Are you a swooper?

Civilian · #1

Is the only way to actually win an auction on ebay to wait till the last second. I am sure this has been stated before but it really sux how any knives get purchased for $1 more than my high bid. :mad:

sod · #2

Guilty, although, just because you only lose by $1, that does not mean that you were not outbid by $10 or $100.
Does that make sense?

severedthumbs · #3

just set you price at the max you will pay for it right from the start. that is what I do and I usually win most of my auctions.

spyderknut · #4

I've been a swooper and a swoopee. It's better to be the swooper.

The Deacon · #5

I do it nearly all the time. Whether you call it "swooping", "sniping", or "time conscious proxy bidding", it's the most sensible way to bid on eBay. Bidding the maximum you are willing to pay, in the final 10 seconds of an auction protects you in two ways. It protects you from others by making it impossible for shill bidders to nibble away at your proxy, and it protects you from yourself by removing any temptation to get caught up in a bidding war and bid more than the item is really worth to you. If you win with plenty of proxy to spare, you can be happy that you paid less than you were willing to pay. If you win but use up every last cent of your proxy doing so, you can be happy that you won, and got it for a fair price. If you loose, you can comfort youself with the realization that the item actually was worth more to someone else than it was to you.

java · #6

I'll admitt it. I'm a "sniper". I believe in the "One bid - one kill...errr win!" mantra although I like the PC sound of Paul's "time conscious proxy bidding" label. It's great when you cannot access from work or are busy with "committments' and that's when your auctions are ending.

j

OutofGum · #7

The reason it makes sense to bid snipe is because no one bids their maximum straight from the start. Why not? Because they are on eBay to get the item for the lowest amount, and if they bid the max, the price on the item can go up fairly rapidly, which they don't want.

If you have time, the best strategy is to be there at the end of the auction and to bid your max price in the final minute or 30 seconds. That's generally what I do. Its very annoying having to be around a connection at the end of the auction.

There are also online services that will bid snipe the auction for you, but they charge a fee and are not as quick as a really determined person with a good connection.

fret · #8

I tried the last minute bidding but the adrenaline rush is too much for me at my age so I just bid what I'd like to pay and go back later when the auction is over to see if I won.

Senate · #9

I have to confess too that I usually win all my auctions by a last minute bid...
And honestly I'm not ashamed about it, the auction last till the last second so it's normal. Though I'm not for the softwares that put the last second bid in your place, that's not very fair. I've lost several auctions either because I was too late or sometimes because the page wasn't reachable in the last seconds and I suspect there are softwares to do that also...

Sword and Shield · #10

I snipe on Scout materials simply because everyone else does. My comp. clock is set to exact EBay time, and I usually can bid precisely 1 second before the auction closes.

Civilian · #11

Super stuff everybody, Very good points. Now off to the e-bayou! :D

wotanson · #12

I tried it last night, an old style Endura, FRN clip SE, bid about a minute and a half before the end, but someone beat me with 20 seconds left, so next time I'll bid with less than 30 seconds, maybe that would work. Good thing was I got a an old Delica SE with integral FRN clip NIB for only $30 so it made up for it somewhat, stll wanted that Endura though.

J Smith · #13

Feels good to win one by getting a bid in with only 2 or 3 seconds left. :D

java · #14

wotanson wrote:I tried it last night, an old style Endura, FRN clip SE, bid about a minute and a half before the end, but someone beat me with 20 seconds left, so next time I'll bid with less than 30 seconds, maybe that would work. Good thing was I got a an old Delica SE with integral FRN clip NIB for only $30 so it made up for it somewhat, stll wanted that Endura though.

Dude! That gives someone watching 90 seconds to bid and win. All my bids are reasonable and then set to 2 - 6 seconds before close. If snipe bids all have the same bid, the earliest scores. If you snipe with a reasonable bid you beat a lot of folks sitting and waiting to manually bid at the end. If your max bid is higher than the current bidders max you score again. You can game it right and its just last second mass auto-bidding.

J Smith has the right idea. Best of luck. :)

OutofGum · #15

I find it helps to have several browser windows open. One I keep refreshing to keep track of time. On the others I have bids typed in and ready to go. If I refresh and I see that I have 5 seconds left, I click on the other window, and hit "ok". Make sure you're logged in first so that you don't need to type in user name / pw. I think my bid usually comes in around the final 1-2 seconds.

wotanson · #16

java wrote:Dude! That gives someone watching 90 seconds to bid and win. All my bids are reasonable and then set to 2 - 6 seconds before close. If snipe bids all have the same bid, the earliest scores. If you snipe with a reasonable bid you beat a lot of folks sitting and waiting to manually bid at the end. If your max bid is higher than the current bidders max you score again. You can game it right and its just last second mass auto-bidding.

J Smith has the right idea. Best of luck. :)

Yeah I know but it was my first time :o I have to learn to be more aggressive. Cheers, Rob

spyderknut · #17

Hey Java or anyone willing to answer. What Sniping programs are available? Is there a charge? I'd love not to be tied to the computer for the final seconds. I am too busy to remember some auctions no matter how important. Thanks.

java · #18

spyderknut wrote:Hey Java or anyone willing to answer. What Sniping programs are available? Is there a charge? I'd love not to be tied to the computer for the final seconds. I am too busy to remember some auctions no matter how important. Thanks.

:spyder: knut

I use E-Snipe at http://esnipe.com/ Winning auctions under $25 are free. Over that they have a point charge. You buy points at at disgustingly cheap rate. It's a service after all!

Best

Concord_Bob · #19

I have a program that does my bidding. It does it automatically 15 seconds before the end of the auction.
It has been quite effective.

rorschach · #20

I have been trialing http://www.bidnip.com, and it is amazing. I have been trying to win a cheap auction (commodity item) using normal bidding practices for weeks, only to be outbid by 50 cents to one dollar in the last seconds. With the sniping service, I got the item for less than HALF of my max bid. My world is forever changed.