going to the mat

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Posted By: <b>Keith O'Leary</b><p>Ever since I bought that first Bartholomew peanut roaster I own (8 or 10 years ago now), I've been scouring ebay, paper and advertising shows, flea markets, estate sales, etc., looking for a Bartholomew Company catalog. Found handouts, sales receipts, advertising envelopes, salesman sample cabinet photos of the roasters, but NEVER a company catalog. Last week on ebay, my prayers were answered. I put a $50 bid in the first day it was on (I got emailed by ebay because it has been in my automatic searches for years) and it immediately hit reserve at $49.99. It stayed idle all week until one other bidder beat me on the last day, and with about 1 hour left, someone beat him. The sweat beads started forming on the forehead, a sinking feeling started welling up in my stomach, and I immediately put a $529 bid in my sniping software and went to bed (yes I slept). They didn't know who they were playing with on this one, I was a happy boy at $127.50 and would have been just as happy at $500. Keith

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Posted By: <b>Bruce Moreland</b><p>Bidding psychology is always interesting. If the two other guys had both sniped, you probably wouldn't have won the item.<BR><BR>If you had sniped initially, it's possible that you would have won the item for the opening bid, since it's possible that the other two guys wouldn't have noticed the item.<BR><BR>Your snipe service bid of $529 was totally the way to go.<BR><BR>bruce<BR>

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Posted By: <b>jay behrens</b><p>I've tried going the route of noting bidding until closing but there are several problems with that. First, eBay only lets you 'watch' 30 items. Second, I forget about an item and then it closes without me ever bidding.<BR><BR>The one thing I learned from my days of buying up Banana Splits memorabilia from several other collectors is that because I was such active buyer and willing to pay decent prices, that just the mere presence of my name on the bid list would scare them away becuase they knew they had no chance of winning the item.<BR><BR>Jay

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Posted By: <b>David Vargha</b><p>But now I log it on a sniping service and keep that as my watch list. I can always update the bids if I need to.<br><br>DavidVargha@hotmail.com

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Posted By: <b>Bruce Moreland</b><p>I can think of a few guys who made me think like this, but I don't think it's a good long-term strategy. It only works after you've won a few things for 3x SMR, if then.<BR><BR>If you douse yourself with gasoline and set yourself on fire a few times, people tend to stay away from you, but I wouldn't recommend this from a health standpoint.<BR><BR>bruce<BR>

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Posted By: <b>Julie Vognar</b><p>I can't be there, and then, if nobody can snipe for me, I kiss it goodbye. Sniping service? We going to hire "enjoyment service" to appreciatye the cards we win?

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Posted By: <b>Bruce Moreland</b><p>It's just an automated thing that puts a proxy bid in for you at the time you choose.<BR><BR>Your post raises an interesting questions about how much effort must be put into the chase in order for a set to really be "yours".<BR><BR>There are people who sell complete sets, but I don't buy these, since I feel that set collecting means buying singles or lots.<BR><BR>But really, buying on eBay is so convenient that perhaps some would say that it's not really collecting. You can put an entire set together without ever driving to a show, trying to find what you want in a big box full of cards, haggling over a price, or even talking to anyone.<BR><BR>bruce<BR>

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Posted By: <b>john(z28jd)</b><p>what does sniping and enjoying a card have to do with each other? Are you saying if you dont snipe a card yourself you dont enjoy it? <BR> If thats the case i can help you out,tell me everything you plan on sniping and how much you are planning on spending and i will bid a penny less,then you will have the time of your life winning something by one cent at the last second everytime.<BR> Geez,id rather have the card then worrying about if i bid on it myself which you really do anyway with the service because they dont just pick people at random and say,i bet this person would like this auction and snipe for you.

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Posted By: <b>warshawlaw</b><p>I was a "sniper-objector" before, but I finally got tired of chasing a card into the last seconds only to see a sniper outbid me, having the computer freeze, etc. I use a service now. It saves me a ton of trouble. And, take it from me, I am just as happy to win a card with a snipe bid as I am with a bid made manually. <BR><BR>I agree that it is great fun to go digging (wish I was at the national--geez I wish I was there, but no $$) but that experience has no relationship to ebay. The better analogy is an auction (albeit a slightly crooked one). You don't exactly get the fun of the find there, either.