 12:28 PM:
 
Auction Sniper.com
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 09-18-2005, 01:24 PM:
 
The items I really want I bid for at the very end of the auction...within the last few seconds. I bid what I'm willing to pay...if I loose to a higher bid...I wasn't going to pay that much anyway so more power to them.

I do not place bids right when I see an item...that just gets you into a stupid little raising war...you bid, $10, come back and find that someone has jacked it up to $50...and so forth. While this helps the seller to an inflated price...as the bidder, it isn't in my best interest.

As to the sniping programs...I personally don't like them since it is an automatic version of what I do but in the end, the most money is going to win anyway.
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 09-18-2005, 01:52 PM:
 
Using software to snipe seems unethical to me. Doing it manualy I have no problem with.

Sellers should start bidding at or not to far below what they're willing to sell an item for.
 

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Posted by Wayne Keyser (Member # 2420) on 09-18-2005, 03:04 PM:
 
I am an eBay seller, and have been for years.

Most of my items do not get competitive bids (they are my own products and are always on sale) BUT I have no problem with sniping (even when I do sell an item that gets competitive bids).

Am I going to attend an auction and complain that someone waited for "bidding fever" to quiet down, waited for the auctioneer to say "going once ... going twice ..." and then spoke up with a higher bid?

It's perfectly legitimate. Snipe away!
 

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Posted by Wolff King Morrow (Member # 2226) on 09-18-2005, 04:56 PM:
 
Word to the wise, if you bitch about sniping on the ebay forums, you'll get flamed til you're burnt to a crisp. It's a perfectly acceptable practice, with the old saying from ebay members being "bid what you're willing to pay, not what you're hoping to pay".

And the proxy system does work. I've sniped and been outbid by someone's proxy. I had no regrets, because I bid only what I was willing to pay.
 

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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 09-18-2005, 06:33 PM:
 
I've lost several auctions because of people sniping. With only 2 seconds left I was sure I won only to find that someone else sniped . I looked into using a sniping program one time but don't feel comfortable giving someone my ebay username and password.

I would agree that if you bid early then you get into a bidding war. I have been as much a perpetrator at that as a victim. I get all amped up and start bidding and then the price is escalated. I used to be able to wait until the last few minutes then bid, but somewhere between then and now I got all impatient. One time I fell asleep and didn't bid and lost the auction. Maybe that is why I started bidding early. I think I will go back to sniping though. It is much cheaper to snipe.

Also I think people have their friends bid against you to raise the price when you bid early. I had an acquaintance ask me to do that once and he was a cop!

It does suck to lose at the last second because someone has a faster internet connection or used a sniping program though.
 

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Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 09-18-2005, 06:50 PM:
 

quote:

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Also I think people have their friends bid against you to raise the price when you bid early. I had an acquaintance ask me to do that once and he was a cop!

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quote: Chris Trainor

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just put in your MAX proxy bid and leave it. If someone wants to pay an extra buck, let them have it.

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quote: Joshua Waaland

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I've lost several auctions because of people sniping.

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