OT - Ebay Bidding Tactics

[Jay Honeck]

I have been trying to purchase a Narco CP-136 audio panel for almost
two years. Mine works just fine, but is cosmetically flawed, and I
need a new faceplate.

Unfortunately, Narco no long sells faceplates for this unit, so I am
stuck in the used market, which means Ebay.

For at least the last five auctions, I have been out-bid at the very
last second...literally. Today I tried putting in my bid with just 8
seconds to go in the auction, was "high bidder" for 6 seconds....and
was out-bid with literally 1 second left!

Since I was high-bidder by a good $40 (on a $200 unit) with just 6
seconds left, obviously someone -- or something -- is able to submit
bids extraordinarily fast. I've heard that there are programs that
automate the bidding process -- is that what I'm seeing here?

Has anyone used these programs, and can anyone recommend one? It seems
like "cheating" -- but I'm tired of getting beat by two bucks with no
time left on the clock.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jim Burns[_1_]]

Google ebay sniper program.
I don't use one, but there have been auctions that I've missed because I
didn't.
Jim

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I have been trying to purchase a Narco CP-136 audio panel for almost
> two years. Mine works just fine, but is cosmetically flawed, and I
> need a new faceplate.
>
> Unfortunately, Narco no long sells faceplates for this unit, so I am
> stuck in the used market, which means Ebay.
>
> For at least the last five auctions, I have been out-bid at the very
> last second...literally. Today I tried putting in my bid with just 8
> seconds to go in the auction, was "high bidder" for 6 seconds....and
> was out-bid with literally 1 second left!
>
> Since I was high-bidder by a good $40 (on a $200 unit) with just 6
> seconds left, obviously someone -- or something -- is able to submit
> bids extraordinarily fast. I've heard that there are programs that
> automate the bidding process -- is that what I'm seeing here?
>
> Has anyone used these programs, and can anyone recommend one? It seems
> like "cheating" -- but I'm tired of getting beat by two bucks with no
> time left on the clock.
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

[[email protected]]

Jay Honeck wrote:
[ebay sniping story snipped]

I've used an online sniper once. It didn't make any difference in my
case because I didn't bid enough. Google can put you in touch with
several either online or local ones most of which have free trial for
some number of auctions.

My strategy is to decide what I'm willing to pay and make that my
maximum bid. Then ebay will automatically bid up until your max is
reached OR you win at whatever level is required to win. This beats the
snipers without enticing me to bid "Just $5 more" until I'm spending
more than I should. Just how I do it...

John Stevens
PP-ASEL

[Gig 601XL Builder]

I've heard the sniper programs work but I don't use E-Bay enough to bother.
I've had some success with another trick.

Open two screens with the same EBay page. Keep one as the main screen and
the other as the bid screen and get go ahead and enter your bid. Then select
the main screen and hit F5 until your down to about 5 seconds then switch
over and enter the bid.

Remember though, if someone has set a higher max bid you still miss out.


"Jim Burns" > wrote in message
...
> Google ebay sniper program.
> I don't use one, but there have been auctions that I've missed because I
> didn't.
> Jim
>
> "Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>> I have been trying to purchase a Narco CP-136 audio panel for almost
>> two years. Mine works just fine, but is cosmetically flawed, and I
>> need a new faceplate.
>>
>> Unfortunately, Narco no long sells faceplates for this unit, so I am
>> stuck in the used market, which means Ebay.
>>
>> For at least the last five auctions, I have been out-bid at the very
>> last second...literally. Today I tried putting in my bid with just 8
>> seconds to go in the auction, was "high bidder" for 6 seconds....and
>> was out-bid with literally 1 second left!
>>
>> Since I was high-bidder by a good $40 (on a $200 unit) with just 6
>> seconds left, obviously someone -- or something -- is able to submit
>> bids extraordinarily fast. I've heard that there are programs that
>> automate the bidding process -- is that what I'm seeing here?
>>
>> Has anyone used these programs, and can anyone recommend one? It seems
>> like "cheating" -- but I'm tired of getting beat by two bucks with no
>> time left on the clock.
>> --
>> Jay Honeck
>> Iowa City, IA
>> Pathfinder N56993
>> www.AlexisParkInn.com
>> "Your Aviation Destination"
>>
>
>

[Gene Seibel]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>
> Has anyone used these programs, and can anyone recommend one? It seems
> like "cheating" -- but I'm tired of getting beat by two bucks with no
> time left on the clock.

