We just have to agree to disagree. Just because it is the way things go does not mean that it is the way things should be. Society use to be more polite. Maybe that is what is missing. But for whatever reason, I find the practice distasteful . And as I stated the auction was not that big a deal. I have 3 lather catchers in as good or better shape then the one I missed. Two of these are Superiors. Much more desirable to me. One of mine is older then that one was. No auction is that big a deal. I have what 30 razors now. I buy them for fun. To use different things. If I miss one so what. I will pick up another later if I want it. I just feel that sniping is unsportsmanlike. People who do it mostly seem to feel that to win by any means is ok. That is ok too. I do not feel that way personally. Fuzzy
There you go, you answered your own question. I don't get the "unsportsman" charge, if it's within the rules of the auction then it's "sportsman" like. Besides Ebay is not a sport, it's an auction. What you call "sniping" I call savvy buying technique that get's me (sometimes anyway, there are no guarantees) the item I want for as you say, the least amount. I don't go to ebay to play games or sports, I'm shopping for deals on the cheap. If I see something I want and there are few or no bids on it why on earth would I drive the cost up by bidding on it early? So I put it on my watch list and make a note of when the auction ends, go back a minute or two before and if the price is still right I try to make the ending bid. Everyone has the opportunity to do the same thing so there's nothing unsportsman like about it, it's working within the rules to get the item you want for the price you want to pay.
Just cause something is not illegal does not mean that it is right. To come in right at the end of the bidding and jump the bid with no chance for the others to get over it, the ones that have been bidding on it, is simple not right where I come from. But as I have said that is just how I feel about it. Fuzzy
Why is it not right? You (I hope) put in the max you were comfortable paying for it, if I come in with a higher bid, oh well... I was willing to pay more than you. If your max bid was higher than mine, you win - congrats! End of story, end of auction.
That's just absurd to me, the closing time on every auction is posted for everyone to see, being the final bidder is what every bidder wants to do. What time do you suggest I cease bidding in order to be "sportsmanlike" to you, five minutes before the end of bidding, ten, twenty? See how absurd that is? Bidding early is unproductive as it drives up the price, I'm in effect bidding against myself if I bid early. Sounds to me despite your protestations to the contrary that you're just ticked at being beaten at the auction. You've made for yourself a set of "rules" that have no application in real life and don't like when others break your rules. Ebay rules are posted for everyone to see and there's no rule against bidding at the last moment.
That's the way I see it. I also play my maximum bid manually a few seconds before the auction ends. I don't want to deal with constantly watching the auction, bidding ten times beforehand, each time increasing the bid by 1$ or so. I bid what the thing is worth for me once - if I win, good, if not, well, I don't care as I didn't want to pay more anyway. Much less hassle, less drama.
I hate to lose. Don't really care how the bid that beat me was placed. If you haven't bid before the last few minutes of an auction's end, you shouldn't bid? What if you one day say, "Hey, I'd like such and such rare razor. Let's see what Ebay has." You go and search for the razor. OMG, there it is, ends in less than a minute, and has a very low price. You're suppose to stop and say, "No, that wouldn't be right as I haven't bid before now." But it's a 195 selling for $5!! OMG! Everyone has there way. There's no right or wrong about it. As a seller I have ended an auction because there were no bids by the last few hours, even with a couple watchers watching the auction. Watching an auction lets the seller know someone is interested, but you don't whether those watchers forget about the auction, have set up a snipe, or what. Without some early bids an auction can be ended early. Then everyone loses.
Fuzzy said this was an eBay rant, not a snipe rant. If I understand him rightly, he doesn't like the format of eBay that allows for this sort of behavior he considers unsportsmanlike. And everyone will see it differently - for example, you hate to lose. To me, that is unsportsmanlike, but I also hate to lose when I've put a lot into trying to win - I don't think he is so much trying to make everyone who snipes feel guilty as he is just expressing his frustration at being sniped Maybe he just doesn't like to lose a certain way. I don't know that these sorts of things can always be proven reasonable or unreasonable outside of personal values and opinion I think we at least have to admire fuzzy's stubbornness to sticking to his principle, regardless of how silly it is "Everyone has there way. There's no right or wrong about it." - I think you're right!
+1 There is right and wrong, good and bad, and just because something is legal or within the current rules doesn't make it right or sporting. It's legal to shoot Bears over full garbage cans in some states, does this make it sporting? Anyone who has lost an auction to me can be assured that they were not sniped. This may or may not make a difference to you, but it sure does to me.
Ummm.....just to be a bit nitpicky here. I said I hate to lose, not that I throw a tantrum or whine about losing. I don't see how hating to lose is unsportsmanlike. Who likes to lose?
Not you apparently! lol I used your quote as a platform for my point that sportsmanship in the case of eBay is not at all an objective quality. When you start any endeavor with the goal of outdoing someone else, your own personal set of ethics will probably be misconstrued at some point by someone else who has set out with the same goal
If you lose an auction to me it was because of a snipe bid and I will most likely be sleeping, playing with my kids, working or eating a meal when it happens (all of which are more important to me than sitting on eBay). You'll always have 4 seconds retaliate however. But wait, would that be sniping?
Really no need to be rude or condescending about it, folks. Everyone is entitled to their feelings and opinions.
Not sure if that was directed at me, I sure hope not - Because I was only making an honest statement... I'd much rather be playing with my kids than waiting for an auction to end, or forgetting about it completely. And also, the last line was a question I'd like to know the answer to by anyone who feels last second bids are 'unsportsmanlike'.
