Andrew,
If this was a recent auction I am not the guilty party, but when I WANT an
item offered on eBay I sit back and watch the bidding increments very closely.
I try to notice whether or not a particular bidder is bidding, as you did, in
large
lumps, which I have been known to do if I would LIKE to have something, or
if they are being pennyanti and just bidding the minimum to see where the top
of the auction is. Those bidders don't stand a chance against a sniper. Your
bidding method can foul a sniper.
If I want something I establish a maximum value that I am willing to pay for
that item. Then I watch the item right up to the last minute. If it is inside
my
pre-determined maximum I will bid that maximum within the last few seconds.
If it has exceeded my maximum I will not bid at all. In no case would I ever
consider using sniping software. Even I don't like that approach.
I have won and lost auctions sniping. I once lost a set of top bows that
someone wanted more than I did. The next week I won a parts car, with top
bows in great shape, for about $75.00 less than the bows alone would have
been. I am installing that U20 engine in my car now. I have used many parts
from that car, and will be using more major parts as needed, plus I still have
the
very nice top bow. The lost auction worked out pretty good in the end.
Those of us who do snipe are taking a chance that someone wants the item
more than we do and has already bid accordingly, as you had. If that happens
the auction may be lost and there is no chance of recovery. For that reason, if
a sniper really wants something we will bid all and see what happens. Because
snipers must bid it all, the seller can make out like a bandit if a pair of
snipers
get into a last second bidding match, which is how I lost the top bows. The
other guy paid a ton for those bows because I really wanted them.
Those who bid in small increments hold the price of the item down, and in the
end the seller may not get a good price, or a sniper may really steal it. I
always
tell people to bid all it is worth to you whether you bid early, or late. The
highest
bidder will always win if the bid is received in time.
Tom
69 2000
Portland, Oregon
Andrew Murphy wrote:
> Recently I bid on a part that I really wanted. Now I have lost auctions
> before, but this time it really bummed me out. I put what I thought was a
> very high maximum bid for the part and watched the auction closely.
>
> For three days I was the high bidder. Sure enough, in the last minute of the
> auction, someone bid one dollar higher than I and "sniped" the auction away
> from me. For some reason it pissed me off and I sent an email to the person
> saying they were a jerk for bidding at the last second for a part. Stupid of
> me, but I was mad and I do stupid things sometimes just like we all do.
>
> The guy writes back and says he does not have to justify himself to me and
> that he "just happened" to see the auction at the last second, decided he
> wanted the part, and bid high enough to beat my bid by a dollar. He then
> says I am harrasing him, he's forwarding my email to ebay and for me to
> never to write to him again.
>
> Right.
>
> The guy is a liar. No one bids in the last minute after "happening" on the
> part. He's a roadster guy. He checks ebay all the time. The fact that he got
> so angry with me proves he felt he needed to rationalize a poor act. He
> should have just trashed my email and said to himself "The guy should get
> over it". I did. I still am. I could care less what this guy thinks of me.
>
> Folks, Ebay sniping is poor behavior. We all want the great parts. I pledge
> to this list that I will bid early and will bid my maximum amount when I do.
> Life is too short to screw people over.
>
> No one else need agree to this or even comment on it. Sometimes it's OK to
> do the right thing.
>
> Take Care,
>
> Andrew Murphy
> SoCalROC
>
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