How does one avoid this atrocity? It has happened to me in the last 4 items I have tried to buy 
Any other recommendation that bid higher is welcome
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eBay sniping
- Thread starter CarlisleUnited
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Erm, but at the end of the day that is how to win. It's an auction, if someone else is willing to pay more than you, they win, simple as.
Bid what you're willing to pay, plus $0.02.
That's it. Why would you want to bid more than you want to pay? You don't. Best to stay out of any bidding wars, and it's best not to bid $1000000 just so that you don't get beat by snipers.
That's it. Why would you want to bid more than you want to pay? You don't. Best to stay out of any bidding wars, and it's best not to bid $1000000 just so that you don't get beat by snipers.
How does one avoid this atrocity? It has happened to me in the last 4 items I have tried to buy
yeah don't bid on an auction until the last 5 minutes. eBay includes a handy feature called 'watch now'
pick a price you are willing to pay for it and use an eBay client to schedule your bid for the last 2 minutes, and then another bid if you are losing for hte last 3 seconds.
the reason people snipe mostly is to get a better deal, therefor making more money on the resale.
just part of learning what eBay is about. no sense to put money on an item on the 1st day if it's a 7 day auction... then people who are willing to offer more, will.
sniping doesn't work anymore.
if something has a starting price of $1, you bid $14 and no one else bids you will get the item for $1.
the best thing to do now is to put in the maximum you're willing to pay as early as possible.
in the previous auction example if you only bid $1 for the item, you could be sniped at the end for $1.50. if you bid $14 from the start, when someone tries to snipe the bid for $2 at the last second you will win with a $2.50 price.
if something has a starting price of $1, you bid $14 and no one else bids you will get the item for $1.
the best thing to do now is to put in the maximum you're willing to pay as early as possible.
in the previous auction example if you only bid $1 for the item, you could be sniped at the end for $1.50. if you bid $14 from the start, when someone tries to snipe the bid for $2 at the last second you will win with a $2.50 price.
sniping only works if you are willing to pay more then someone else. so it is pointless to do anything more then to bid what your willing to pay and forget about it.
myself when I win a bidding war I wonder did I get ripped off or miss something.
myself when I win a bidding war I wonder did I get ripped off or miss something.
^^^Exactly.
If you win, but you paid too much, or more than you were willing to pay initially, then you made a dumb move. It's easy to get caught up when you're sniping, so don't get caught up.
I'd rather just wait for the next auction tomorrow, where I'll have another chance of winning what I want, but without the bidding war. Chances are, I'll save money. With bidding wars, it doesn't always come out that way.
That's why I suggested putting in your max bid, plus 2 cents. Actually, I usually add 12 cents. I don't know why.
If you win, but you paid too much, or more than you were willing to pay initially, then you made a dumb move. It's easy to get caught up when you're sniping, so don't get caught up.
I'd rather just wait for the next auction tomorrow, where I'll have another chance of winning what I want, but without the bidding war. Chances are, I'll save money. With bidding wars, it doesn't always come out that way.
That's why I suggested putting in your max bid, plus 2 cents.
Actually, I usually add 12 cents. I don't know why.but that is more than the maximum our theoretical buyer wanted to pay so it doesn't matter. if you really want an item that normally sells for $10-15 dollars bid $50 and you won't get sniped.
Agreed. If you decide there is only a certain amount you will pay for an item, then you may get sniped. There is nothing you can do about it, except try to snipe yourself up to your max.
eSnipe.com
You can time your bidding by when the auction ends, raising your bid by a predetermined amount seconds before the auction ends.
That's how I got this here iBook.
You can time your bidding by when the auction ends, raising your bid by a predetermined amount seconds before the auction ends.
That's how I got this here iBook.
but you don't even need to monitor the auction because an earlier bid with a higher price will always win over a later bid at the same price.
when you bid on ebay, you're supposed to enter your maximum price (say $5).
let's say there's an item for sale with a starting price of $1 and no one else bids on the item. at the end of the auction you will win with a price of $1 not $5.
now let's say there is one other bidder. you enter your maximum bid of $5 for the $1 opening bid item. the auction will go along with a price of $1 until seconds from the end when your competitor bids $5 hoping to win. since the other party did not bid more than your maximum and you bid $5 (the same amount) earlier, you will win the item.
That works most of the time, but there is always going to be the time when somebody runs up the bid to be a Richard Cranium.
I determine the maximum that I am willing to pay, and then add some cents. Then at around 1-2 minutes before closing, I submit my bid. If it makes it fine. If not fine.
For me this option works best. Otherwise I end up getting caught up in the bidding process and bid more than I wanted to for the desired item. For example. Say that I am willing to pay $50 for an item. But I really want it so I am willing to go to $70. So I put in my bid of $50 early. Then watch it be surpassed by another bidder. Then I up it to $70. Then it gets surpassed. So I up it again. It gets surpassed. Well, you get the drift. The next thing I know I've bid up to a level much more than I was willing to go because of the excitement of the bidding process. In one case, I really got caught up in the process and had bid way more than I normally would even have considered -- almost twice what the item should have gone for. Well, luckily, I came to my senses and backed out. Missed it by a little. Next day or two the item was back up for sale. Did some more checking and believed that I was bidding against myself. The owner (seller) was using alternate accounts to create the excitement of the bidding process and run up the amount bid.
After that experience, I said to myself this was a stupid way to do things. So now, I just do my bid 1-2 minutes before closing. As some have said, there will be a similar item available the next day.
For me this option works best. Otherwise I end up getting caught up in the bidding process and bid more than I wanted to for the desired item. For example. Say that I am willing to pay $50 for an item. But I really want it so I am willing to go to $70. So I put in my bid of $50 early. Then watch it be surpassed by another bidder. Then I up it to $70. Then it gets surpassed. So I up it again. It gets surpassed. Well, you get the drift. The next thing I know I've bid up to a level much more than I was willing to go because of the excitement of the bidding process. In one case, I really got caught up in the process and had bid way more than I normally would even have considered -- almost twice what the item should have gone for. Well, luckily, I came to my senses and backed out. Missed it by a little. Next day or two the item was back up for sale. Did some more checking and believed that I was bidding against myself. The owner (seller) was using alternate accounts to create the excitement of the bidding process and run up the amount bid.
After that experience, I said to myself this was a stupid way to do things. So now, I just do my bid 1-2 minutes before closing. As some have said, there will be a similar item available the next day.
If you want to call it that.
In my case, I would call it placing a bid near the auction close. I do not go back and change (increase) my bid if it doesn't go through. I don't over bid to ensure that I win. I only bid what I believe the item is worth and then add a little buffer. That's it.
The reason that I wait until the end it to keep from projecting my max amount.
So if this is called manual sniping, then that is what I do.