Stop Sniping!

[chris.nall25]

I just recently started my eBay business and along with all the research I've been doing about buyer trends etc... I've noticed this idea of sniping and sniping services essentially nulling the point of an auction. Can we suggest eBay institute a system change if so where do we do that? My suggestion would be any bid placed within the last minute automatically extends the auction by 1 minute. This would allow the person willing to pay the most actually won the auction. Can you imagine going to a live auction where the auctioneer held a stop watch and whoever blurted out the loudest in the last 2 seconds won? No of course not, why should eBay be any different. eBay and sellers would make more money, The buyer who wants it the most gets it. Seems like a win win to me. What are your thoughts?

[komokwa]

would someone put this thread out of my misery !:_|

[old_man_arthur]

would someone put this thread out of my misery !:_|

I gave-up trying Years Ago.

I don't know why anyone resurrected this thread.

Nobody runs Auctions anymore anyway.

And if they do, nobody bids till the end.

The days of Bidding Wars are long gone.

And this is a Three Year Old thread that was dumb when it started...

[drtoys]

chris.nails25 I have looked at auction sties that do extend the auction by one minute and I will tell you that it does not bring in a higher dollar amount for your item that you are selling. In fact I would not bid on any auction site that extends the time that the auction should end.

If this is what you want then if I were you I would not sell on e bay. You should go and use these other auction sites that do extend the auction end time.

I do not consider these sites a auction site.

I take it that you have never been to a real auction where the auctioneer says sold and then go's on to the next item. What do you think would happen if the auctioneer would after he or she said sold would say waitwe are extend the time for this item one more minute. The person who won would leave most of the other buyers would leave also and the auctioneer would have to reauction the item and more than likely get a lower price for the item. Also their auction business would drop off so bad that the auctioneer would have to get a job.

If you are crying because you are getting snipped when you bid then put in a higher bid.

I allway wait to the last few minutes to bid and some times I win and some times I dont win. It all comes down to how bad I want the item and what I 'm willing to pay for it.

[komokwa]

Thanks for trying again OMA......

but when a member shows up posting directly to the OP from  3 & half years ago.......

well then , all hope is lost !

Hey Drtoys.....do you really think that chris is sitting by his computer waiting for your answer ..........

3 1/2 years later !!

[skeemirsky]

I find it interesting that people are asking to put this thread out of its misery, yet have evidently taken the time to read the latest posts, and taken the time to add more posts to it.  If you think its a pointless thread then why don't you just ignore it and go find something better to do-- try using your brain, you'll think of something.  It's kind of pathetic to add comments to a thread you think has no value.

[old_man_arthur]

It's kind of pathetic to add comments to a thread you think has no value.

Some of us are hoping to snag the 200th post on this STUPID THREAD!

That doesn't mean that the thread isn't pretty worthless...

[mintrobmint]

Well let's get this party started OMA...162 down 38 to go! Should be good to go sometime around March 2013! We'll check back then..sound good..?:^O

BTW...crybaby sellers who don't want buyers to snipe have 2 simple options....BIN...or start the auction price at the minimum profit...it's not the snipers fault the auction doesn't have enough juice to draw in opening bids...it's the sellers fault for not supplying the "wow" factor to sell me something I "Must Have"!

[drtoys]

Komokwa: Sorry did not see the date on the posting or I would not wasted my time . I only seen that this person was fairly new to e bay and either selling or buying..

[komokwa]

@ DrToys.....That's OK, you didn't waste your time.

You had something to say , to add to the tread .

I was just making sure you noticed that the OP wasn't around to engage you in any meaningful discussion.

@ Skee......What you find interesting is unimportant.

While I post against the continuation of this tired old thread , you post against "members" here in a totally inappropriate manner .

Your superior attitude , and put downs, call into question your value on this or any other board.

[leogexx]

"In reply to 2minutes2midnight and others,

your suggestion that I "stop sniveling" is rude and uncalled for, and just shows your own ignorance"

The stop snivelling comment was mine and maybe it was uncalled for and rude but I guess that is what we ignorant people do,lmao .

