Ebay auctions and snipers

[severinatalyn]

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 $

Comments

[vivrelavie]

It sucks, but it's life. I just make sure I put in the true maximum amount that I'm willing to spend and if it goes over that, well that's the sniper's fault for paying too much. ;)

[subbes]

The best way to not get outbid by snipers is to bid the maximum you're willing to pay. eBay recommends this approach to bidding. If no-one else bids, you get the item for the lowest price. If someone else bids but your maximum is higher, you still get the item. If someone outbids you... well, it was past the maximum you were willing to pay, and they were willing to pay more.

If $9.99 was your maximum bid on the BPAL, you would have been outbid by the person who sniped whether they bid three seconds before the end of the auction or five minutes after you bid.

tl;dr: snipers aren't a problem if you bid the max you're willing to pay. Also, snipers don't deserve to be demonizewd. They're using a tool, a technique -- one that prevents bidding wars (bidding wars that can drive item prices up to astronomical levels).

[severinatalyn]

I hope I didn't come off as attacking snipers, just stating that I've become more aware of the phenomenon since bidding on BPAL stuff. And as I've seen with high demand items, like the Monster Baits, bidding wars start the second the item is listed.

[subbes]

I tend to stick to BIN items anyway, but I do snipe sometimes -- if I don't, I do have a real tendancy to let my bids get larger and larger until I'm waaaay over my limit (it's the competitiveness). If I snipe, I don't have time to come back and raise my bid again if someone outbids me.

Before BPAL, some of the worst bidding wars I'd seen on eBay were over Greydog hairsticks and crochet hooks. It was insane.
Then I took a look at a Storyville auction history. Erp.

[severinatalyn]

That's a good point, actually. Maybe I'll start bidding later :)
Yeah, Storyville auctions get crazy. I've seen a few auctions get into the $90 range and it boggled my mind.

[alexia]

Eh... I 'snipe'. Why drive the price up early? I'm on ebay looking to get a good deal. I put things on my watch list and then come back at the last minute. My computer is quick enough for me to slide in a bid in the last couple of seconds, so I do.

It all comes back to the whole idea of maximum bids though. If I'm putting in a bid at the last minute I only get that one bid, if it's higher than the other people's maximum bids I have pretty fairly taken the risk and won the item imho. If the other bidders had maximum bids higher than mine I'd still lose it, and I assure you I've lost plenty as well. I don't mind though, because the way I see it if they're willing to pay more then they've fairly won it from me. I'm prepared to pay what I'm prepared to pay, I don't see that it matters when I put in that amount.

It's safe to assume that most BPAL items are being watched by at least a few people. If you don't bid your maximum then there is a much higher chance of losing the items. That's the risk early bidders take.

[supremegoddess1]

no, it's not just you...i lost out on an imp lot i really wanted on friday and a bottle of blood moon today like that. :(

[bobsgirlfriend]

I try not to snipe, but usually I can't decide whether or not to bid at all until the last half hour.