[time-nuts] OT: eBay bidding question

Didier Juges didier at cox.net
Sat Apr 28 16:26:00 UTC 2007


As far as I am concerned, I had given up on eBay (I am not a gambler by 
nature) when I found out about sniping services. I am now a regular 
user, buyer and seller.
I absolutely have no interest in bidding on eBay without sniping, unless 
it's BIN.

With sniping, I decide how much I am willing to pay for something, I put 
my bid in bidnip and forget about it. If I win, great, if I don't, I 
look for something else. All I need to do is check my mail in the 
morning to find out if I won. I don't have to subject myself to the 
anxiety of seeing my bid being surpassed and the temptation of bidding 
more that I should.

Another advantage, if I actually change my mind at the last minute, I 
cancel the bid in bidnip and I am done. I typically set my bid to 3 
seconds before the end, so I have plenty of time to change my mind.

I don't need to be in front of the computer, it takes the emotion out of 
buying stuff, which is good for me. I feel no rush in the last seconds.

The seller is free to remove his item at the last minute, or sell it to 
someone else at any time, and that's fine with me, would be the same 
outcome if my bid is not the highest. As the prospective buyer, I have 
no right until I won something.

On hot items, I sometimes bid on a dozen or more items until one happens 
to end up in my price range and I get it. And that's fine with me. If I 
really, really NEED something, I go to the store or find one that has 
BIN on eBay.

The only downside is when the item has a reserve and I am the only 
bidder. I have "won" a number of items which I did not get because they 
were below the reserve.  By the way, it has nothing to do with sniping, 
you have the same problem if you bid by hand. Reserve prices really get 
me fuming and should be abolished. If you want to make sure you get no 
less than a certain amount or not sell your item, set the starting price 
there and at least everyone knows where you stand. As a result, I 
typically do not bid on reserve items.

No pain, all gain :-)

Didier

Jason Rabel wrote:
> A desperate person could place a high bid, then initiate a massive DDoS
> attack on eBay's servers so nobody could bid. Hehe...
>
> Seriously though, I wonder how much the eBay world would change if they
> implemented anti-sniping measures like so many other auction sites. I could
> just see a mob of fanatic bidders outside of eBay's corporate offices in the
> middle of the night with pitchforks and torches ready to storm the castle.
> eBay has stated though that "sniping is part of the auction experience", and
> I guess as long as the sellers don't complain too much why should they
> bother?
>
> One thing I like is when someone ends an auction a little early and sells to
> the current high-bidder (rare, but I've seen it). It just makes me feel all
> warm and fuzzy inside knowing all those people that wanted to snipe at the
> last second missed out.
>
> For really hot items that I know there are going to be a ton of snipe bids,
> I usually don't even bother with since I know it will go past my price
> range. But they are always fun to watch and see how the bidding turned out.
> Quite often you know there is some person swearing because they squeezed in
> the last bid at the last second, but unfortunately were not the highest bid.
> It's a double-edged sword.
>
> Jason
>
>   
>> Paleeeeze!!!!!
>>  
>>     
>>> In a message dated 4/26/2007 8:04:10 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
>>> die at dieconsulting.com writes:
>>>  
>>> "Smart folks snipe.  Period."  
>>>       
>
>
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