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#1
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: scott
its been 2 years since i sold all my cards and now,getting back into the hobby,i thought i'd bid on some items on ebay.in the past ,the few times i bid ,i've been blown away by other bidders ..thus resorting to buying my cards from board members and dealers. |
#2
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: T206Collector
...you will either lose or pay more than you would if you sniped. Auctions are not a particularly rational market, and placing a bid early will encourage other bidders to outbid you -- or bid into your proxy bid -- until they beat you. The only people that are helped by early bids are the sellers. That is why, of course, the standard line from auction houses and sellers alike is, "Bid Early and Often." |
#3
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Mark T
Oh the times they are a changing.... |
#4
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Cobby33
Although sniping seems to work for a lot of people, there are other ways to get cards that you want with traditional bidding... |
#5
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: S Gross
In my experience as an ebay buyer -- one word ------> SNIPE |
#6
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Dylan
It sounds like your collecting exactly the same cards ive been going after. putting togther a type set of caramel/tobacco and a few other odds and ends has been my first priority. These more obscure issues obviously dont trade hands as much as some other sets and pricing can be difficult sometimes. But i track a lot of sets and write down previous auctions and have a pretty good ballpark figure of what im buying. Ofcourse ebay is unpredictable and no matter how much you track sales sometimes things sell for crazy prices for no particular reason. |
#7
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Brian
Snipe or die |
#8
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Cobby33
The biggest problem with sniping is when you are interested in several lots that end at the same time. If you are a die-hard sniper, you'll have to choose ONE lot and let the chips fall where they may (assuming you don't have unlimited funds). |
#9
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Eric Brehm
Sniping doesn't guarantee that you will get the highest bid, only that you will get the last bid. If someone else has placed a higher maximum bid, either through the normal bidding process or by using a sniping program themselves, you will lose the auction. Do you think your snipe won't allow anyone else time to react? Maybe not, but neither will you have time to react if they have already put in a maximum bid that is higher than your snipe amount. |
#10
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Bob
Cobby- I tried that tactic last week on a bunch of E97 blank backs, wanting to pick up 5 or 6, and ended up with a computer crash that was almost disastrous. Luckily I had a snipe set on one, was able to pick up one of the few which hadn't already gone off and bought another from a winning bidder later at a mark-up. Sniping is definitely the way to go... |
#11
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Cobby33
tbob- |
#12
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: T206Collector
GavelSnipe.com is free and you can place a zillion snipes all at once. I certainly do not recommend manually sniping by hitting refresh on ebay as the clock winds down. |
#13
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Eric Brehm
T206Collector -- well I suppose you are right that given that you know what your maximum bid really is (which is what I am advocating), it is best to show your hand at the last possible microsecond, given the technology at hand. It smacks of poor ethics, but who cares about that sort of thing any more. I guess what I am trying to say is that, on eBay, or in any other auction format, the key to success is being able to figure out what your maximum bid should be, not trying to outsmart other bidders by placing bids in a certain way or at a certain time. But who cares -- screw anyone you can to get what you want should be the goal, I guess. |
#14
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Brian
What is unethical about bidding in the last 6 seconds? |
#15
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: leon
Good question..... |
#16
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Eric Brehm
Ah, even the moderator can't see a glimmer of my point of view. What is wrong with bidding in the last 6 seconds? Nothing, it is completely allowed by the rules. You are SO BRILLIANT to figure that out. My question is, what is your intention in doing so? I can see you sitting there at your computer, with the gleam in your eye, typing that higher bid with gleeful intensity, thinking the other guy won't have a chance to respond. Good for you! I hope you win! You deserve it! |
#17
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Brian
Why so angry Eric? |
#18
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Eric Brehm
Sorry Brian, I didn't mean to be inflammatory. Just seems like some people care more about getting an edge on the deal than anything else. If there's nobody else out there who shares my concern, I'll just fade into the woodwork...Regards, Eric |
#19
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Ken W.