We don't use a program, but can consistantly bid with 3 seconds left.
Just use a watch with a second hand and refresh a few times to
determine where exactly the second hand is when the minutes left
change. Then enter bid during the last minute and confirm with the
second hand a couple seconds before the end. Have to enter your top
bid. It'll only cost you what it takes to top the highest bid by 50
cenets or a dollar or whatever.
--
Gene Seibel
Gene & Sue's Flying Machine - http://pad39a.com/gene/
Because we fly, we envy no one.

[Jim Macklin]

You can bid to your personal ceiling, and eBay's software
will increment your bid to be the winner unless someone else
has a higher ceiling in place.

Why not get some paint and body putty [plastic] and repair
your face plate.



"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
oups.com...
|I have been trying to purchase a Narco CP-136 audio panel
for almost
| two years. Mine works just fine, but is cosmetically
flawed, and I
| need a new faceplate.
|
| Unfortunately, Narco no long sells faceplates for this
unit, so I am
| stuck in the used market, which means Ebay.
|
| For at least the last five auctions, I have been out-bid
at the very
| last second...literally. Today I tried putting in my bid
with just 8
| seconds to go in the auction, was "high bidder" for 6
seconds....and
| was out-bid with literally 1 second left!
|
| Since I was high-bidder by a good $40 (on a $200 unit)
with just 6
| seconds left, obviously someone -- or something -- is able
to submit
| bids extraordinarily fast. I've heard that there are
programs that
| automate the bidding process -- is that what I'm seeing
here?
|
| Has anyone used these programs, and can anyone recommend
one? It seems
| like "cheating" -- but I'm tired of getting beat by two
bucks with no
| time left on the clock.
| --
| Jay Honeck
| Iowa City, IA
| Pathfinder N56993
| www.AlexisParkInn.com
| "Your Aviation Destination"
|

[Jim Burns]

That's the technique I use. I also determine the max that I'm willing to
pay and enter that one and only bid with only seconds left in the auction.
If I don't win, I'm not disappointed because I bid as much as I was willing
to pay without giving new bidders much of a chance to respond to my bids.

Jim

[Jay Honeck]

> That's the technique I use. I also determine the max that I'm willing to
> pay and enter that one and only bid with only seconds left in the auction.
> If I don't win, I'm not disappointed because I bid as much as I was willing
> to pay without giving new bidders much of a chance to respond to my bids.

That's exactly the technique I used, and got beat out by TWO BUCKS.

I'd have gone up $2, given the chance. Of course, who knows how high I
would have had to bid to beat the winner...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Why not get some paint and body putty [plastic] and repair
> your face plate.

I did just that, Jim. In fact, I rebuilt/replaced the entire upper
left corner of the faceplate with JB Weld, which is about the greatest
stuff ever invented.

After drilling, sanding and painting, it looked PERFECT, and worked
great -- until the temperature dipped below zero, and Mary forgot to be
extra careful when switching from Com 1 to Com 2.

*crack!* The repair gave way, and it's been bugging me ever since...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Milen Lazarov[_1_]]

On 2006-11-27, > wrote:
>
> Jay Honeck wrote:
> [ebay sniping story snipped]
>
> I've used an online sniper once. It didn't make any difference in my
> case because I didn't bid enough. Google can put you in touch with
> several either online or local ones most of which have free trial for
> some number of auctions.
>
> My strategy is to decide what I'm willing to pay and make that my
> maximum bid. Then ebay will automatically bid up until your max is
> reached OR you win at whatever level is required to win. This beats the
> snipers without enticing me to bid "Just $5 more" until I'm spending
> more than I should. Just how I do it...
>
> John Stevens
> PP-ASEL

A detail that has always worked for me - when setting your maximum bid,
set it to something like $101 instead of just a round number, a couple of
times that allowed me to be the winner by just a dollar or so. :-)

