I hate Ebay sniping!

[Jerry B.]

The top bidder did you a favor. That is one of the dreadful cast aluminum reproduction elbows. Go to sold listing and take a look. It is obvious that it's a thick cast material and pure junk. Ron Sitko sells elbows replacement elbows that are much more accurate and at a reasonable price. The aluminum elbows may still be available from some parts dealers for around $35. If the price seems too good, ask questions. Jerry Blais

[Starkton]

During several years I have always been outbid by a certain ebayer. Then, on an especially attractive $1000 item, I sniped him by just 1 cent! Revenge is sweet.

[emerson]

I have sniped and been sniped---There was an Emerson phonograph I wanted---it was worth $150 at most. There was a bid close to it, so I threw in a really really high bid and in the final seconds was out bid. The machine went for 3 times it worth----just goes to show you how some people think alike. Like it or not, it's all part of the fun---take the good as well as the not so good and Enjoy.

[briankeith]

Just set your maximum bid to $1,000,000.00 and you will not loose

[alang]

While loosing to a snipe bid can be frustrating, I can live with it. What recently really ticked me off was a seller who obviously used a second account to bid up above my max and then retract the last immediately, as soon as he beat my max. Then he just by accident bid again just a few cents below my max bid. The seller had a very good rating, but the second account had a large history of retracted bids. I cannot prove anything, but that was way too fishy. I had only placed my bid 15 minutes before auction end, because I had to run an errand. All I described earlier happened within these 15 minutes. Practices like this kind of force you to only use snipe bids.

Andreas

[briankeith]

Shill bidding

[VintageTechnologies]

Sniping is a fact of life on eBay. Adapt or lose. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. When I started buying 10 years ago, I would place my maximum proxy bid days before the close. The price would be unchanged for days and then I'd see the price bumped up repeatedly in the final minutes by the same bidders until they had exceeded my bid.

Just as in a real auction, some bidders get caught up in a pissing contest until the item sells for more than it might have if cooler heads had prevailed. So, rather than pour gas on the fire, I wait until the last few seconds to take my best shot. How bad do you want something? It still comes down to who bids the highest, but I'd rather not jack up the price any higher in a protracted bidding contest. It's just bad psychology.

I used to wonder how some people managed to bid 5 seconds before the auction closes at 3:00 am. With a little research, I discovered sniping software and sniping services.

I have both won and lost auctions by mere pennies, and I never bid in round numbers.

[Cody K]

I'm with Fran in that if I really want to snipe something, I'll bid in real time no matter what time it is. I'll set an alarm if I have to. It's ridiculous, I know, but I like the sweaty palms as the last three seconds approach. I'm imagining it, but I like to think it keeps a little humanity in the process of online bidding; but then, I'm the kind of retrograde goofball who thinks that high-speed transactions in the stock market are bad for ordinary investors, and for the economy overall. But it doesn't matter what I think if I'm the only one awake at 3am, while everyone I'm competing with is fast asleep and software's literally doing their bidding. I'm the fool then.

But I sometimes wonder what we're losing by depending on technology for every move we make -- old phonographs are my way of stepping back, way back, from technology saturation. It doesn't matter -- because here I am, grousing about online auctions on an internet forum. Whatever ship I was hoping to catch sailed long ago. I'll still set the alarm, though, if I'm serious about something on eBay.

It stings a little to miss out by a short amount, but whether the bidding's by software or, ahem, "artisanal", them's the breaks.

That's my opinion, and if you disagree, send a text to my refrigerator. It'll reply with instructions as to what to do next.

[pictureroll]

Just because one loses by a small amount does not mean that the other party bid that much more, they could have bid an extra 100.00 for all you know.If I really want something,I snipe.

[ambrola]

I use Auction Sniper and love it. I don't have to watch the item, and if I really want it, I get it.