eBid sniping software?

[bykimbo]

hello folks , I can see both sides of this , and when you get right down to it , it is no different from sitting waiting untill the last minute before you bid...and hope to win.....a proxy bid is just the same ..never used a snipe tool but it is just one of those things ??? as I say , it is up to each bidder what they want to do.....Papa.

Completely, it was only with regard to the comment about YDC that Frank and I were discussing the pros and cons.

[somersethedge]

S'cuse my ignorance... what is sniping?

Sniping in this case is a program where you place the maximum bid you want at any time of the life of the listing.... but the bid is not placed until the final seconds of the auction

[TexasAda]

Poppy, my interpretation of auction sniping is based on the metaphor of a sniper with a rifle and scope. The sniper sits patiently, waiting for just the right opportunity of the target coming into view, and fires one shot, hitting the target. This manifests in online shopping as waiting until you think nobody else can outbid you, and entering your maximum bid at the last possible time near the end of the listing.

The fun or excitement of auction sniping is calculating just how close to cut it, and determining what exactly is your maximum price to offer, and wondering how many other bidders are sniping the same auction.

Sniping software services offer automated bid placing for you so you dont' have to do it manually, or don't have to be logged on at the auction ending time. Of course you have to give your screen name and password to the sniping service, which can be a worry. I've used them a few times on the dark side and seemed to suffer no ill effects. I won the auctions too!

There are of course reasonable arguments to be made against using sniping software.

[poppyrowan]

Thanks guys :-)

[Cocksparrer]

Erm what is sniping ???

[bykimbo]

Erm what is sniping ???

er... read the thread, that one's been answered twice already.

[marshland]

Although I now sell exclusively on eBid I still buy from the other place sometimes.
I got so frustrated with losing out to snipers in the last few seconds on some spcialist items such as vintage local postcards that I actually gave up bidding on these items.
The snipers still got the items but they had to pay a lot less money and the seller obviously recieved less without my bids bumping the price up.

Although it is nice to see your auction bumped up at the end if everyone sniped you would not build up interest in the auction and so receive low prices.

I agree that it's not really a problem on eBid as rarely do you get more than one bid on a sold item and the majority seem to go for the buy it now price.

Peter

[Cocksparrer]

Sniping in this case is a program where you place the maximum bid you want at any time of the life of the listing.... but the bid is not placed until the final seconds of the auction

No dont think I like that at all

[oddsnends]

Sniping would not work on my auctions as I use the auto extend.

[cailesm]

Sniping would not work on my auctions as I use the auto extend.

I like the auto extend feature, it makes online auction more like real auctions. If you go to a real auction, if you're out bid it will be because you choose not to go any higher, not because someone comes in at the last second & you run out of time.

You never run out of time in real auctions. I like the idea of bidding during the auction (both as a buyer & a seller). I understand it could be excited on feebay when bids came in at the last minute, but you would probably have got a better price if they'd bid early. Likewise as a buyer I found it annoying to be outbid at the last second.