Yet another ebay rant..

Discussion in 'General Shaving Talk' started by wchnu, Jan 26, 2009.

  1. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    So I got sniped for the first time last night. It was not a particularly big deal, as I have 2 of the lather catcher razors I was bidding on. Still in all it is a singularly unsporting way to bid.

    The whole fun of an auction is in the excitement of out bidding someone. You then have to decide if you are willing to raise the bid again.

    Seems to me that this would generally cause the seller to get more for the item. The snipe of course came in with seconds left in the auction.

    Now I know the old part about if you want it bid high to get it. Well that is horse#$%^. The point is to get it for the least amount. If the seller wants a high price they can set a reserve. I watch auctions I am interested in,bid on them as they go up, and most the times get what I want.

    Sniping to me is like night hunting deer, loathsome at best.


    Just the Bunny's $.02.

    Fuzzy
     
  2. poppi

    poppi Well-Known Member

    I know exactly how you feel. Lost a lot on ebay last night myself and was a little pissed (can I say that?) that I got beat out in the final few second. Aggrivating to say the least.
     
  3. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    I was really not that big a loss. BUT.. just the unsportsmanlike like feel of it.


    Fuzzy
     
  4. rodd

    rodd Knotty Boy

    Proxy bidding will let you bid as high as you are willing to go, and still give you the best deal possible because it only goes up as you are bid against to keep you in the lead. I was really upset when I got sniped the first time, but someone made a really good point. The auction goes to the high bidder, no matter when their bid was placed. It probably does keep the prices lower, and as a seller I hate it, because you never have any idea how much interest there is in an item until it is too late, but as a buyer, I think it avoids the nibble bidders who just drive up the price. That being said, I can totally understand why you are upset, just wanted to share my view.
     
  5. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    Thank's rodd always good to hear from you. And yes the highest wins.. but if there is not a chance to over bid your opponent then it is not a real auction. That is part of the fun, having to decide if you are willing to up the ante.
    Of course if you just use the proxy bid it is not the same either. But more sporting. I am suprised that sellers do not complain more. The nibble bidders help get them more money usually. Or so it would seem to me.

    Fuzzy
     
  6. hoglahoo

    hoglahoo Yesterday's News

    I guess that's the way it goes when auctions have set ending times. It will never be as fun as a live auction.

    bibbididibbidibidididibibibidiFAVHDALLASbididididi WHEEZE bibbiddyWHOGIBMETENWHOGIBMMEMETENhibbidybiddybiddibbidy

    :happy102

    PS eBay is not a sport. but I'll play along: you only get sniped if the sniper outbids you. so the way I see it, if you choose not to snipe then you play defense and it's up to you to have the highest bid. If the sniper's bid is lower than your max, then you outbid him with an automatically generated proxy snipe. How's that for unsportsmanlike? :shocked031
     
  7. 1969Fatboy

    1969Fatboy New Member

    As I seller it doesnt matter;) Everyone has the same intention to snipe the item....so everyone just sits back until the last minute. I start all my items very low....like $1-$5 regardless what it is so save on fees. I was pleasantly surprised to see a slim adj shoot from $9 to $23 in the last 2 minutes! 2 sides of the coin I guess. I personally wait until the last 15 seconds and hit my max I am willing to pay and walk away....If i win..nice...lose? ok.
     
  8. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    Not the same at all when he jumps in at the last 10 seconds. If I have a higher proxy bid then there is the chance that I can get outbid and have to raise it. When that happens it is not that big a deal. If I want to bid more I do.

    And any endeavor should be played out in a sportsman like way. IMHO

    Fuzzy
     
  9. hoglahoo

    hoglahoo Yesterday's News

    Hmm, maybe that is a good way to approach it...

    I think it is unsportsmanlike when low bidders keep bumping up their bid dollar by dollar by dollar until they finally beat my max. Thank goodness I have a way to put in a bid after they've gone to bed :rolleyes:
     
  10. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    What is unsportsmanlike about that. That is how an auction works. People bid against each other. Who cares how many bids it takes a guy to get to where he wants to be.