-Milen
>

[FLAV8R[_1_]]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message ...
> For at least the last five auctions, I have been out-bid at the very
> last second...literally. Today I tried putting in my bid with just 8
> seconds to go in the auction, was "high bidder" for 6 seconds....and
> was out-bid with literally 1 second left!
>
> Since I was high-bidder by a good $40 (on a $200 unit) with just 6
> seconds left, obviously someone -- or something -- is able to submit
> bids extraordinarily fast. I've heard that there are programs that
> automate the bidding process -- is that what I'm seeing here?
>
> Jay Honeck

Jay,
I'm what they call a sniper on ebay, it is how I win most bids.
On a few occasions I have been beat by automated snipers and those
bids have been submitted in the very last second, but you still have
to be the high bidder.
the website is called auctionsniper.com they allow you to use their
services at no cost the first three times, it works extremely well.
Also don't forget that you will need a high-speed connection.

David - KGYH

[Crash Lander[_1_]]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> That's exactly the technique I used, and got beat out by TWO BUCKS.
>
> I'd have gone up $2, given the chance. Of course, who knows how high I
> would have had to bid to beat the winner...
> --

Unfortunate Jay.
If you were however willing to pay more, you may have won the auction if you
reflected that willingness in your maximum bid. You do realise that it won't
just automatically use your maximum bid as the bid.
Crash Lander

[Jim Macklin]

JB weld is epoxy and gets brittle. Try polyester like you
use to fix a boat.

Cessna calls it aerodynamic fairing compound, auto shops
call it Bondo.


"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
ups.com...
|> Why not get some paint and body putty [plastic] and
repair
| > your face plate.
|
| I did just that, Jim. In fact, I rebuilt/replaced the
entire upper
| left corner of the faceplate with JB Weld, which is about
the greatest
| stuff ever invented.
|
| After drilling, sanding and painting, it looked PERFECT,
and worked
| great -- until the temperature dipped below zero, and Mary
forgot to be
| extra careful when switching from Com 1 to Com 2.
|
| *crack!* The repair gave way, and it's been bugging me
ever since...
| --
| Jay Honeck
| Iowa City, IA
| Pathfinder N56993
| www.AlexisParkInn.com
| "Your Aviation Destination"
|

[Jim Macklin]

Also, add some fiberglass cloth strips or chopped fiber.
You could even make one from scratch.


"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
ups.com...
|> Why not get some paint and body putty [plastic] and
repair
| > your face plate.
|
| I did just that, Jim. In fact, I rebuilt/replaced the
entire upper
| left corner of the faceplate with JB Weld, which is about
the greatest
| stuff ever invented.
|
| After drilling, sanding and painting, it looked PERFECT,
and worked
| great -- until the temperature dipped below zero, and Mary
forgot to be
| extra careful when switching from Com 1 to Com 2.
|
| *crack!* The repair gave way, and it's been bugging me
ever since...
| --
| Jay Honeck
| Iowa City, IA
| Pathfinder N56993
| www.AlexisParkInn.com
| "Your Aviation Destination"
|

[Jose[_1_]]

> That's exactly the technique I used, and got beat out by TWO BUCKS.
>
> I'd have gone up $2, given the chance.

Well, then that's =not= exactly the technique you used. You underbid
yourself by at least $2. The key to using that technique is to bid your
ABSOLUTE TOP BID. You didn't do that.

Jose
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Judah]

I think you can get three free snipes at www.auctionsniper.com ...

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in news:1164666700.353630.119520
@j72g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

> I have been trying to purchase a Narco CP-136 audio panel for almost
> two years. Mine works just fine, but is cosmetically flawed, and I
> need a new faceplate.
>

[Kev]

Jay Honeck wrote:
> For at least the last five auctions, I have been out-bid at the very
> last second...literally. Today I tried putting in my bid with just 8
> seconds to go in the auction, was "high bidder" for 6 seconds....and
> was out-bid with literally 1 second left!

As someone else said, auctionsniper.com is a favorite one.

As one of many collectors of old flight computers on eBay, I cannot bid
ahead of time since that alerts others to my interest, especially if
it's misspelled or some other secret find.

