Why is eBay sniping "evil"?

[jourdo]

Mumps got me thinking about this. I'm not harping on you by the way... you just got me wondering.

I know this is a big debate, but where do you sit on this issue? Why does it matter WHEN you place your bid?

For me, I still bid the same amount I would normally. I just place it with a few seconds remaining vs right away.

[rid]

I don't care what others say, as far as I'm concerned, it's fair play. I have never heard of any argument that would make me think otherwise.

[Shepp]

its perfectly fair. unfortunately its a little one sided.

if the "sniper" had placed the bid earlier, there would be a chance for someone to counterbid.

by bidding an outrageous amount, the sniper guarantees that they will get the item, regardless of previous bids.

its how ebay works. i dont agree with it, but its legal and fair. anyone can snipe, just gotta be there at the right place at the right time.

what would have been a better way for ebay to handle things would be to have the option for auctions to end 48 hours after the most recent bid.

i think that would help sellers and buyers. buyers would love it because they'd have a full 48 hours to send a counterbid, and sellers would love it because they could watch a steady increase in bids until they reached a plateau and then the completed transaction.

of course, this also means that items could potentially be up on ebay for months, but if they're still getting legitimate bids, i see nothing wrong with that.

as far as ebay goes, i'd rather see that someone has outbid me before the auction has ended, rather than get my hopes up and have them shattered.

but then thats just me.

[Robimus]

There is nothing wrong with bidding at the last second.
I'm also suspect of many dealers on ebay. At times I've watched an item for over a week that didn't get a single bid. So I place my bid....and surprise!!-within a couple of hours there is a second bid on the item. After this happened for the sixth or seventh time I packed it in. I feel like I'm bidding on a no reserve item and seller is jumping on the phone to his/her buddy and getting them to place a second bid to drive up the price after the item sat there for a week unnoticed.
Anyway, I've taken my ball and gone home. I don't bid on ebay anymore. More for all you folks.!

[Tech Spec]

Have not bidded in awhile, but it's the easiest way to go if you want something.

[chisau]

Sniping is not evil...........who said snipping is evil??
Those that has the most money gets what they want. It how auction (and the free market) works.

[Mumps]

I am more refering to the use of programs in sniping. Yeah, it's perfectly fair to stalk an auction in it's final seconds, but at least press the bid button yourself, it's unfair to use a program to do it while you are away.

[chisau]

I am more refering to the use of programs in sniping. Yeah, it's perfectly fair to stalk an auction in it's final seconds, but at least press the bid button yourself, it's unfair to use a program to do it while you are away.

Program?? what program?? i never heard anything about this.

[jourdo]

I am more refering to the use of programs in sniping. Yeah, it's perfectly fair to stalk an auction in it's final seconds, but at least press the bid button yourself, it's unfair to use a program to do it while you are away.

My apologies Mumps. I thought you were referring to the whole sniping thing.

I'm too lazy and rely on the program to do it for me. It also helps when you are away when the auction ends.

[Devastator]

Yep, I've heard of cases where ppl use bots to win auctions at the very last second. Actually, I lost out on a g2 Bruticus set once that way. I got beat by a "snipebot" with 1 second left. I find it hard to believe that someone has that kind of timing to just bid with 1 second left.

I have to thank that snipebot though. I missed out on the godawful day-glo bruticus and got something better later on.

[Tech Spec]

Now snipe bots is what I really dislike... by any means neccesary I guess.

[Autovolt 127]

I always forget,at the last minute and last year i missed my chance to get a Cybertron Thunderblast on Ebay but i have one.;)

[CobraCommander]

I only snipe if I am available at the time, otherwise I place a reasonable bid early and just let luck decide if I win or not. If I snipe I usually come out on top, I would say about 95% of the time.

Honestly I'm surpised so many people actually bid early, it just inflates the price of the items for no really good reason. Needless to say it's usually the newbs that start the bidding wars early or perhaps the sellers 2nd accounts or friends of thiers inflating prices... grrr

[GDkitty]

I had a friend do that on a batch of Magic Cards i was selling on there.. she was upset that it wasnt going well, and she was interested in magic anyways, so she put a bit in to help boost it up, and if she won she would pay and take them anyways.

After that, ended up getting a few more bids and went up a fair bit higher.. so i was like 'thanks alot'... and then in like the last 2 hours of the auction she bid AGAIN telling me that she really just wanted the cards for herself :P

Helped me get more $$ in the end, but i would have sold them to her for less otherwise :P

[Team Jetfire]

There is somthing particulary exciting about snipping an auction in person. Always an uncertanty is you actually got it until after the clock ran out. Incedently sniping with a dial up connect is even more fun...

[darthrage]

There is nothing wrong with eBay or sniping.

Sniping is no different than being at the rice department store at the right time. Sniping at the last 5 seconds is the same as camping outside a TRU or just waiting til the stock guys fill the shelves. Its the same thing.

And as for bidding wars......more power to the guy who has more money to spend. If you're disgruntled about losing a bid, asking yourself, would you be willing to have spent more? And if you are pissed because you lost because the guy outbid you by $1 or 1 cent more, why didn't you just spend a tiny bit more? The most important thing is this, give yourself a budget. If it is $20, then cap it off at $20.00 and NOT $20.01. Its that simple.

[Aernaroth]

How can there be a rice department store? What departments would it have? Long Grain rice? Minute rice? Jerry Rice?

[darthrage]

[How can there be a rice department store? What departments would it have? Long Grain rice? Minute rice? Jerry Rice?


LOL!! At first I was wondering what you were talking about so I read the 2 pages to see what you were referencing, then later I realized you were responding to my typo.

I'm gonna leave the typo as is because it looks funnier that way. :) :D

[RedOktobre]

When I was new to eBay, I didn't like the controversial technique of "sniping". However, when everyone utilizes the same technique, I believe that the "playing field" balances out in the end.

Moreover, I find that "sniping" mainly occurs with highly bid items. Since I a very disciplined and objective (usually) ebay bidder, sniping does not really affect me too much since I only bid for items that are reasonably priced. I tend to focus on "low demand" items and avoid the highly bid ones to avoid competition.

"Garbage to one person is treasure to another."