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