Ok....I'm really PISSED

blykins · #1 (**permalink**) 12-07-2003, 06:28 PM

You ever read the bottom of any Ebay item that the Kirkhams' put on there? It says how to ward against Ebay snipers?

Well I didn't know what they were talking about until now. I had an auction pretty much won with 49 seconds to go on a pretty sweet Toploader deal. Someone who hadn't even bid on the thing before comes in there with probably 30 seconds to go and wins...the bad thing is, he won with $5 over my bid. I bid by proxy...but for $5 I would have went a little over.

I'm sure he's sitting there now with his DSL or T3 line gloating that he just snuck in there and got MY toploader. I hope the main shaft shears in half buddy.

REDSC400 · #2 (**permalink**) 12-07-2003, 06:49 PM

Always, Always bid the top dollar that you are willing to pay for the item. If you were willing to go 5 or 10 dollars more, then do that when you bid the first time. The only person that has an auction won is the highest bidder. It has nothing to do with time... just how much.

I learned this the hard way. Sniping only works if all the other bidders try to low ball the item. Then the high bidding sniper swoops in, at the last few seconds, and grabs the goodies. Been there, done that (at both ends).

ESNIPE is the tool used. www.esnipe.com

An outstanding sniping engine.

misfit41 · #3 (**permalink**) 12-07-2003, 07:40 PM

Yep,,like Red said,,bid as high as you will absolutely go,that way no second guesses.
There are have sniper sites ,you make your bid there instead of on ebay,they use a alightning fast connection,and make your bid at 2nds to go,,thats how these guys do it,Tk

P.S> dont stress,youll find a tranny

capfel · #4 (**permalink**) 12-07-2003, 08:30 PM

I buy many things on eBay and this is the sniping technique I use.

Wait until the last 1-2 minutes before showing interest and overbid the desired price by $100. Snipers that wait for the last second usually only get a couple of cracks at it before hitting the auction end. I use my Outlook calendar to alert me that time is running out.

Of course, if I really want that item I am not concerned if I overpay for it.

I also like to be the last high bidder on a reserve auction in case the seller decides to let it go on a "second chance". I look at it as adding myself to their contact list.

Chuck

P.S. - On a Kirkham's auction you may have to overbid by thousands, not hundreds.

blykins · #5 (**permalink**) 12-07-2003, 08:33 PM

I didn't know there was so much politics and strategy to a simple auction. Shows I'm behind the technology a little...

Turk · #6 (**permalink**) 12-07-2003, 09:06 PM

I just won this toploader on ebay, trying out my new bidding tecnique to see if it works or not. It did!

I don't know what to do with this transmission. Can I put it in a Cobra?

Sorry I had to do it!!

TURK

blykins,
Toploaders show up all the time and you will get another chance.

blykins · #7 (**permalink**) 12-07-2003, 09:26 PM

So cruel.....so cruel......

Doug I · #8 (**permalink**) 12-07-2003, 10:22 PM

but he probably DID do it .....

KobraKarl · #9 (**permalink**) 12-07-2003, 11:00 PM

Blykins,

My first ,second and third attemts to buy something on e-bay ended just like your last one......Iwould monitor the auction all week , making sure my bids kept me in the top position......then with 20 seconds to go ......bam......bam..... one sometimes two bids would come in from someone alltogether new......leaving me fuming about the a$$hole who just stole MY part.

It finally dawned on me that this was just the way thing got done .......so I tried bidding the absolute highest I would go.....and other bidders would bid me to the sky .....I got a couple things I wanted but never at the bargain prices I saw other people paying.......

So I joined em.....If its something I want , I watch it like a hawk the last 10 minutes..if the price is still reasonable i wait for about 8 seconds on the clock , THEN I bid as high as I would pay.....

Sometimes I pay more than I would wish ........sometimes I dont bid high enough,.....but I usually get what I want and usually for a lot less than my maximum.....

I guess that makes me one of those a$$holes..............maybe you too...pretty soon.

KK

Hotfingrs · #10 (**permalink**) 12-08-2003, 12:23 AM

I used to sit and watch an auction I was interested in..no matter what time of the day it went off.....then try to manually put in a last bid. Then I found a sniping program. You can add the items your interested in, place the highest you're willing to pay, and the let program do the rest. No more getting up in the middle of the night for bid placing. Just check your program in the morning and see if you've won.

REDSC400 · #11 (**permalink**) 12-08-2003, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by blykins

I didn't know there was so much politics and strategy to a simple auction. Shows I'm behind the technology a little...

