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Original poster

Bloody snipers!

50 replies

Moodykat · 20/09/2011 21:10

I was merrily bidding on a Bugaboo and was nervously winning at £150. Watching the seconds count down with that certain eBay feeling! Got to 9 seconds and suddenly the price shot up to £225! How does this happen?! Bastards! Would've set my maximum if I'd known! That'll learn me!

OP posts:
lljkk · 01/10/2011 04:46

Sorry Sarah... I totally didn't follow that. Blush

NotADudeExactly · 01/10/2011 04:50

Very simply fixed as follows:

Bid once, bid late but not last minute, bid the actual maximum you are prepared to pay.

If a sniper is in fact willing to pay more than you, their win is completely legitimate.

lljkk · 01/10/2011 04:50

oops, I found what you meant. Just ignore me...

sarahtigh · 01/10/2011 14:11

notadudeexactly i understand why you say bid once, bid late, bid your maximum; but why would you not bid in the last minute?

Northernlurker · 01/10/2011 14:16

I tend to bid close to my maximum in the last minute then rebid my actual maximum in the last 10 seconds. If they're going to pay higher then they're welcome to it

fergoose · 01/10/2011 14:49

I always bid in the last 8 seconds or less - why bid twice and end up paying more?

seeker · 01/10/2011 14:55

If you bid the amount you want to pay it doesn't matter who bids what or how, they will only win the auction, they are prepared to pay more than you are.

You are not showing your hand, because the auction will only show your bid as the lowest winning price, not your maximum.

NotADudeExactly · 01/10/2011 17:24

Because if you really want the item you'll feel awful if your cunning plan fails due to connection reset.

Speaking out of experience.

DaisySteiner · 01/10/2011 17:27

I remember when I seemed to be one of the few people who did snipe. I got some great bargains that way. Nowadays everybody seems to do it

cece · 01/10/2011 17:29

I think you are all mad!

I just put my maximum bid in as and when - often as soon as I spot an item I am interested in.

If someone outbids me than so be it, whether it is with 2 days to go or 2 seconds. Doesn't really matter does it as they are paying more than I am prepared to pay? I never increase my bid as a result of being outbid!

sarahtigh · 01/10/2011 17:47

if you have been on ebay a few hours it is best to logout and log in again before end of auction it stops the sudden being asked for password in last few seconds

SEEKER unfortunately if you bid early not 3 minutes but certainly 3 hours some unscrupulous persons slowly bid up until they have discovered your max, they then cancel their bid and re-bid at 2p more than your max in last few seconds.if you bid early that is a risk but most people do not do this as number of bid retractions does show up if people check your feedback.... sorry but not everyone plays fair,

but if you have entered 99p early then I come along and bid 1.04 if it then jumps to £1.24 I know you have a max bid in system however when i bid £1.04 after you and am then I am winning I know you have no max bid in system and that is a completely fair way of working

cece · 01/10/2011 17:50

I don't care - I get some real bargains doing it my way and I am happy!

sarahtigh · 01/10/2011 17:51

the only time it is good to bid early is if something is on an auction starting at 99p with buy it now of say £4 if you bid 99p immediately the buy it now disappears and you might get it for less than £4 and even if not, by bidding 99p immediately you know no-one else can now buy it now over your head

also some put in low bid early as then it is harder for seller to cancel auction and sell off line but this is more for cars and big machine or prams which are collection only, the seller can still cancel all bids but not in ebay rules but if no-one bid easy to finish listing and against no rules

seeker · 01/10/2011 17:57

If you bid what you q prepared to pay it doesn't matter when you bid!

fergoose · 01/10/2011 18:02

yes it does if the seller is unscrupulous and uses another account to up your bid to your max - if you are the only bidder in the last few seconds you won't get outbid and will more often get the item at the opening price

Plus an item with bids on it will attract other buyers and make it look desirable.

birdsofshoreandsea · 01/10/2011 18:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

sarahtigh · 01/10/2011 19:00

seeker if your max is £4.56 and you bid 2 days ahead you are less likey to win than if you bid £4.56 in last 10 seconds, you never pay more than £4.56 you just win more at that price by bidding late

if you are happy bidding early and risking it that is fine, but you can't say that in reality it makes no difference, same with cece she is happy and she wins enough stuff so its fine for her;

we are just discussingthe best way to get the most items we want for the lowest price and it is as birdsofshoreand sea says "bid once bid late bid your max"

ragged · 01/10/2011 19:22

I think your strategy/attitude is very healthy, cece. :)

garlicslutty · 01/10/2011 19:30

If you bid what you are prepared to pay it doesn't matter when you bid!

That's what I thought! But I have noticed I always end up paying my max ...

yes it does if the seller is unscrupulous and uses another account to up your bid to your max - if you are the only bidder in the last few seconds you won't get outbid and will more often get the item at the opening price

... which is what I'm sure I've seen some of my sellers doing Angry

Having said that, if I get the thing I wanted at the price I was willing to pay, nobody loses. BUT - do snipers prevent sellers doing that? How??

cece · 01/10/2011 19:31

Well I am currently sitting on a gorgeous leather sofa (really expensive one originally) that I picked up for £26 using my strategy.

I do admit you have to be patient though... I lose quite a lot but I don't mind that.

garlicslutty · 01/10/2011 19:41

twenty-six pounds???!!!!!

Jesus. I need to apply myself to the theory!

DaisySteiner · 01/10/2011 19:44

I agree that you should put in your absolute maximum bid and then leave it at that, but the trouble with doing it early IMO is that it attracts other people. I'm sure that the more bids an item has the more attractive it seems to prospective bidders. And regardless of whether you just put in your maximum bid and then leave it, other people don't, they just keep putting in higher and higher bids to get them item. If you leave it till as late as possible they don't have an opportunity to do this.

garlicslutty · 01/10/2011 19:49

OK, cece, have just read thread more slowly and see that you do what I do.

So ... since I don't view it as a sport, and cba to time myself to the millisecond (which would be a challenge on my rural "broadband" anyway) - I should be a lot more daring with low bids and, ideally, put my max in very near the end? Is that right?

goingbacktowork · 02/10/2011 08:09

How interesting. Which is the best sniper function? or are they all pretty much the same? Do you pay per snipe or a percentage of the purchase price or does it vary? Thanks.

DaisySteiner · 02/10/2011 08:16

I use www.biddingscheduler.com. It's completely free and easy to use.

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