What is a Snipe?

[rainier2004]

I guess I thought it was someone who usually doesnt bid until the last second but i guess im wrong, so what exactly is this snipe character?

[Matt]

A snipe is a bid placed right before the end of an auction. There are services out there that will do this for you, or you can do it manually.

[rainier2004]

so how do people either "use a couple of snipes" or "set a couple of snipes"? Is this just 2 of ya bidding at the last second?

[Matt]

"set a couple of snipes" would refer to using a service, such as GavelSnipe where you setup the bid in advance and the system executes it for you.

[rainier2004]

well no sh!t......thanks for clearing that up.

[Jaybird]

"set a couple" I would take to mean that there were a few auctions the person was looking at and they placed one snipe on each of those auctions. So, one snipe per auction. Wouldn't really make sense to do multiple snipes of the same auction. At least I can't think of a reason to do this.

[HRBAKER]

imaginary bird

[hangman62]

Rainier,
I will demonstrate how snipe works..when I nip you AGAIN at the last sec of the ebay auction we are both going for ! LOL
Ral G

[Cat]

Some folks use more than one sniping service on the same card in case one service fails or malfunctions for some reason. Thus more than one snipe registers for a bidder on the same card.

[39special]

When I was in cub scouts the older kids made us hunt snipes when we went to camp.We never found any.I always wondered what they looked like.

[HercDriver]

Even Frasier got hooked on snipes (you'll have to hunt for the whole episode):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piFAIsjRawI

Take Care,
Geno

[Tim206]

When I was in cub scouts the older kids made us hunt snipes when we went to camp.We never found any.I always wondered what they looked like.

Lmfao!!

[frohme]

Originally Posted by 39special

When I was in cub scouts the older kids made us hunt snipes when we went to camp.We never found any.I always wondered what they looked like.

Same here. Funny thing is - as I learned later - if camp would have been elsewhere it wouldn't have really been a "snipe hunt" in the common use of the term. Snipes are actually shorebirds - there are a bunch of different species.

Too bad my camp was in the woods of East Texas.

Never realized that it also may have given rise to the term "sniper".

[jbbama]

A snipe hunt, a form of wild-goose chase that is also known as a fool's errand, is a type of practical joke that involves experienced people making fun of credulos newcomers by giving them an impossible or imaginary task. The origin of the term is a practical joke where inexperienced campers are told about a bird or animal called the snipe as well as a usually preposterous method of catching it, such as running around the woods carrying a bag or making strange noises such as banging rocks together. Incidentally, the snipe (a family of shorebirds) is difficult to catch for experienced hunters, so much so that the word "sniper" is derived from it to refer to anyone skilled enough to shoot one.[1]

A wild goose chase can also be more serious, either a deliberate attempt to thwart opponents by sending them off on a quest based on misinformation, or a mistake on one's own part leading to a hopeless quest

[Tom S.]

Originally Posted by HRBAKER

imaginary bird

They're real...and they're spectacular!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipe

[barrysloate]

Is a snipe related to a guttersnipe?

[autograf]

well.....we know where YOUR mind is today Barry.........

[barrysloate]

...in the gutter

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by 39special

When I was in cub scouts the older kids made us hunt snipes when we went to camp.We never found any.I always wondered what they looked like.

LOL, we used to do that to the newbies when I was in Scouts too.

Tabe