"How does sniping on Ebay work?" Topic

I don't think I understand what sniping is. It seems to be just last minute bidding? How does that help? If I bid $50 USD and you bid $51 USD *when* you bid doesn't matter?

It's done in the dying moments of an auction, as in the last ten seconds, so as to prevent other bidders submitting a counter bid.

I'd say that sums it up nicely.

Its is a program that place small incremental bids at the last minute of the auction.

You get at least a 4x – 10x scope, and………

Once upon a time ebay shopping was much like the traditional concept of auctioneering. You'd see an interesting item with a start bid of $1. USD You think it's worth $10 USD, but you dont want to bid $10 USD for fear of running up the price, so you bid $3. USD A "sniper" would use a computer program to bid up the item in the final few seconds. He could program bids up to $10 USD, but unless you bid again, he'll win at $4 USD, and you'll never have time to bid again before it's too late.

Sniping is so prevalent now that savvy bidders will just bid the $10 USD at the outset. If no one else bids, the item will sell for $1. USD If someone snipes it above $10 USD, it wasn't meant to be. You avoided paying more than you wanted. Everybody got a satisfactory outcome.

Some online auction sites are now resetting the closing time of the auctions to something like 30 minutes after the last bid to catch out 'snipers' and automated bidding programs. The fun is when two auto bidders get into a war.

Some people dont get the idea of bidding what you are willing to pay, they just try to bid the minimun amount. I bid on an item 2 weeks ago. Some person had been bidding on it by increasing their bid by $1 USD each time. There were like 12 bids and the price was up to $9. USD I think they think the price will go up to their minimum bid.

I dont think it is only about people only bidding the minimum. What you do with sniping is, you dont give the other bidder the time to think about, what an item is really worth.

I see something i like. I think, thats worth 30 (something). If i see, that someone has bid 31, i will think again. Maybe i would buy it for 40. But if he bids his 31+ in the last seconds, i dont have time to rethink my bid.

I usually bid what I am willing to pay, right out. If it goes higher than that, I either bid more or let it go.

eBay actually has sniping built into it.

When you bid, you can put in a "maximum bid". So, you put in your low bid, but if someone else bids higher, eBay will automatically bid for you with the next lowest increment bid above what they bid.

So, yes, if you bid $10 USD with a mx of $30 USD and someone else bids $11 USD with a max of $20 USD, eBay will (almost) instantly walk it up to $21. USD And send you both emails about the outcome.

Put in your highest bid as late as you can yourself. If you win great it can't be more than you want to pay. If someone outbids you either by human means or a sniping tool then so be it at least you gave it your best. It also means you are forced to be honest with yourself and don't get carried away bidding higher than you really think it is worth.

I snipe all the time. With computer programs now the time to snipe is under 5 seconds. I do this because sellers sometimes have buddies that bid just to raise the price. I have had sellers mad at me but, I tell them if I hadn't bid it would have gone for less. E-bay is not what it was 10, 20 years ago.

I put in what I'm prepared to pay and walk away until after the auction closes. I treat it as a normal sale where I might get lucky and pay less.

As said, if you put in your max, it is not an issue.

That said, I only ever do Buy It Nows anymore. Usually getting a bunch of bits and want to ensure I can combine shipping. Probably haven't done an actual auction in at least 5 years, probably longer.

I do not bet on eBay that much anymore. Mostly for 54mm Toy Soldiers. I will decide how much I am willing into pay and bet that much. I will then set a snipe for 10% more. I really hate it when I am out bet by $1 USD over my initial amount. If I lose by over 10% higher, then Que Sera Sera.

I'm with manyslayer, I just do Buy it Now, if it seems like a deal. Auctions I tend to forget about.

More often I put things in my cart as a way of remembering them (better than the watch list) and a day later I get an offer from the seller for a reduced amount.

I prefer buy it now, but still occasionally bid on items. Like the others here, I just put the max I want to pay for the item in and walk away, letting the email tell me if I won the item or not.

I've actually bought way more items recently from forum sales threads. And B Town. Places hobbyist can have gentlemanly conversations over the value of 2nd hand items.