I'm getting aggravated. I've lost two auctions recently in the last few seconds each by $1 :mad: I can't believe that's coincidence. Is there sniping software that can somehow determine the maximum high bid of the current winner? It's getting so that I don't even want to try to bid anymore.
There is snipe software available for last minute bidding. A lot of the pro eBayers use it.. they simply set their bids, walk away and come back with a victory.
I don't know of any way to tell what your max bid is, but with the sniping software, they just enter their maximum bid, and it places it within the last seconds. It works just like a regular bid, in that it will only increase the current bid enough to get the win, even if they set their max bid for 10x what it actually sells for. I must admit, I have grown tired of people sniping my bids at the last moment. You only have two lines of defense against it, and the first is to be sure you place your bid at the maximum you are willing to pay, and hope it ends for less than that. The second is to join them, at least then you're on an even playing field. If you were going to pick up easy reliable sniping software, I hear ebgosniper works well (no, it wasn't me)
Gotta get all up in that sh*t in the last second and have a nice speedy internet connection Just wait for whatever you want to come to the last couple minutes and dont even place a bid till its got a minute or so left and than keep refreshing the hell out of it. Otherwise, just get some software. You know all those razors are going to be polished up and than put back on ebay for 10x as much money because of all those stupid "make money from razor" articles that were coming out.
Very true. Unfortunately this often keeps them out of the hands of the person who actually intends to USE them.
Yuhp. And than the n00bs who heard some good morning america 30 second bump about how classic doubled edged gillette razors are coming back into demand and style, theyre going to go out and buy that mis named slim with the broken silo doors marked as a fatboy and a great deal and than hate the whole idea of wetshaving.
I need to vent too. I got a huge blister on my middle finger to the left of the nail from my big metal col. conk brush and a cream I just couldnt get to lather. Its HUGEEE. I just pumped plenty of juice out of it. I need to get a large brush that takes no time at all to lather up some cream.
I take the attitude that nowadays there's basically no bargains to be had on ebay. It might not be true, but for the stuff I go after it seems that way. The only way to beat snipers is to outbid them, unfortunately. Either that, or hack into the sniping servers and crash them just before your auction ends....I call it sniper sniping No, seriously, I would never do or condone that ::angelic004 James.
If it's an item I actually want to buy (as opposed to bargain hunting) I put in my max bid as soon as I find it, sometimes 6 days before the auction ends. This is what I did my first six years on eBay. Some think this makes the selling price higher but I'm not convinced of that. A couple of years ago I started sniping items where there were many bids. Usually I hit the mouse 10 seconds before the auction ends (atomic clock and fast connection). Nobody has ever beaten me on time and only once did eBay fail to receive my bid in time. If I'm going to be away from my computer when the auction ends, I use www.esnipe.com with yet another fee but capable of reliably making bids 2 or 3 seconds before the end. Items vary considerably on sniping activity. Shaving paraphernalia have one of the highest snipe rates I've run across but some items sold on eBay are never sniped especially high dollar items (say over $500) with few bidders. It's the cheap stuff that attracts snipers. I used to think this was a generational thing with young computer savvy guys (and gals) doing most of the sniping but now I think it's more of a social activity. Forums like this unintentionally promote sniping (and drive up prices) in several ways. Just my opinion but based on my observations... I still find bargains occasionally. Misspelled words, poor or no pictures, and wrong descriptions in the listings often result in no bidders. I got a nice Fatboy with a case for $2.95 plus $2 S&H as the only bidder because it was listed and described only as "Gilete ajustible shaver." I've also gotten some real bargains by being the first to see a buy-it-now auction with the price set much too low. I got five clean Gillettes including two adjustables, a scuttle and three nice vintage badger brushes all for $15.95 plus $4 S&H listed as a "shaving set." Richard
I quit using ebay five years ago because of that nonsense. I've started using it again for the buy it now feature.
As others have said, I just put my max bid and I either win it or I don't. It seems that there's always something else around the corner that I want more, so sometimes losing is a blessing in disguise. A few times I've won fairly expensive razors only to see that Bell Ellis has a put up a new batch on his site...:angry032 You know what I mean. Jordan
That's what I do. Manually placing a bid with the highest sum I'm willing to pay for the item in the last 5 seconds. It's "manual sniping" if you want to give it a name I don't want to join the ranks of the sniping cheaters and I also don't place bids days or hours or even minutes before the auction ends - thereby you only increase the price without having any advantage. :laugh042
There are NO more bargains on eBay. .................................thats why you should buy my stuff !! Good deals and lotsa freebies
Well, I have a slightly different take on sniping. I used to "manual snip". But I found my OCD-ish nature got the best of me. In the heat of those final moments, I'd loose perspective to varying degrees. I'd calmly settle on a max, only to up up up it at the last minute. I knew I had a problem when I started opening 3-4 bid windows on an auction, each with a successively higher bid, then firing them off one after an other in the last seconds... Usually I ended up bidding too much, sometimes WAY too much. And when I won, I'd suffer buyers regret after the initial high wore off. When I lost, it was the opposite. I'd kick myself up and down the street and then realize even my loosing bid was way too much. I realized the only way I can use eBay is to be ABSENT in those closing moments. The problem with putting your max in early is that then there's plenty of time of more determined bidders to inch up the price to just past your max. Or you may reassess the value and bid again with a higher max, sort bid against yourself. I don't think it is sniping that causes the price to shoot up. It is last minute bidders that sit there at the end of the auction and get into bidding wars. They MAY be snipping, or they may be doing it manually. But winning overrides any reasonable judgment of an items value. If there are people like that on a given auction, you don't really stand a chance whether you use a sniper or not. And in that case "loosing" is a good thing. A shame you didn't get that nice razor, but you won because you only have so many arms and legs, if you know what I mean. Snipping can certainly be used to win at all costs, but used responsibly, I think it actually keeps the price more in line the value. There's no adrenaline driven madness at the last second, and it forces you to make a truer valuation of the item. Not just what it is worth on the market, but what it is worth to you. Using a sniper, I find I rarely have any regrets whether I get the the item or not. It also mean I don't have to be sitting at my computer at some very inconvenient time
Miss-spelled words are good ways to get some good bargains. Looking for a Dubl Duck? Search for double duck. You find some nice bargains that way
I will usually assess the value of the item offered and place the maximum I am willing to bid. I will walk away and not bid again. I don't get caught up in the bidding hysteria. If someone wants to pay more than I am willing than they deserve it.
+1 on this! I use one of the free sniping software packages... seems to work just as well as those that charge fees. I set the max price I think the item is worth to me and let the software place the bid. Sniping software not only avoids the bidding-frenzy syndrome, but you don't have to stay home, get up in the middle of the night, etc. to place that last minute bid. Compared to the ebay of 10-years ago, you're certainly correct. Now that people are running business on ebay I even see things listed ABOVE list price... sometimes considerably above list... they say there's a sucker born every day. But you can still get extremely good deals if you're patient. Over the past year I've purchased numerous articles at roughly 30% of the best retail price I could find locally. There's even still some good deals to be had on razors if you're willing to spend the time it takes to filter through all the crappy stuff.
