Ebay...ever been caught in a bidding-frenzy?

[onesea]

No, I use a sniping tool (www.goofbid.com)

When I look at an item, I decide beforehand how much I'm willing to pay for it and enter that amount in Goofbid.
I then never look at the item gain. At the end of the auction I will find out whether I've won it or not.
If I have: good (and often for less than I had been willing to spend) If I haven't: something else will be along shortly.

+1 I use bidnip. Bid and dont care often I go back to bid nip and reduce my bid....

The only reason to use a snipe tool is because of people's apparent inability to set a price, enter it, and sit back and wait. Which is the concept that eBay is supposed to work on...

Yup that's why I do it...

 

[prv]

I see. That will explain why, each time I put in a higher bid for the sail, I was instantly outbid.

Errm, no, that's eBay's standard bidding mechanism. If someone else had already put in a higher bid than yours that's what happens, no robo-bidders or clever tricks involved.

What happens if two or three, or ten electronic 'snipers' are competing?

Much the same as if the same number of human beings all put in a bid in the last second. I think Mavanier is incorrect in thinking that automatic snipers repeatedly raise bids - that's how standard eBay bidding works anyway. What a sniper does is drop in your one bid right at the last second, so that if you've outbid a human they have no time to increase their bid over yours. Multiple snipers doing that at about the same moment would essentially turn the auction into a "sealed bids" sale, with the person who'd instructed his sniper to make the highest bid, winning.

Pete

 

[[3889]]

' Ebay...ever been caught in a bidding-frenzy? '

Yes - it was great. I was the seller

Me too, last Saturday. Only problem is the winner hasn't paid

I never understood why eBay doesn't do what some police auctions do and extend the auction by 5 minutes after the last bid is placed to stop last minute sniping. I snipe but wish I didn't have to bother.

 

[Greenheart]

Errm, no, that's eBay's standard bidding mechanism. If someone else had already put in a higher bid than yours that's what happens, no robo-bidders or clever tricks involved.

Oh. How disappointing. I had formed an image of machines getting hot under the keyboard, automatically warring at length.

I must admit to rather enjoying bidding, then having to judge whether my enthusiasm for the item justifies raising the bid when the price goes up.

My mean streak was glad when the bidding, which had idled at £86, hit £180 before the end. If the bugger's going to outbid me, I hope he ends up wishing he hadn't started!

 

[daviddb]

Not all snipers are the same. Some are quicker than others and some offer a 'premium' package that claims to be fastest of all.....

 

[Greenheart]

Well, the jar of blocks sold for £82, plus £10 delivery...

View attachment 40223

...glad I hadn't held out much hope. Meanwhile here's quite a neat, extremely red Graduate dinghy going for just over £100 with less than a day left. I wonder what that'll climb to...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Graduate-...rg=20140107083358&rk=2&rkt=10&sd=171243473264

 

[Kelpie]

Our Grad was only £150, with a trailer and trolley, off Apolloduck. Will be interesting to see how much that red one goes for on the bay.

 

[Capt Popeye]

Bidding on ebay sometimes it appears that the 'seller' or his mates push up the bidding price so that the actual winning bid does not actually complete the sale. In other words the 'sellers' mates pushed up the price beyond that that genuine byers /bidders will go. So the item is relisted by the original seller. Probably the 'sale' is cancelled by agreement so as to avoid ebay fees?

 

[Greenheart]

I think you're right, Cap'n. Especially when I've made a bid which feels borderline stupid, because it's more than I might have hoped the 2nd hand item would sell for...but the final price is much, much higher again. It does seem artificial.

I suppose a whole boat for sale attracts fewer frivolous bids because it's not something which can be dropped in the mail for an additional fraction of the sale-price. Though that won't stop the seller's mates from bumping-up the current bid without any intention of buying.

EDIT: with 35 minutes to go, that red Graduate is still only asking just over £100. Pity it's in Lancaster...what does it cost in fuel to go up there and back, pulling a trailer?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Graduate-...rg=20140107083358&rk=2&rkt=10&sd=171243473264