So I used to wait up late at night or have to run home, two windows
open to bid at the last second. My wife hated it. Now I just put in
my highest bid, and let the sniper site bid for me. It only failed me
once out of hundreds of auctions, when an auction ended on the hour and
I didn't reset the snipe time to a little bit longer to compensate for
eBay's busy computers.

Kev

[Travis Marlatte]

Sniping takes advantage of lazy bidders. The basic premise is that people
don't really put in their maximum bid. They tend to bid more conservatively
until they see that they are not the highest bidder. Then determination
takes hold and they put in a higher bid. Sniping is very simply a technique
to fool these potentially high (but initially conservative) bidders into
thinking that they have it won until it's too late for them to counter. This
allows the snipers to win the bid with a lower amount than if everyone put
in their high bids in the first place.

So, it's not just about winning. It's about winning for a lesser dollar
amount.

If you buy a lot on eBay, then it might be worth some money to pay a service
to snipe for you. Or, you can do it for free by sniping manually. Just wait
until the last few seconds and put in your highest bid (your real highest
bid).

I don't buy a lot and I don't have time to play the games. When I bid, I put
in the real amount that I would be willing to pay. If someone outbids me
(whether at the last second or not), I want to be comfortable that I was not
willing to pay anymore to win it. If someone wants to play the game, let
them. If they outbid me at the last second, so what? They apparently would
have outbid me anyway.

If you want to save a few pennies, then snipe. Otherwise, just put in your
max bid, use your time for something more valuable, and be happy!

--
-------------------------------
Travis
Lake N3094P
PWK

> wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> Jay Honeck wrote:
> [ebay sniping story snipped]
>
> I've used an online sniper once. It didn't make any difference in my
> case because I didn't bid enough. Google can put you in touch with
> several either online or local ones most of which have free trial for
> some number of auctions.
>
> My strategy is to decide what I'm willing to pay and make that my
> maximum bid. Then ebay will automatically bid up until your max is
> reached OR you win at whatever level is required to win. This beats the
> snipers without enticing me to bid "Just $5 more" until I'm spending
> more than I should. Just how I do it...
>
> John Stevens
> PP-ASEL
>

[FLAV8R[_1_]]

"Milen Lazarov" > wrote in message ...
> A detail that has always worked for me - when setting your maximum bid,
> set it to something like $101 instead of just a round number, a couple of
> times that allowed me to be the winner by just a dollar or so. :-)
>
> -Milen
>>
The odd bid number has worked for me too.
But I have even gone as far as bidding $101.01 and you
would be surprised on how often that extra cent has pushed
beyond the last whole number bid.

David

[Peter Dohm]

Jay doesn't really have a choice--it's preordained--he HAS to snipe.
Remember that he designed, built, and still operates the "Mighty Grape".
;-))

Peter

BTW, I'm saving all this new-found info for the next time that I bid on
eBay.

> Sniping takes advantage of lazy bidders. The basic premise is that people
> don't really put in their maximum bid. They tend to bid more
conservatively
> until they see that they are not the highest bidder. Then determination
> takes hold and they put in a higher bid. Sniping is very simply a
technique
> to fool these potentially high (but initially conservative) bidders into
> thinking that they have it won until it's too late for them to counter.
This
> allows the snipers to win the bid with a lower amount than if everyone put
> in their high bids in the first place.
>
> So, it's not just about winning. It's about winning for a lesser dollar
> amount.
>
> If you buy a lot on eBay, then it might be worth some money to pay a
service
> to snipe for you. Or, you can do it for free by sniping manually. Just
wait
> until the last few seconds and put in your highest bid (your real highest
> bid).
>
> I don't buy a lot and I don't have time to play the games. When I bid, I
put
> in the real amount that I would be willing to pay. If someone outbids me
> (whether at the last second or not), I want to be comfortable that I was
not
> willing to pay anymore to win it. If someone wants to play the game, let
> them. If they outbid me at the last second, so what? They apparently would
> have outbid me anyway.
>
> If you want to save a few pennies, then snipe. Otherwise, just put in your
> max bid, use your time for something more valuable, and be happy!
>
> --
> -------------------------------
> Travis
> Lake N3094P
> PWK
>
> > wrote in message
> ups.com...
> >
> > Jay Honeck wrote:
> > [ebay sniping story snipped]
> >
> > I've used an online sniper once. It didn't make any difference in my
> > case because I didn't bid enough. Google can put you in touch with
> > several either online or local ones most of which have free trial for
> > some number of auctions.
> >
> > My strategy is to decide what I'm willing to pay and make that my
> > maximum bid. Then ebay will automatically bid up until your max is
> > reached OR you win at whatever level is required to win. This beats the
> > snipers without enticing me to bid "Just $5 more" until I'm spending
> > more than I should. Just how I do it...
> >
> > John Stevens
> > PP-ASEL
> >
>
>