    Fuzzy
     
  11. hoglahoo

    hoglahoo Yesterday's News

    But that guy doesn't know where he wants to be until he sees the other bids. He's no less a shark than the sniper is

    I don't like getting outbid whether it is early on or late in the auction, myself, as I would rather have the item at the price I am willing to pay. Unsportsmanlike to me would be someone retracting their bid, or someone shilling for the seller, or something similarly shady. Bidding early, often, and late are just part of the eBay auction. Maybe eBay should hire some more staff (and raise fees) so they can have one auctioneer for each auction and not end the auction until nobody has bid for period of time. I guess I agree with you in principle that sniping is unsportsmanlike, but it doesn't feel that way to me, I guess because I am one of those who are unsportsman like in my bidding (gotta protect myself against you dollar-pusher bidders!)
     
  12. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    That should say Those..:D

    I do not bump a bid a dollar to see if it goes. I will bump 10 or something like that depending on what the item is. Then if it is still over bid it is decision time on how high I will go at that point.


    Fuzzy
     
  13. hoglahoo

    hoglahoo Yesterday's News

    How late can a bid be before it is considered unsporstmanlike?

    Or, when is a bid a snipe?
     
  14. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    Good question. Maybe a few more people will add there thoughts to the mix here.

    but if you jump into a auction right at the last second. Just to steal it then I think that is wrong.. Of course I realize that if my Proxy bid is high enough that it can win. But if that bid has been in long enough to get beat honest then it is just a loss for me.

    Maybe a double standard. But my high proxy bid can be beat with another high bid during the auction and it is not that big a deal. I have the option to raise it. But with a last second over the top snipe I do not..and that Sir feels wrong to me.

    Fuzzy
     
  15. hoglahoo

    hoglahoo Yesterday's News

    Since the auction has a fixed end time, you and one other guy could be at it until the very end trying to steal the auction from each other. At 15 seconds prior to auction's end do you effectively and mutually end the auction for the sake of sportsmanship? Any bid can be considered a snipe by me if it comes after my last practical chance to bid. Whose fault is it that I can't be watching as the auction ends? In a live auction, you have to be present at the end if you want to be sure of the outcome. Same with eBay I guess!

    PS you still have the option to raise your bid after the snipe. You can set your own snipe to go off just one or two seconds before auction's end that beats all your earlier bids (but then why not just snipe instead of bidding over and over? and that's not as fun, dang it) Anything a sniper can do, you can do also - what feels wrong, the method itself or that you just don't want the hassle of having to play that way?
     
  16. mmack66

    mmack66 Member

    Unfortunately, the Law of the Jungle, not Robert's Rules of Order, applies to dealings on eBay. I have been sniped so many times I have lost track. I tend to look for buy it now auctions anymore because I don't like to have to wait around for 7 days to see if I am going to win something or not.
     
  17. rollsshaver

    rollsshaver Peace be with you

    My nickname is White-Feather.....................
     
  18. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    If i get beat out after a bidding war that's life. But for someone to jump in right at the end like that is just wrong to me.

    I have never been the type that felt it was ok to do something to someone just cause it is how they do things. Outdated maybe but that is how I try to do things. I am far from perfect I know. I do tend to try to take the high road on most occasions.

    I happen to owe a member here $10 that I keep forgetting to send. Just to point out that I do not feel that I am all morally over it all.
     
  19. scottydoint

    scottydoint Member

    I know how you feel when you got sniped, but that is the best way to do it. If you set a time that would be considered okay to place a bid in like "If you place a bid after 20 seconds, then that is unsportsman like" then 20 sec remaining would be the new 0 and people would pacing bids w/ 21 sec left and then you still won't have a chance unless you are going to be unsportsman like and place a bid after the 20 sec.

    I personally do what it takes to win at the lowest price, so I snipe and everyone does it. Just put in what your willing to pay and know that you can't change your mind to go higher ahead of time so there won't be any disappointment that you didn't get a chance to go higher.
     
  20. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    Unfortunately that is how a lot of things are.

    Thank you for throwing your thoughts in so it is not just us two in here.

    Fuzzy
     

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