I really had the best results with a 4 second lead. Why did it change to 5 seconds? I read that AS was working to get it back the way it was, but what caused it to change in the first place? And how long does it really take to change something back if they are working on it. I haven't seen any real explanation what prompted the change to 5 seconds to begin with. I think AS should at least explain what's going on.

Hmm - that second could make all the difference. Not!
Don't worry about it - read the forum and you'll see that it's the highest bid not the last bid that wins and no-one can respond to a bid in the last 15 seconds of an Auction...

R2

mangs,

Are you saying that AS won't let you specify a 4-second lead time when you add your snipe?

That one second makes all the difference-especially if you have another sniper. I had a high reserve on ebay before and the winning bid was at the last couple of seconds which was far below what I was willing to pay. I thought I had the item and it didn't even up the price to win. This notion that nobody can beat you in the last 5 to ten seconds is old wives tales. As for AS, apparently they put a restriction on snipes under 5 seconds. Its all a matter of getting in at the last second before the auction ends. That's how you win. Give someone an added second and you can lose. Period!

It does seem odd that AS would allow someone to specify a less-than-5-second snipe, yet change it to 5 seconds, and not provide some kind of message, warning, or explanation. That apparently is a new enhancement (which one can argue as a positive or a negative). I’ll let others comment about what a manual sniper can or cannot do in a second.

Just remember, it is not the last snipe that wins, but the most amount sniped that wins! Sniping is to avoid bidding wars. As to whether someone can manually outsnipe 5 seconds..hmmm, well, I say it is pretty next to nil. With a sniping service, yes, maybe it will be entered. I snipe at 8 seconds and have NEVER lost because of timing, only if I did not snipe high enough.

quote:

Originally posted by Serenity:
With a sniping service, yes, maybe it will be entered.

I did say I wouldn’t comment on what a manual sniper can or cannot do, but Serenity left a subtle, but important point – if a sniping service/program is used by another sniper, regardless if it’s 4 seconds, or 5 seconds, or 20 seconds – that other snipe will go thru. And (I know this is a “Always look on the bright side of life”), but in case of a tie, or less than a full increment, the first snipe in gets the goodies.

I still question why AS doesn’t allow less than 5 (enhancement or bug?).

quote:

Originally posted by 2000mangs:
That one second makes all the difference... ...Give someone an added second and you can lose. Period!

As the Robot on Lost in Space would say - "That does not compute". Please tell me of a reliable program that can react to a snipe in the last 5 seconds and I'll use it from now on.

quote:

Originally posted by 2000mangs:I had a high reserve on ebay before and the winning bid was at the last couple of seconds which was far below what I was willing to pay.

(Not sure why you'd have a reserve as a buyer) It appears that you were 'victim' here of a sniper who bid his max - you made the classic mistake of not bidding your max and you lost. Why did you not place a snipe of your max rather than bidding manually on the item which you appeared to do?
I suspect that you haven't really grasped what AS is all about. Ie.
1. don't bid
2. place snipe which is your max
3. let AS do the work for you

If you bid your max, add a few pence/cents to allow for those that bid whole numbers and let AS do its job then you'll avoid bidding wars and may even win a few items. Worrying about 1 second (whether a feature or a bug) will achieve nothing.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick:
in case of a tie, or less than a full increment, the first snipe in gets the goodies

True but how often does that happen within the last 5 seconds? I'd say not often and not worth risking your snipe not being placed at busy times!

R2

quote:

True but how often does that happen within the last 5 seconds? I'd say not often and not worth risking your snipe not being placed at busy times!

We’re in agreement. Just a tiny bit more motivation to get the snipe in a little earlier than a little later - an additional and possible benefit for having a longer lead time.

I did speak with Bill from AS about this issue. The under five seconds issue is not a bug. It will be left this way. However, as several of us have said, and Bill agrees, anything under five seconds is not always good.

quote:

Originally posted by Serenity:
The under five seconds issue is not a bug. It will be left this way.

Good news, & thanks for the update! This might have to change:

Here are the facts: I am not even sure that eBay itself would be able to bid at the very last second with a high degree of success. Our statement should be taken figuratively, and if taken that way is very accurate. I suppose we could bid at the absolute last second for our users, but even with our world class bidding technology, close proximity to eBay servers and multiple bidding servers, we would have a very large amount of 'not in time' responses from eBay if we attempted to place the snipe at the 1 second mark (and we have by far the best bidding servers, code, redundant systems and proximity to eBay). If your snipe is placed 'not in time', regardless of all other variables you do not win that item.

Remember, we only win if you win!!! You can be sure we made this change on purpose because we know that you will have a much higher probability of winning the item at the lowest possible price with our 5 second lead-time.

As all the long time sniper's know:

"It is not the last bid that wins, it is the highest bid. Sniping allows you to place your maximum at the close of the auction so that others do not have time to respond to your bid. If someone is willing to snipe/bid more than your maximum, then you are going to lose the auction regardless of whether you bid at 1 second or 10 seconds."

Personally, I always snipe at 7 seconds.

Bill

This message has been edited. Last edited by: <Sniper Bill>,

If the highest bid is going to win then what's the use? I may as well put the maximum bid up front and if its high enough nobody will want it except me!! The fun of this sniping is to get the item at a good price at the last second so nobody outbids you. All you auction snipers should know that. I've won a lot on 4 seconds and I know snipers that used 4 seconds like Bible. I don't want answers like maybe if you do this or I never heard of that. I thought all you snipers were out to snipe for the best price and hedge the compitition. By taking away any snipe under 5 seconds, I know it gives the hedge to higher bid prices on ebay. As a seller I would be all for it. As a sniper I think it stinks. I never had a problem with 4 seconds and I would just like a solid answer as to why it was taken away if it was working. If you haven't placed 4 second leads or don't care about how much you pay for something, please don't respond! For all you Snipers that know how to snipe, we've been sniped by our C.O.

2000Mangs, the difference is when you snipe you don't start a bidding war so you normally pay less. I can only tell you that at 8 seconds, I have always won. I have not been outbid at the last moment. What I meant was if the price has climbed past my snipe earlier in the auction and I did not bother to raise it because it was over what I wanted to pay.

quote:

Originally posted by 2000mangs:
If you haven't placed 4 second leads or don't care about how much you pay for something, please don't respond!

I qualify under the latter half of that statement to respond. What does “C.O.” mean?

Reminds me of my kids! They never took any advice either...until it was too late!! (Joking, honest! )

On the serious side, AS is in business to make money. If they see that a major portion of the snipes placed for less than 5 seconds do not make it into eBay, they are going to give it a second look and do something about the situation. Afterall, if you don't win, they make nada! On the otherhand, if it is profitable, they certainly will not cut the 4 and under snipes. So, that's the bottom line.

Finally.. logic prevails!

It comes with age, Bill...old age!

quote:

Originally posted by Serenity:
It comes with age, Bill...old age!

64 isn’t old, especially by today’s standards. After all, Jane Fonda is 67 and “hubba hubba!”

You’re only as old as you think you are.