[Ron Natalie]

Jay Honeck wrote:

>
> For at least the last five auctions, I have been out-bid at the very
> last second...literally. Today I tried putting in my bid with just 8
> seconds to go in the auction, was "high bidder" for 6 seconds....and
> was out-bid with literally 1 second left!
>
> Since I was high-bidder by a good $40 (on a $200 unit) with just 6
> seconds left, obviously someone -- or something -- is able to submit
> bids extraordinarily fast. I've heard that there are programs that
> automate the bidding process -- is that what I'm seeing here?
>

You don't lose because someone bid later, you lose because you didn't
bid high enough. Bid the maximum that you are willing to pay. You
can do this either by just doing so with the standard ebay bidding
(you will only have to pay one bid increment over the next highest
bidder) or with a sniping program which is what you think you are
competing against.

I use auctionsniper.com. This puts the same bid in at the end of
auction which keeps crooked sellers and others from screwing with
me and it discourages "nibblers" (people who repeatedly insert
bids one increment over the previous bid until they get tired of
it).

[Dylan Smith]

On 2006-11-28, Ron Natalie > wrote:
> Jay Honeck wrote:
>> Since I was high-bidder by a good $40 (on a $200 unit) with just 6
>> seconds left, obviously someone -- or something -- is able to submit
>> bids extraordinarily fast. I've heard that there are programs that
>> automate the bidding process -- is that what I'm seeing here?
>>
>
> You don't lose because someone bid later, you lose because you didn't
> bid high enough.

Seconded. I don't get upset at all if anyone "snipes" my bid - they are
paying more than I'm willing to pay for the item. My ebay bid policy is
just to bid the maximum I'm prepared to pay and no more.

I won't use 'sniping' as a technique either, because that way I'm sure
to pay over the odds for the item.

Generally, I prefer to buy off people with reasonable "Buy it now"
prices for items.

Having said that, ebay could easily stop sniping simply by concealing
the exact amount of time left for an auction and putting in a little
random jitter on the auction time when the auction is started (so people
can't work it out by looking for new listings). Instead of saying "2
days, 15 hours and 35 seconds left", the listing can just say
"Approximately 2 days left". But they won't do it because sniping means
people pay more for items, which in turn results in eBay getting more
money from higher comissions, and the sellers (the customers of eBay)
getting a better price.

--
Yes, the Reply-To email address is valid.
Oolite-Linux: an Elite tribute: http://oolite-linux.berlios.de

[[email protected]]

Jay Honeck wrote:
> > Why not get some paint and body putty [plastic] and repair
> > your face plate.
>
> I did just that, Jim. In fact, I rebuilt/replaced the entire upper
> left corner of the faceplate with JB Weld, which is about the greatest
> stuff ever invented.

Yes it is! I used JB Weld to repair a cracked aluminum transmission
housing in a Honda. It worked great and lasted another 80K miles (at
least, it was still fine when I sold the car). My mechanic at the time
said he'd used it to repair a cracked head on his (Honda) dragster.
Wow. I'm sure it's not FAA approved, because it's too cheap.

OK, enough off topic trivia. We now return you to the ebay thread, in
progress...
John Stevens
PP-ASEL

[Larry Dighera]

On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 07:28:06 -0500, Ron Natalie >
wrote in >:

>auctionsniper.com

You are only charged when you win, a modest fee of 1%

[Dave S]

Jay Honeck wrote:

>
> Has anyone used these programs, and can anyone recommend one? It seems
> like "cheating" -- but I'm tired of getting beat by two bucks with no
> time left on the clock.
> --

I use ESnipe. http://esnipe.com/

You set the max amount you want to bid on Esnipe.. the program sync's
with Ebay.. and submits its bid in the last seconds..

