sniping blues

[darwinbulldog]

I use Gavelsnipe for almost all of my eBay bidding, and they're more reliable than my attempts at manual sniping ever were, so no complaints there; but lately I've been getting burned on a lot of cards that I would have won using the old-fashioned bidding process.

The last five auctions I set snipes for I was outbid by a TOTAL of $0.96. It's an astonishing statistical aberration, but nothing especially remarkable about it otherwise. Just a short run of bad luck, but I'm thinking I might go back to putting in my bids as soon as possible and seeing how they turn out, at least for items under $100 or so. Anybody else do that -- snipe the expensive stuff but just bid right away on everything else? It's just so easy to set a snipe that I never bothered to put much thought into whether the costs might outweigh the benefits. Certainly they have for me over the past few days.

[1952boyntoncollector]

How do you know what the other person's highest bid would have been when you lost by cents.

[darwinbulldog]

Because when you lose by cents the winning bid IS their max bid.

[1952boyntoncollector]

true i didnt know if the card was 4 dollars etc...where 50 cents is an increment...but ok i hear ya..

[JustinD]

Are you bidding in whole amounts or odd numbers?

When setting a snipe most folks set even whole numbers by habit - 10.00, 15.00, 25.00, etc. The best way to successfully snipe is to pick odd numbers and then add a few cents. The minimum bid increment does not apply on a snipe that exceeds the prior bid by more than that increment as long as it is higher than the prior bidder, even if only by a penny.

For example, if a auction is currently at 12.00 and the bidders max bid is 20, if you snipe at 20.01 you will win by 1 cent. The minimum bid amount has been exceeded by plenty as the bid was 8.01 over the prior amount and exceeds the bidders max.

When placing a snipe I always pick an amount followed by a few cents, such as 21.03. I often win by just those 3 or 7 cents. From experience I know it frustrates the hell out of people, but they need to learn the in's and out's of bidding.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by JustinD

Are you bidding in whole amounts or odd numbers?

When setting a snipe most folks set even whole numbers by habit - 10.00, 15.00, 25.00, etc. The best way to successfully snipe is to pick odd numbers and then add a few cents. The minimum bid increment does not apply on a snipe that exceeds the prior bid by more than that increment as long as it is higher than the prior bidder, even if only by a penny.

For example, if a auction is currently at 12.00 and the bidders max bid is 20, if you snipe at 20.01 you will win by 1 cent. The minimum bid amount has been exceeded by plenty as the bid was 8.01 over the prior amount and exceeds the bidders max.

When placing a snipe I always pick an amount followed by a few cents, such as 21.03. I often win by just those 3 or 7 cents. From experience I know it frustrates the hell out of people, but they need to learn the in's and out's of bidding.

Ive done both. I can tell you the best feeling is when someone later bids exactly the same ad you and you tie and the bid involves odd cents..

[darwinbulldog]

Bit of each really. For the five auctions in question my bids were three whole numbers (two odd, one even) and two fractions (one with odds cents, and one with even cents). One of them was under $10, two were between $10 and $25, one was between $25 and $50, and one was between $50 and $100. My average bid was $34.894.

Anything else I can add to make this the least fascinating thread of the day?

Originally Posted by JustinD

Are you bidding in whole amounts or odd numbers?

When setting a snipe most folks set even whole numbers by habit - 10.00, 15.00, 25.00, etc. The best way to successfully snipe is to pick odd numbers and then add a few cents. The minimum bid increment does not apply on a snipe that exceeds the prior bid by more than that increment as long as it is higher than the prior bidder, even if only by a penny.

For example, if a auction is currently at 12.00 and the bidders max bid is 20, if you snipe at 20.01 you will win by 1 cent. The minimum bid amount has been exceeded by plenty as the bid was 8.01 over the prior amount and exceeds the bidders max.

When placing a snipe I always pick an amount followed by a few cents, such as 21.03. I often win by just those 3 or 7 cents. From experience I know it frustrates the hell out of people, but they need to learn the in's and out's of bidding.

[frohme]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

I use Gavelsnipe for almost all of my eBay bidding, and they're more reliable than my attempts at manual sniping ever were, so no complaints there; but lately I've been getting burned on a lot of cards that I would have won using the old-fashioned bidding process.

The last five auctions I set snipes for I was outbid by a TOTAL of $0.96. It's an astonishing statistical aberration, but nothing especially remarkable about it otherwise. Just a short run of bad luck, but I'm thinking I might go back to putting in my bids as soon as possible and seeing how they turn out, at least for items under $100 or so. Anybody else do that -- snipe the expensive stuff but just bid right away on everything else? It's just so easy to set a snipe that I never bothered to put much thought into whether the costs might outweigh the benefits. Certainly they have for me over the past few days.

Hey Glenn

I've had similar, possibly related experiences a year or so ago. After losing a couple auctions just like you described, I figured something was funny. So ... after putting my snipe in a few days before the auction ended, I upped it less than an hour before the auction ended, and by a couple increments. I tried that approach on three or four auctions, and won 3. The one I lost was by a large margin, with multiple higher bidders.

These were auctions in the $125 - $350 range if I recall, and always set snipes on odd increments, like $186.71. So ... I was surprised when I won two of those auctions by the next higher increment, and there was a bid a few cents higher than what I'd originally bid.

I never raised an issue about it, thinking I was being a little paranoid ... maybe not so much, now.

Sound a bit curious, no?

--
Mike

[Leon]

If I am bidding for resale then I am careful on my snipe. If I am bidding for my collection I will, many times, bid way more than I need to.....just in case. Generally the answer is to bid more.

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

I use Gavelsnipe for almost all of my eBay bidding, and they're more reliable than my attempts at manual sniping ever were, so no complaints there; but lately I've been getting burned on a lot of cards that I would have won using the old-fashioned bidding process.

The last five auctions I set snipes for I was outbid by a TOTAL of $0.96. It's an astonishing statistical aberration, but nothing especially remarkable about it otherwise. Just a short run of bad luck, but I'm thinking I might go back to putting in my bids as soon as possible and seeing how they turn out, at least for items under $100 or so. Anybody else do that -- snipe the expensive stuff but just bid right away on everything else? It's just so easy to set a snipe that I never bothered to put much thought into whether the costs might outweigh the benefits. Certainly they have for me over the past few days.