[Rizumu]

I've been an ebay member for over 5 1/2 years now. It just ain't what it used to be. Now the only way I win an auction is if it's something I really want and am willing to pay out the ass for it and more than anyone else. Sniping is no longer a way to get deals...it's the only way to win, and you have to bid high.

 

[dhwilkin]

Bah, real men shouldn't need to use the eBay equivalent of Aimbot to snipe!

 

[vwap]

Heh.. real men snipe manually.

Man, I, too remember the days where I didn't have to resort to sniping, but those days are, unfortunately, over... Now I stay up until all hours of night (and Rizumu can attest to this.. heh) sitting around waiting for an auction to end. Especially in the market of PCDPs which generally go way high... Like someone said, don't tip your hand too early, because someone might be willing to go higher than you (but only bid incrementally, instead of their max, thereby letting you get past them

)

Until the auction structure of eBay is changed to the likes of AudiogoN, where sniping automatically extends the auction, this problem will only get worse...

But you know, life is really to short to be mad that you lost out on any one item. Another one will appear in due time, and who knows, you might even get a better deal on it the next time around.

(And hey, did you really want to pay almost $50 for a remote? [size=xx-small]I just noticed you were up against 50th-state.. I have yet to see that guy lose an auction..[/size])

 

[archosman]

I had no idea there was software that would allow you to do this! The last 2 bidding wars I lost on eBay both times the winners of the auction emailed me and asked if I was interested in buying it. Yeah... whatever.

 

[PeterR]

Quote:

Originally posted by flipzter "The fine art of sniping" I have lost several MP3 player auctions lately and one of the auctions had this sentence: "The best way to avoid having a sniper take your auction is to bid the most you are willing to pay on your first bid." Now come on, if that were the case you could never find one of the deals of a lifetime.

Absolutely wrong. I'm not sure you understand how ebay works. It's a second price auction, you don't pay what you bid. Your bid only determines whether you win the auction, the price of the item is determined by the second highest bid. Incremental bidding is absolute nonsense and doesn't give you any advantage. You reduce your chance of winning, but if you win you pay the same. People bidding less than they're willing to pay is the only reason sniping works.

 

[dariusf]

It is starting to get really reticules. For one people bit unbelievable amounts, often more then the item can be found retail online. Allot of times I see some people bidding the price way up while there are same items ending later with lower buy now price. Yes,

I'm also guilty of sniping but I do it manually, more fun

Just decide what is the absolute maximum I'm willing to pay if I really want the item and use that amount to snipe at the last ~20 sec. If I win I win if not then there will always be another auction

 

[flipzter]

Quote:

you don't pay what you bid

I actually don't understand this. So if I bid 10,000 and the next highest bid is 200 I win and only pay 200? If this is correct I can let someone make a small 10 bid and then I bid 10000 and I win and only pay say 11?

Seriously, explain this to me.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

FLIPZTER,

It's called proxy bidding. Your actual bid is only what it takes to outbid the poerson who bid ahead of you. The same thing goes if you outbid someone and then someone tries to outbid you, the proxy bid will only increase your bid either enough to outbid the person who outbid you, if you bid enough, or up to their maximum bid.

 

[Mr.PD]

I learned that you don't give them a minute the hard way.
I waited until about 45 seconds left then tossed out a huge bid. THe other guy got in two more bids before the end and I ended up paying 4 bucks more than I had hoped. He was bidding 2 bucks at a time.

 

[PeterR]

Quote:

Originally posted by flipzter I actually don't understand this. So if I bid 10,000 and the next highest bid is 200 I win and only pay 200? If this is correct I can let someone make a small 10 bid and then I bid 10000 and I win and only pay say 11? Seriously, explain this to me.

Yes. I bid 1$, you bid 1,000,000$ - you win and pay 1.50$. It also doesn't matter whether you made your bid 1 week or one 1 second before the auction ends.

Edit: When two bids are the same, the earlier bid wins. So if everybody understood the rules and made only one bid reflecting his actual willingness to pay, sniping would even be a slight disadvantage.

 

[skagen]

Quote:

Originally posted by PeterR Absolutely wrong. I'm not sure you understand how ebay works. It's a second price auction, you don't pay what you bid. Your bid only determines whether you win the auction, the price of the item is determined by the second highest bid. Incremental bidding is absolute nonsense and doesn't give you any advantage. You reduce your chance of winning, but if you win you pay the same. People bidding less than they're willing to pay is the only reason sniping works.

There a lot of shills and such on E-bay. Many fake "bidders" whose sole purose is to squeeeze out every last cent from bidders, especially in the early to mid stages. That's partly where there are not as meany good deals as there used to be.

Plus as a buyer, the point of E-bay and auctions is supposed to be that you can find stuff for far less than you are willing to pay. If you pay your max ,it kills the fun of it. There's not that same "bargain" feeling.

 

[D-EJ915]

I've suffered the ultimate loss on ebay...

I lost on Not just one, but [size=medium]TWO FRICKING MZ-E700, the RAREST MD unit, to the SAME F*/KING GUY!![/size]

 

[tbdoah]

vwap, indeed, 50th-state has take a few of our wanted items....I have yet to see him lose an item. I bet that just for the heck of it he had his sniped up at $100...nobody would ever bid that high for a remote. My bid was $40.01, and well, at this point, I've set my eyes on something else.

D-EJ915, the E700 is not the rarest unit of all. For Sony, the E7W/E606/E800 are much, *much* harder to find than an E700.

IMO, the rarest minidisc unit of all is the JVC 2002 FIFA World Cup Commerative, followed by Pioneer's Mickey Mouse models, the 2000 model of which I let go to a fellow minidisct board member, and he got for a steal at $50.

 

[D-EJ915]

Actually, I've seen a lot of E800s, 5 if I can remember correctly, on eBay, many of which were NIB.

Warehouse123 used to have the E606 in-stock, but haven't for about a year.

Didn't they sell the E7W on the T-Station mainpage??

Quote:

JVC 2002 FIFA World Cup Commerative

I'd have to say that that is a pretty rare MD unit, but it's not a regular production model, so I didn't count it.

 

[warubozu]

Quote:

Originally posted by fewtch Just decide carefully how high you're willing to go, place the bid sometime in the last few hours of the auction and leave it at that... another good way to do it (although we don't usually celebrate sanity around here, it was worth saying... ).

I agree, sniping with an outrageous maximum might allow you to win the bid but you may have to pay an ungodly amount in the end especially if the current highest bidder has set a very high maximum.