While some feel its unsportsmanlike.. it has the best chance of getting
you something cheap and easy.. it also keeps you from getting in a
bidding war with someone over the course of a 6-9 day auction.. if
someone keeps getting outbid they may raise their max bid. If they dont
see it coming, they (and you) dont run up the price in a bidding war.

Dave

[Lee McGee]

Agree with Dave S.

There is nothing "unsportsmanlike" about using Esnipe or Bidnapper to snipe
and win Ebay auctions. I do this whenever I need to (for example when I
know there is no way I can be online at end of auction, but want to win the
auction anyway) with absolutely no remorse.

Winning an auction is business.

To succeed in business you use the correct tools to win.

This is not rocket science. Sniping an auction is way easier than flying
a taildragger, just to put this in perspective. :-)


Lee McGee
Mount Aukum, California



"Dave S" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> Jay Honeck wrote:
>
> >
> > Has anyone used these programs, and can anyone recommend one? It seems
> > like "cheating" -- but I'm tired of getting beat by two bucks with no
> > time left on the clock.
> > --
>
> I use ESnipe. http://esnipe.com/
>
> You set the max amount you want to bid on Esnipe.. the program sync's
> with Ebay.. and submits its bid in the last seconds..
>
> While some feel its unsportsmanlike.. it has the best chance of getting
> you something cheap and easy.. it also keeps you from getting in a
> bidding war with someone over the course of a 6-9 day auction.. if
> someone keeps getting outbid they may raise their max bid. If they dont
> see it coming, they (and you) dont run up the price in a bidding war.
>
> Dave

[[email protected]]

> Having said that, ebay could easily stop sniping simply by concealing
> the exact amount of time left for an auction and putting in a little
> random jitter on the auction time when the auction is started (so people
> can't work it out by looking for new listings). Instead of saying "2
> days, 15 hours and 35 seconds left", the listing can just say
> "Approximately 2 days left". But they won't do it because sniping means
> people pay more for items, which in turn results in eBay getting more
> money from higher comissions, and the sellers (the customers of eBay)
> getting a better price.

Reportedly, some less popular auction sites simply extend the auction
for another five minutes after a bid is made. That seems to be a
perfect solution to me...

Bartek

[Morgans[_2_]]

> wrote

> Reportedly, some less popular auction sites simply extend the auction
> for another five minutes after a bid is made. That seems to be a
> perfect solution to me...

Indeed. That is the way a real auction works, only it is not 5 minutes, but a
few seconds, but everyone gets a chance to raise their bid, until nobody wants
to go over the standing bid.

The 5 minutes is necessary because people have lives to lead, and can not stand
at their computer, full time. The result is the same; that a chance is given
for anyone to raise the bid, until nobody wants to outbid the winner.

The result for the seller should be the maximum price. The result for the buyer
is the ability to get an item that you want, and are willing to pay enough to
win the item, fair and squarely, outbidding all come-ers.

Sniping (to me) seems like timing is the winner; instead of desire, and
money-on-the-stump, winning the auction.

What is this other auction site, with the 5 minute extensions? I might be
interested in using it. I wish everyone would go their, instead of Ebay.
--
Jim in NC

[Travis Marlatte]

"Morgans" > wrote in message
...
>
> > wrote
>
>> Reportedly, some less popular auction sites simply extend the auction
>> for another five minutes after a bid is made. That seems to be a
>> perfect solution to me...

That sounds like a good solution to prevent sniping but is not necessary to
ensure fair auctions.


>
> Indeed. That is the way a real auction works, only it is not 5 minutes,
> but a few seconds, but everyone gets a chance to raise their bid, until
> nobody wants to go over the standing bid.

eBay does that by bidding for you up to your maximum.

>
> The 5 minutes is necessary because people have lives to lead, and can not
> stand at their computer, full time. The result is the same; that a chance
> is given for anyone to raise the bid, until nobody wants to outbid the
> winner.

Under no circumstances is it necessary to stand at your computer. If you put
in your maximum bid, eBay handles the rest and snipers will have no impact
on you. If you find yourself upping your bid over the course of the auction
and wishing you had put in more because someone sniped you at the last
second, then you are not putting in your maximum bid and are just making it
harder on yourself.

