Comments | bpalanonymous: Ebay auctions and snipers

severinatalyn in bpalanonymous

Ebay auctions and snipers

Nov 26, 2006 19:49

I've been using Ebay for awhile, and I have not had such a huge problem with snipers as I have had since I started bidding on BPAL. It really bothers me that people who haven't bid on a certain auction come in during the last minute of the auction and steal it from you. I just lost an auction that had no other bids when someone bid from $9.99 to $ ( Read more... )

chatter: ebay & paypal

Comments 32

(The comment has been removed)

wikkidraven November 27 2006, 00:01:50 UTC

james may"

wikkidraven November 27 2006, 00:02:04 UTC

er...!

me too wikkidraven November 27 2006, 00:01:21 UTC

i do the exact same thing, which is why i hate seven day auctions. it seems a long time to wait when i know i'm not even going to look at it until it's got about an hour to go.

sparrowpunk November 27 2006, 00:05:57 UTC

speaking also as a sniper, they didn't necessarily come along at the last minute- it may have been on their watch list since the item in question was listed.

alternatively, depending on timezone, it might have been someone using sniping software who wanted the item but not to have to get up and to the computer in the middle of the night. while i do find this annoying, i don't think there's anything wrong with that.

severinatalyn November 27 2006, 00:10:32 UTC

I'm just asking out of curiosity, not to be rude or anything: if you've been watching for 7 days, why don't you bid earlier?

subbes November 27 2006, 00:14:05 UTC

Bidding early if someone else has already bid is a sure-fire invitation to a bidding war. Presto, a $70 imp.

medvssa November 27 2006, 00:20:58 UTC

Because you don't want to inflate the price early and would prefer to pay less (that is the point of an auction). The earlier you bid the more you encourage this.

If you don't like this, the only solution would be silent auctions, but I don't think they exist in Ebay. Or Dutch auctions which need multiple items I think, and you don't see them all that often.

Thread 6

atalantapendrag November 27 2006, 00:06:48 UTC

Being sniped is frustrating, but it's an inherent risk of auctions. I know someone who won't get anything that isn't a "Buy It Now" for that reason.

electro_girl November 27 2006, 00:13:10 UTC

I'm one of those people. That last minute of bidding is just too stressful for me.
It can be annoying and disappointing for someone to come in at the last minute, but I don't think there's anything truly wrong with it.

anjibobanji November 27 2006, 00:34:10 UTC

ditto, when i want something i try here or on the forums or buy it now.

xelucha November 27 2006, 00:06:54 UTC

Last-minute bidding is pretty much the law of the land...place your bid late and bid as high as you are willing to go, because then even if someone snipes you, you may still outbid them! And then they won't have time to try to go higher. If they swoop in at the last minute and you've already placed a higher proxy bid you'll still win!

Personally I find the last minute kind of thrilling, and if someone outbids me by at TON, they are welcome to it, because I was never willing to pay that much in the first place! ;)