Don;t fret it. You are doing fine. It is just a learning process, just like everything else in life. That's why your SECOND Cobra will turn out better than your FIRST! Just kiddin'... but there is a smattering of truth there.

Sizzler · #12 (**permalink**) 12-08-2003, 07:38 AM

It's an auction.

If someone is willing to pay more. Then by all that's right and holy with capitalism says they should get it. If you fail to enter the highest price YOU think the item is worth, then expect to have someone with a firmer grasp of its value to outbid you.

If someone is so 'win at all costs' that he'll enter a bid price $100 more than he thinks a part is worth, then more power to him and others like him as I sell my parts and 'snipe' a bid 1 minute and 20 seconds from the end of my own auction to drive these types into a bidding frenzy where they're bidding $500 over just to win.

Don't be a fool. Bid what the part is worth to you. If it goes to someone else, they were either a fool, obsessive, more knowledgeable, or had a greater desire/need for the item. Bid what you think it's worth and let it go if it goes higher.

My opinion.

Tongue Pirate · #13 (**permalink**) 12-08-2003, 08:09 AM

Can I be the devils advocate here?

Often times certain items get way out of whack because people are bidding too early on an item. Auto parts are no exception. If everyone would hold off until the last minute & put in their high bid we would all get better deals from ebay items & the guy who was willing to pay the most would end up with it. Plain & simple. & no I didn't win or bid on a toploader this weekend

. I'm sorry you got beat out on the auction, it has happened to me on a few occasions & it really sucks!!! I like to think it wasn't meant to be

sgianino · #14 (**permalink**) 12-08-2003, 08:22 AM

Blykins ,

It could be a blessing in disguise, who really knows what your getting and prob no warranty.Myself , i would call David Kee and get exactly what you want and have piece of mind for a little extra cash. My 21/2 cents

REDSC400 · #15 (**permalink**) 12-08-2003, 10:07 AM

Blykins:
Please, consider sgianos's sage advice.

DougD · #16 (**permalink**) 12-08-2003, 10:16 AM

I agree with Tongue Pirate. Why would you spend the entire week of an auction bidding the price up just to see your name on top? That's just costing you and the other bidders more on the sale. The bid that's on top at the end of the auction is the important one. Once a bid, any bid, is placed, the auction usually goes to completion. So if someone has already placed a bid on an item, just sit back and watch it for the rest of the week. I don't use a sniping service, I just use a proxy bid during the last few seconds. Works more often than not, and doesn't drive up the price unnecessarily during the week. It really amuses me to watch several people bidding against each other all week, mindlessly driving the price up the whole time, only to see someone else get the item in the end.

NeedAntiVenom · #17 (**permalink**) 12-08-2003, 01:03 PM

I've been a victim of ebay snipers as well - for a vintage bike part.

There is a very simple solution that ebay could implement to eliminate the practice. Have the auction terminate at a random time within the final auction hour or day, after a lull in biding is detected. Sniping is only possible when you know exactly when the auction is closing.

FWIW

RallySnake · #18 (**permalink**) 12-08-2003, 01:37 PM

Blykins,

I've gotten a few great deals on eBay. But sometimes, the device is not all it's supposed to be. That's why I bid a minimal amount and do not get caught up in "auction fever".

I see this all the time. People bid more for an item on eBay then they could buy it for at Summit and have free shipping and a warranty! Some people buy large items that cost more to ship then the item is worth. It's just stupid!

The only thing that works for me is finding oddball stuff that others are not interested in. You can get some great deals that way. But don't take eBay stuff seriously. Getting too caught up in it is a waste of time and energy.

Paul

blykins · #19 (**permalink**) 12-08-2003, 01:46 PM

Yeah, I have to admit that I do get caught up in the excitement sometimes...but usually I bid on stuff that you can't readily find laying around. I guess Ebay is a good tool for good items...for some other things, I agree...it's not too practical.

superskippy · #20 (**permalink**) 12-08-2003, 02:44 PM

Ebay should do it how ubid.com used to do it. The auction time would expire when it said it would. However, if someone bid on the item in the last 10 minutes, it would extend the auction for another 10 minutes. If another bid came in, the 10 minutes would start all over again. This took the snipe bidding out, as there was no way they could do it. It was good for the seller and the bidder. Sometimes an auction would go on for another 30-40 minutes, but at least you had a chance to control the bidding and have some time to think about how much you wanted it.