>
> The result for the seller should be the maximum price. The result for the
> buyer is the ability to get an item that you want, and are willing to pay
> enough to win the item, fair and squarely, outbidding all come-ers.

If people put in their maximum, the result is the same. The problem is that
many put in something less than their maximum until compelled to move up
because of the spirit of competition. Sniping takes advantage of these
initially conservative bidders by eliminating that sense of competition. It
also cheats the seller out of the maximum bid. If people just put in their
maximum bid in the first place, sniping would die away and sellers would get
their fair price.

>
> Sniping (to me) seems like timing is the winner; instead of desire, and
> money-on-the-stump, winning the auction.

Sniping is about timing but the motivation is to avoid revealing a higher
bid until it is too late to counter. The only reason this is successful is
because, given time to respond, people give in to competition and raise
their bid.

>
> What is this other auction site, with the 5 minute extensions? I might be
> interested in using it. I wish everyone would go their, instead of Ebay.
> --
> Jim in NC

I put in my maximum bid and never look back. I have never won or lost an
auction with regret.

--
-------------------------------
Travis
Lake N3094P
PWK

[Larry Dighera]

On Thu, 30 Nov 2006 14:07:19 GMT, "Travis Marlatte"
> wrote in
>:

>If people just put in their maximum bid in the first place,
>sniping would die away and sellers would get their fair price.

Perhaps. That notion is a bit naive given the fact that it encourages
shill bidding.

[Jose[_1_]]

> If people just put in their maximum bid in the first place,
> sniping would die away and sellers would get
> their fair price.

Like most things, this is only true if everybody does it. The thing
about putting in your maximum bid at the outset, is that you are bid up
to the present maximum right away - i.e. if the other guy's maximum is
50, and your max is 75, you are bid right up to 51, alerting the other
guy that his guess that he could get it lower was wrong. So, by putting
in your "less than your max", you can outwit the other guy who put in
"less than his max".

Jose
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Jose[_1_]]

> That notion is a bit naive given the fact that it encourages
> shill bidding.

How so?
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Jay Somerset]

On Thu, 30 Nov 2006 02:01:44 -0500, "Morgans" >
wrote:

>
> > wrote
>
> > Reportedly, some less popular auction sites simply extend the auction
> > for another five minutes after a bid is made. That seems to be a
> > perfect solution to me...
>
> Indeed. That is the way a real auction works, only it is not 5 minutes, but a
> few seconds, but everyone gets a chance to raise their bid, until nobody wants
> to go over the standing bid.
>
> The 5 minutes is necessary because people have lives to lead, and can not stand
> at their computer, full time. The result is the same; that a chance is given
> for anyone to raise the bid, until nobody wants to outbid the winner.
>
> The result for the seller should be the maximum price. The result for the buyer
> is the ability to get an item that you want, and are willing to pay enough to
> win the item, fair and squarely, outbidding all come-ers.
>
> Sniping (to me) seems like timing is the winner; instead of desire, and
> money-on-the-stump, winning the auction.
>
> What is this other auction site, with the 5 minute extensions? I might be
> interested in using it. I wish everyone would go their, instead of Ebay.

Timing is only a factor because uninformed bidders put in single bids at
just above the current bid price. Using Ebay's automatic bidding feature
makes sniping irrelevant, if everyobe would bid the maximum that they are
willing to pay. And don't forget that in the case of a tie, the
earlier-entered bid get the win. Here is where sniping actually loses out!

[[email protected]]

> >> for another five minutes after a bid is made. That seems to be a
> >> perfect solution to me...
> That sounds like a good solution to prevent sniping but is not necessary to
> ensure fair auctions.

There would be nothing unfair about it - simply another set of rules.

> > but a few seconds, but everyone gets a chance to raise their bid, until
> > nobody wants to go over the standing bid.
> eBay does that by bidding for you up to your maximum.

eBay won't change your mind for you - that's the difference. Real
auction is a game of emotions.

> bid until it is too late to counter. The only reason this is successful is
> because, given time to respond, people give in to competition and raise
> their bid.

Precisely, and as long as the current system is used, I will take
advantage of it.

