eBay

somanypostcards · ‎09-21-2020

When I really, really want a postcard I use eSnipe to bid in the final 6 seconds. I recently did NOT win 2 auctions due to eBay problems.

The first item sold for $2.62 while my eSnipe bid was $5.55. eSnipe provided the following possible causes:

- The eBay web site was slow to respond or there was general Internet congestion.
- The eBay servers were having technical problems.

The second item sold for $3.34 while my eSnipe bid was $5.55. eSnipe provided the following possible causes:

- eSnipe missed it due to a problem with eBay's servers. Temporary, brief slowdowns are somewhat common and would affect a manual snipe the same way if there were only a few seconds left in the auction.

- eSnipe missed it due to internal problems such as network congestion. Currently only about one quarter of one percent of auctions are affected by such problems.

donsdetour · ‎09-21-2020

Such low prices and you are sniping??

Bid your max and you might have won.

Using sniping systems there is always a chance they do not get in in time.

Also make sure you are not on the excluded list to ship to.

somanypostcards · ‎09-21-2020

@donsdetour wrote:
Such low prices and you are sniping??

Bid your max and you might have won.
Using sniping systems there is always a chance they do not get in in time.

Also make sure you are not on the excluded list to ship to.

What is "the excluded list to ship to"? Is it an eBay thing or an eSnipe thing?

This is my favorite seller who lists about 1500-2000 postcards every week in auctions starting at 1-cent. I have bought from him for years, and he recently thanked me for all my business, so I know he has not blocked me. I am trying to collect all postcards by a particular publisher, and I am now down to the rare and hard to find. If I bid online, other bidders are more likely keep bidding, so one advantage of sniping is an average lower cost over time. eBay server problems might make me reconsider this strategy.