Bid sniping

Question

I think this practice is for **bleep**s only

woodland_gnome · Answer

Smart people who understand how bidding on eBay works.

Sniping is a defensive tactic that is the best single defense against shilling sellers. You have no need and no right to know anything about my bid to be able to bid effectively. If you can't decide your true maximum to bid in 7 days why do you believe you will do a better job AFTER I place my bid? And if you are deliberately not bidding your true maximum, WHY NOT?

eBay's auction format is what makes it fair to those in up to 24 timezones with different work/sleep/computer schedules. Anyone can bid what the item is worth to them at any time and anyone can set up with a third party (there are reliable and secure ones which offer free limited use) to submit that bid in the last few seconds to get the DEFENSIVE benefits of not having one's hidden maximum out there for others (again, including shilling sellers) to probe or otherwise base their bids on. Making it so those who are able to be there to react at the end have the advantage is unfair.

Bid your TRUE maximum that you are willing and able to pay for that particular item as listed (don't forget to back out shipping etc.) WITHOUT REGARD to what others appear or don't appear to have bid. There is absolutely no need to figure out what others have or haven't bid or might bid* in determining your bid amount, since it ALREADY will have been figured into the price if you win.

*(other than to assume someone else will value the item about the same as you, so bid a bit ABOVE any round or roundish number you come up with to increase your chances of being on the winning side of what might have been a tie or a loss to someone else who knows this tip)