Bartek

[[email protected]]

> What is this other auction site, with the 5 minute extensions? I might be
> interested in using it. I wish everyone would go their, instead of Ebay.

I am afraid I can't remember the address. It was a small, local Irish
site.

By the way - I see nothing wrong with the current eBay system, the
rules are clear and fair. I also like it as a buyer, as it tends to
lower prices. As a seller I'd prefer a system where auctions are
extended - let them fight! ;-)

Bartek

[Larry Dighera]

On Thu, 30 Nov 2006 16:27:44 GMT, Jose >
wrote in >:

>> That notion is a bit naive given the fact that it encourages
>> shill bidding.
>
>How so?

If your bid is considerably in advance of the auction close, and it is
for an amount considerably above the current bid amount, what is to
prevent the seller from using a 'spare' eBay account to nibble away at
your bid well in advance of the auction close, thus providing a higher
target for subsequent bidders?

[Grumman-581[_1_]]

On Thu, 30 Nov 2006 21:28:52 GMT, Larry Dighera >
wrote:
> If your bid is considerably in advance of the auction close, and it is
> for an amount considerably above the current bid amount, what is to
> prevent the seller from using a 'spare' eBay account to nibble away at
> your bid well in advance of the auction close, thus providing a higher
> target for subsequent bidders?

I suspect that this does happen and as such I have chosen to utilize
manual sniping to minimize the chance that this will affect the price
that I pay for something on eBay...

[Jose[_1_]]

> If your bid is considerably in advance of the auction close, and it is
> for an amount considerably above the current bid amount, what is to
> prevent the seller from using a 'spare' eBay account to nibble away at
> your bid well in advance of the auction close, thus providing a higher
> target for subsequent bidders?

Nothing, just like the seller from using a "spare" eBay account to post
a high bid in the first place, thus causing anybody less to lose. Not
only is this in essence permitted, it is officially sanctioned in the
reserve price, should a seller choose to use it.

Jose
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[videoguy]

> If people put in their maximum, the result is the same. The problem is
> that
> many put in something less than their maximum until compelled to move up
> because of the spirit of competition. Sniping takes advantage of these
> initially conservative bidders by eliminating that sense of competition.
> It also cheats the seller out of the maximum bid. If people just put in
> their maximum bid in the first place, sniping would die away and sellers
> would get their fair price.

I'm not terribly active on eBay as a bidder, but I do watch at least 5-10
auctions a week. It has been my observation that the majority of the
auctions I watch are won by bids posted in the last 15-20 seconds of the
auction. When I bid, entering the max bid has been successful only when I
enter this max no sooner than the last minute (or less) of the auction. Any
sooner, and I don't win. If that makes me a sniper, then so be it. Like
Jay, I was frustrated by bidding and constantly being beat out in the last
few minutes.

And comment and questions from quoted text...

#1 Putting in your maximum bid, especially more than a few minutes before
the end of the auction allows 'nibblers' to conveniently sit and run up the
bidding until they reach your max. These nibblers MAY be legit bidders, or
shills for the seller. No way to tell.

#2 How does sniping "cheat the seller out of the maximum bid"? Isn't the
winning bid at the end of the auction the MAXIMUM bid?

#3 "If people just put in their maximum bid in the first place, sniping
would die away and sellers would get their fair price." Please illustrate
just how this eliminates sniping. Seems to me that the earlier you enter
you max bid, the MORE it encourages nibbling AND sniping. Fair price? See
#2 aboove/

Thanks,
Gary K.

[FLAV8R[_1_]]

Not to beat a dead horse, but!
As a seller on Ebay I love when snipers bring up the bid
at the last moment, it gives me hope that the product I'm
selling will go for more than it has shown for the previous
days prior to the close of the bid.
I have had products that have sold for half of what they
were worth and I have had them jump up twice the amount
in the last few seconds. Remember that snipers still have
to out snipe each other while using the automated systems.

If Ebay felt that it was an unfair system then they would
change it to one bid per bidder and you would bid your
highest and Ebay would raise your bid for you with no
changes permitted on your behalf. Or you could enter
your bid and no one would know what the highest bid was
until the close of the bid.

MTCW

David