     The reason I made that comment is there is no intelligent reason to be against sniping . As said over and over in this thread over the years by countless people  the highest bidder wins doesn't matter if its the first 20 seconds ,last 20 seconds or anywhere inbetween in the auction. The auction isn't over until the timer ends , so if  you are thinking you are going to win an auction don't count your chickens before they hatch .If you do not like people sniping at the last minute and winning auctions then stick with the buy it now  portion of ebay.

[skeemirsky]

For the record, if I was rude to the "members" (la-de-da) here, I didn't start it; if someone makes comments about me sniveling, or implying I am a dog pissing against a tree, then I can dish it out too.

Like I said, I do snipe, but here are my real problems with it: 1) it is unfair, especially to those that are not very good with computers, and those who are not comfortable handing over their login information to a third party.  I suppose there's ways to snipe without doing that, but not convenient (ie, software where you have to leave your computer running & logged into eBay).

2) as mentioned in 1 above: the security issue.  Sooner or later, these sniping services that we hand our login information to may run into financial difficulties, or get hacked, and someone will have access to all those eBay logins.  I don't know about you all, but I have had my debit card replaced MANY times over the past 10 years after PayPal or Amazon or whatnot got hacked and credit card numbers stolen.  I know eBay doesn't store credit card info, but it's still an issue.

Here is a good solution: eBay should offer sniping (called something a little less nasty though) to all its customers through the site.  Also, they can add incentive for people to bid as opposed to snipe; one idea is, snipers' final bids have to be a significant increment / percentage higher that the highest bidders' bid.  Or something like that.

Anyway, I'm not trying to piss anyone off here, just proposing some ideas.  If you don't like it, go ahead and fire out the insults if that's how you get your kicks.

[leogexx]

I disagree , sniping is not unfair to anyone . Highest bidder wins its that simple.

As for computer security that has nothing at all to do with sniping.Having your computer on for 30 seconds at the end of an auction won't change how safe the internet is.

There is no solution needed as there is nothing wrong being done. Bid what you are willing to spend on said item , if someone is willing to pay more and they outbid you ,you don't get the item. If you are willing to pay more then anyone else you will win the item .

If you snipe then you see the benefits of sniping and your whole argument is moot.

As a sniper I try to get item at the last minute while watching the auction (if timing permits) . And within a minute of the auction ending I pay . I don't  A) retract bids ,B) not pay for my items, C) make seller wait for my payment or D) cause stress for the seller .

I am a good ebay buyer as long as the seller is legit,and  none of the sellers I have purchased from complain about me sniping .

[kali-the-pup]

@skeemirsky

1) there are very reputable sites that will place your bid for you.

You don't need to leave your computer on and the information

that you share is negligible. I use Paypal for the service I use.

2) Although security is a concern for many, you stand a better

chance of having your cards compromised at a gas station, or

at the local convenience store.

3) eBay does offer a version of sniping and it does have a less

direct sounding name, it's called your Maximum Bid.

You simply bid the maximum that you are willing to pay for a widget

and eBay takes care of the bidding for you, to that maximum

amount. All in-house, no extra cost and if your max is high

enough you will beat out any snipe, or live bidder...

if not, it wasn't meant to be.

[mintrobmint]

Hey Leo...the poster is talking about snipe programs being unsafe..not actually being on your PC...but their not unsafe regardless...it's a robot program and has no personal info and doesn't pay the bill so it's an unarguable post because there is no argument. All it does is throw a timeline bid...perfect for guys like me who don't want to play the nibble game and have full time jobs who can't babysit an auction..

[skeemirsky]

leogexx-- the security issue I'm talking about it is for people who use third-party sniping services, not the people who snipe manually by waiting at their computers.  Many people use third-party websites and software that do the sniping for them automatically... and we have to give them our logins and passwords for eBay which is always a little weird.

and let me add, I'm not trying to say anything about sniping being wrong or anything, I think it's within the rules and doesn't hurt anybody, except for maybe the people who don't do it...

and I realize, "if it ain't broke don't fix it"-- the current system works fine, it just annoys me that it has some meaningless red tape, like how many feel the need to sign up for a sniping service, and how people bid back and forth often for no good reason, when the auctions will just be decided in the last few seconds anyway.  Not a big deal to me, really, just think it could be better.