I agree with your ethics, Eric. I have always felt that the strict end time on ebay was the one thing that made its auctions uncharacteristic of real "live" auctions - "Going once, going twice..." I especially felt this way when I used to have a dial-up modem! I have never understood why ebay could not (or would not) incorporate a "15 minute rule" like the auction houses do. Of course, it should probably be much shorter - maybe one minute - during which time there would be ample opportunity for someone to consider increasing their bid. Seems to me like this would benefit sellers. |
#20
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: jeffdrum
Let me preface this by saying I am in no way trying to be inflammatory and I respect both opinions. Isn't the idea of bidding on something to win it and win it for the least amount of money you have to pay and that the seller is willing to accept? If that is the case and sniping is permitted by the rules, where is the breach of ethics? |
#21
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Dave S
I think this topic is similar to the "raw" vs. "slabbed" card...where everyone has their own opinions and are not going to sway far from it, even though they see the points of the other view. I definitely see Eric's point and that is not to say it's right or wrong. Simply put, what I think his point is, is that if I'm willing to pay $500 for a T206, what makes the difference (as far as my wallet) whether I place that bid on Day 1 or at the last second?? If that's my limit, and someone else has a higher limit, so beit... |
#22
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Zinn
but for me that only works if the bidding is over $200.00 when my identity is hidden. I'm one of those who do not like to have others know what I'm bidding on. So while the bidding level is less than $200.00 I won't even bid. If the item is going to go for less than $200.00 I'll use a snipe service. Personally I don't see anything unethical with the practice. |
#23
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Scott Raasch
I started sniping when I saw a lot of bidding by one person on an auction in $1-2 increments (or minimum increment) until they had the high bid. These were what I called "uneducated" bidders. They do not know their limit - they just want to buy the item and will often overpay. Sometimes they just get caught up in the emotion of "winning". Sometimes they would realize after the end of the auction that they went too high and would not pay. So I now snipe just to protect myself from the chance of one of these bidders finding the auction of an item I want. Do I buy cards at less than they "should" go for. Yes, sometimes. And I do feel bad for the seller in those cases. Heck, a couple times I actually paid more than my winning bid because I felt bad! But when I see auctions with 17 bids by one person, in minimum increments, and they end up winning at a price that is 2-3X an identical Buy-It-Now item, then I know that I must snipe to have the best chance to actually win an item at a reasonable price. |
#24
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Brian
<<Let me preface this by saying I am in no way trying to be inflammatory and I respect both opinions. Isn't the idea of bidding on something to win it and win it for the least amount of money you have to pay and that the seller is willing to accept? If that is the case and sniping is permitted by the rules, where is the breach of ethics?>> |
#25
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Cobby33
It's kind of like bidding on 'roids. It's not illegal, but you definitely get the edge at any cost. |
#26
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Vincent
First, let me say that I also manually snipe. And I'd guess my success rate is 50% or so. I'm not going to get goofy bidding on an item. If it's something I want badly, or need for my personal collection, then I'll bid agressively. Otherwise . . . |
#27
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: leon
I will politely, categorically, disagree with anyone that thinks it's wrong or unethical to snipe bid. It's the way it happens and most folks do it. I see absolutely no problem with it. When I did it manually (almost never now that I use a service) I admit I did get a little rush from it....Now I set the snipes for my max I will pay and go play with my 10yr old daughter or take the dog out or something... If you don't want to do snipes that's fine ....If you don't like that it's done that's ok too. I don't like a lot of things....This is not one of them. When I get out sniped by a friend I laugh...when I out snipe a friend I laugh too...It's baseball cards......best regards |
#28
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Rob
I manually snipe in the last 10 seconds when I REALLY want a card and if I can be around when the auction ends. Otherwise, I throw in the max I'm willing to spend and walk away. If i win, great. |
#29
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: barrysloate
There are different auction formats, and ebay is the only one I can think of that ends abruptly at a given moment (similar to the Sopranos final episode). As such, it demands a different strategy than a catalog or live auction. |
#30
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: JK
"if I'm willing to pay $500 for a T206, what makes the difference (as far as my wallet) whether I place that bid on Day 1 or at the last second?? If that's my limit, and someone else has a higher limit, so beit..." |
#31
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Eric Brehm
Good points all. I guess I was a bit sanctimonious with my ethical tirade on this eBay 'sniping' thing, earlier. It might be a little sneaky in concept, but it certainly isn't the worst thing that takes place in baseball card trading, and it is indeed within the rules. And as several folks have indicated, a last-second bidding strategy may or may not be advantageous for the sniper, depending on the situation. I still won't do it myself, because it just doesn't feel right, but like Leon maybe I can just laugh when somebody outbids me that way. After all, it does come down to who wants to pay the most for an item, regardless of when they submit their top bid. |
#32
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: barrysloate
When I first heard about ebay many years ago, I too was baffled by the format that allowed people to bid in the last few seconds before it automatically ended. As time passed I realized it's not a bad one as there is finality. With a catalog auction, you can place ten bids at three in the morning, go to bed, and find out the next day you still won nothing. Every system has pros and cons. |
#33
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Cobby33
I, too, don't see anything unethical or sneaky, per se, about snipe bidding. Personally, I just think it kind of takes the fun/competition out of the bidding process. |
#34
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Mike Snyder
I agree that sniping is the best way to go. |
#35
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Dave F
I use a sniping service these days. When I didn't it would get frustating putting a bid in early because I wouldn't be around the computer only to log on later and see I lost the auction a $1.00, or $2.50 or whatever it ended up being for the next bid increment. |
#36
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ebay bidding philosophy and doubts
Posted By: Rob
Dave, if you snipe you could still lose by that $1 or $2.50 min bid increment, right? |
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