sniping blues
 

I use Gavelsnipe for almost all of my eBay bidding, and they're more reliable than my attempts at manual sniping ever were, so no complaints there; but lately I've been getting burned on a lot of cards that I would have won using the old-fashioned bidding process.

The last five auctions I set snipes for I was outbid by a TOTAL of $0.96. It's an astonishing statistical aberration, but nothing especially remarkable about it otherwise. Just a short run of bad luck, but I'm thinking I might go back to putting in my bids as soon as possible and seeing how they turn out, at least for items under $100 or so. Anybody else do that -- snipe the expensive stuff but just bid right away on everything else? It's just so easy to set a snipe that I never bothered to put much thought into whether the costs might outweigh the benefits. Certainly they have for me over the past few days.

How do you know what the other person's highest bid would have been when you lost by cents.

Because when you lose by cents the winning bid IS their max bid.

true i didnt know if the card was 4 dollars etc...where 50 cents is an increment...but ok i hear ya..

Are you bidding in whole amounts or odd numbers?

When setting a snipe most folks set even whole numbers by habit - 10.00, 15.00, 25.00, etc. The best way to successfully snipe is to pick odd numbers and then add a few cents. The minimum bid increment does not apply on a snipe that exceeds the prior bid by more than that increment as long as it is higher than the prior bidder, even if only by a penny.

For example, if a auction is currently at 12.00 and the bidders max bid is 20, if you snipe at 20.01 you will win by 1 cent. The minimum bid amount has been exceeded by plenty as the bid was 8.01 over the prior amount and exceeds the bidders max.

When placing a snipe I always pick an amount followed by a few cents, such as 21.03. I often win by just those 3 or 7 cents. From experience I know it frustrates the hell out of people, but they need to learn the in's and out's of bidding.

Ive done both. I can tell you the best feeling is when someone later bids exactly the same ad you and you tie and the bid involves odd cents..

Bit of each really. For the five auctions in question my bids were three whole numbers (two odd, one even) and two fractions (one with odds cents, and one with even cents). One of them was under $10, two were between $10 and $25, one was between $25 and $50, and one was between $50 and $100. My average bid was $34.894.

Anything else I can add to make this the least fascinating thread of the day?

I have never used a sniping service, have been doing it manually for years though on eBay.

I have even opened several browser pages to manually snipe here on Net54.:)

I bid a few different ways. It all depends on what the item is, the price and how much I want it. Most of what I bid on is fairly inexpensive.

Some stuff I just bid and let it go at that, usually stuff that I've got a good idea of the typical price and already have an example of. And more often than not something that's also listed poorly or misidentified.

Other stuff I snipe manually. It takes a connection that's both good and fast, and some concentration.

The stuff I really want I'll bid early, sometimes early bids help a seller stay with an auction instead of ending it early. Then I'll snipe at the end.

On fairly rare occasions, I'll bid early and have more than one snipe setup to be done manually. So marker bid, snipe I'd be really happy with, one that's basically what I think full price should be, and a final one for whatever the outer limit of what I'd pay is. I can get through 3 bids in about the last 10 seconds.

Of course, it doesn't always work out. I might play a game with 5 min to go and end up spending just over 5 min :( Or can't get to the second snipe if the computer acts up. Or sometimes I'm simply way wrong about what price the item will get, and place the first snipe only to have it not be accepted AND the current bid is way beyond what I can spend.

The more involved bidding is usually on something I've discussed with my wife, and when she asks how I did I usually tell her "good news, bad news - both that I didn't spend a bunch of money on something" We always discuss bigger purchases, and she's pretty knowledgeable about all the stuff I collect. Helps keep me keep working towards a goal if I have one and deflects me from the sillier stuff I want that will eventually be in the "why did I buy that?! " category.

Steve B

As long as I'm going to be around for the end of the auction I always snipe, and I do it manually. In part because it's fun. There's suspense involved in watching the auction end and getting ready to put your bid in at the last second. It's more enjoyable than just finding out that you won something (or not). This could be a time commitment if you buy lots of stuff, but I don't buy very many things. Won two auctions last month, only bid on a couple other ones, so it's not a big deal for me.

I think you're right about it just being a statistical aberration. If you are bummed about losing it, you can always bid more next time.

One method I sometimes use but haven't ever heard mentioned before is to bid a few dollars over your theoretical max for the specific item. You know that you will win some auctions for well under you max, and some for a buck or two over and it will eventually even out. You'll win more auctions, and your average winning bid will be right around your average max bid.

I switched to a sniping service when I finally forgot about one auction too many. It was fun to snipe manually and find out right away how it turned out, but I wouldn't go back - the service is too convenient and reliable. A few times since I switched away from manual, I've watched auctions end on my phone for cards I really wanted, but I mostly just check the next day or a few hours later now.

If you do that (try to hit your target expenditures on average) you end up paying more for a card than the card is worth to you. Which is, well, not worth it.

You are talking to a math guy, lol.

I totally enjoy number talk.

I know one thing, leading an eBay auction with 15 seconds to go and simply hitting the next automatic bid increment (or is some cases the second one) is a surefire way to lose by 20 cents. I've been stupid enough to do just that.

If you really want the card, just bid an absurd higher amount than you would normally bid. I guarantee you will win. Because, sometimes you gotta say "WTF" :D

Yes Sir!!!
 

Preach Brother.... Preach!!!

I once was set up to hit my snipe at the last second, but my mouse was on the button above the submit bid button, I think two bids higher (the button on the far right). I clicked the mouse in the last 5 seconds, which apparently everyone else was too, and I ended up winning at about $800 over what I wanted to pay. That was a tough one to pay (but of course I did, it was my dumb A%* that did it). I wish I had lost by 20 cents.

Odd coincidence
 

Hey Glenn

I've had similar, possibly related experiences a year or so ago. After losing a couple auctions just like you described, I figured something was funny. So ... after putting my snipe in a few days before the auction ended, I upped it less than an hour before the auction ended, and by a couple increments. I tried that approach on three or four auctions, and won 3. The one I lost was by a large margin, with multiple higher bidders.

These were auctions in the $125 - $350 range if I recall, and always set snipes on odd increments, like $186.71. So ... I was surprised when I won two of those auctions by the next higher increment, and there was a bid a few cents higher than what I'd originally bid.

I never raised an issue about it, thinking I was being a little paranoid ... maybe not so much, now.

Sound a bit curious, no?

--
Mike

If I am bidding for resale then I am careful on my snipe. If I am bidding for my collection I will, many times, bid way more than I need to.....just in case. Generally the answer is to bid more. :)