snipe programs

[liz873]

After 17 years of buying and selling on EBAY I'm done. I really hope someone from EBAY reads what people post. I just lost two auctions because the other obviously buyers had programs to snipe, you can go on the internet and get an app sometimes for free that can counter a bid in a fraction of a second without touching a keyboard. EBAY refuses to address this issue. Some say its fair just like when you wait until 3 seconds left and put a bid in that another seller can't possible counter, but it's not the same. Bidding should be done by an actual  buyer monitoring the auction, not by setting  a program. Gunbroker.com solved this by instituting going, going, gone. If a bid comes in with a second left the auction automatically goes into a mode where several minutes must pass with no bids for someone to win. There you go, no sniping ever, and no  program will work due to no last second bids, or it will go into going, going, gone mode again.

[buyselljack2016]

Did not read past the 1st 2 sentences.

High bid wins no matter when it is placed.

If someone loses an auction it is because they did not bid enough to win.

I always snipe.....................   manually, and there is nothing wrong with doing it.

eBay auctions have a set amount of time. When it is over, it is over. High bidder in the allotted time wins.

[dabunk2000]

You bid too low and you lost!! Amazing how that works!!

[alcoforever]

You didn't lose because of the snipe.   You lost because you were too cheap to bid what the item was worth.

[simba6]

Your bidding all wrong.  This does not work like an outcry auction. You bid as in a sealed bid auction. You can bid more than the amount shown as the minimum. eBay uses a proxy system and only uses enough of your bid to keep on on top.  You don't pay the full amount of your bid unless it's needed.

Some auctions do stay open after a bid.  That too causes problems as bidders can "nibble" and keep it running until others have to leave for work, school etc. Then they too lose out.

[dariudaudery_0]

Just bid more next time 😉 

[releasethekraken_1]

17 years, and you still know nothing about bidding. I can’t comprehend how that’s possible.

1) eBay auctions have a fixed end time. Deal with it.

2) Snipe programs/services do NOT counter-bid. They ONLY bid an amount specified by the user near the end of the auction.

3) If you had been paying attention over the past 17 years, you would know it’s not necessary to counter-bid. You bid the most you’re willing to pay (same as the sniper does), and you either win, or someone else was willing to pay more.

4) eBay won’t address this “issue”, because it’s not an issue. It’s just failure on your part.

[oldwestgold]

You have 161 FB in 17 years(less than 10 per YEAR!) and 1 FB in the past 6 months! Seriously? Yes, eBay SHOULD change all of their bidding software to accommodate your 10 bids per year. Kidding of course. Have a good day!

[7606dennis]

As a licensed auctioneer I'm of the opinion that placing one's bid as close to the end of the bidding period ( aka: SNIPING) is the best bidding strategy for auctions with a finite bidding period know to all bidders or potential bidders.  Whether or not the bid is placed by an automated system or by the seller himself though electronic means makes no difference since the bidding period ends precisely as it is scheduled to do.  It is the highest bidder that wins not the last bid placed.

The problems involved with the extension method that you advocate is that it drags the auction out.  The normal bidding period when I'm calling bids at a live outcry auction is under a minute.  Here the bidding period is usually a full seven days.  In addition, the process almost certainly requires that the bidder be monitoring the bidding live at the end.  This is extremely inconvenient when there are bidders in a variety of time zones and all but impossible to handle in a global online auction format.

By the way, the site that you mentioned is somewhat different than a global one being the nature of what is sold on it.

[musicyouneed]

I always use a snipe program for an auction.  I can't handle the stress of bidding last minute.  I put in the highest I will pay and then check back later to see if I won.  I wouldn't do it any other way. 

[mudshark61369]

@liz873 ,

  "Gunbroker.... solved this by instituting going, going, gone. If a bid comes in with a second left the auction automatically goes into a mode where several minutes must pass with no bids for someone to win. There you go, no sniping ever, and no  program will work due to no last second bids, or it will go into going, going, gone mode again".

Try and find anther site that uses a hard end time auction.  You will not be able to because somehow ebay has managed to keep the rights to their auction format.  Personally I HATE Going Going Gone online auctions. I have sat at some for hours waiting for the nibblers (single increment bidders) to finally give up.  

  eBay's Hard end time (sealed bid) format is much better.  Maybe because you do not use the site that often you do not understand the best strategies for winning ebay auctions.  (they have been explained in a few other replies).  Read all of the info in the link below, it will tell you how Ebay's auctions work and how best to bid on them.

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/bidding?id=4003

Not all snipers use an app to place their bid. I love the rush of manually bidding in the last seconds of an auction. At one time I used to notch a mouse each time I won, but I ran out of space on it, and it became uncomfortable to work with for long periods of time.