2 Seconds Out & Bid was placed 5 seconds out (Auction Sniper)

If you read help above , it does explain this issue. I don't understand why you want to set a snipe at one or two seconds! I have never been outsniped at 8 seconds. And, if AS senses busy traffic, they might add on to the 8 seconds. It sure has worked for me. I believe Chatter uses close to the same and has nearly 1000 successful snipes!

And, welcome to our forum!!

Something makes no sense then. It placed the bid at 5 seconds. And i was the winning bidder at that time. Then i lost. So, obviously someone was able to place a bid within 5 seconds. So, if i did place it a 8 seconds... for sure would not have won. I have won at least 50 auctions placing it at 2 lead time.
However, i have lost a least 5 auctions with the same bid as the winning bid.
Marc

I'm sorry, I don't understand your last sentence.

quote:

So, if i did place it a 8 seconds... for sure would not have won

If someone outbid you and your bid was placed at 5 seconds, it was obviously a proxy or someone using sniper software. Well, OK, they *could* of been bidding manually...BUT...your statement above would still not be accurate as its the HIGHEST bid that wins not the LAST bid.

There is no way someone could of reacted to your snipe at 5 seconds and put in another bid.

I am with Serenity, I dont understand your last sentence either.

I am not sure what you mean. I have lost a few auctions:
For example:
i bid max of $50 and some how the auction ends at $50 but i am not the winner. The winner has the same bid...

can you check the bid history for my item.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5163745570

Can i send you guys a pdf of the stuff i am talking about? It will show that i was winning the item and then lost it. SO there is another sniper service that allowed a bid in under 5 seconds.

Title: Autographed/Signed Mickey Mantle 10"x13.5"
Framed Photo
Time left: 5 secs
History: 22 bids
Current bid: US $153.51
Your maximum bid: US $175.00


the above is from the bid confirmation. it shows that it placed the bid at 5 seconds... the current bid was 153.51. But i lost the auction at 177.50.
My question is why if i place a lead time of 2 seconds does it go to 5. Should i place 1 lead time...

Hey Marc,
Your link didnt work, but I just used the item number (thats all we need).

By looking at the bid history, you were outsniped (whether it be by software or manual) fair and square. Kingdome was obviously willing to pay more than you were.

quote:

My question is why if i place a lead time of 2 seconds does it go to 5. Should i place 1 lead time...

Because AS would of recognised that 2 seconds is way too dangerous. If they had of placed your snipe at 2 seconds - you would of more than likely got a "NOT IN TIME".

You still seem to be missing the point. IF your snipe had gone in at 1 second, even at half a second...Kingdom would still have WON as he was willing to pay more than you were.

quote:

SO there is another sniper service that allowed a bid in under 5 seconds.

There are probably plenty. But you will more often than not have your bid not placed at all as it wont land in time.

There *are* other methods (manually sniping, dedicated programs on your computer, etc) in which you might be able to place a bid within the last 2 seconds of an auction end time, but as mentioned previously they're not as reliable as using a greater amount of time.

Most of us seem to use a 5-10 second lead time and are quite happy with the results. Just make sure you bid your max ... that way if someone does happen to get in after you, you'll at least have the satisfaction of making them pay more than you were willing to for the item (no, I'm not normally that bitchy - just a loooonnnng nite at work).

quote:

i bid max of $50 and some how the auction ends at $50 but i am not the winner.

Is this an example of bidding too late? Ebay rules are that if two bids match, the earlier bid wins. Therefore your $50 at 2 seconds will be beaten by someone else's at 10 seconds. As others are saying, there is no point in bidding less than 5 seconds from auction end. However, in reply to your original question, my experience is that auction sniper consistently places my bids 1-3 seconds earlier than I ask for.

I would suggest that Marc reads the FAQs, TIPS etc all under the Help tab and then also reads eBay's help under PROXY bids so that the situation will become clear. If he reads nothing else then he should read this - "It's not the last bid that wins, it's the highest bid that wins!"

Here's what happened:
Your snipe (thelongbergs) for $175.00 went in on Feb-14-05 at 14:49:58 PST
Then kingdome1964 placed a bid at 14:49:59 PST (one second later). That bid was for, at least, $177.50. It could have been for $1,000, you'll never know - eBay's Proxy bidding system just shows the next increment.
No other bidding took place and kingdome1964 was the winner.
The order that these last two arrived made no difference - the highest bid won!

R2

quote:

this - "It's not the last bid that wins, it's the highest bid that wins!"

Above is definitely THE thing to remember.

Another strategy worth mentioning, add a few cents to your bid to avoid even bids. Probably would not have made a difference in your $175 beaten by $177.50 bid auction. (Winner probably bid $180, 190, 200?) MAY have been margin of victory in the $50 bid tie auction i.e. say $50.05 vs $50.00. It is especially sweet to win an auction by a few cents, even as it is really agonizing to LOSE an auction by a few cents!

Well, wherever the “Auction Sniper Tips” is, I can’t find it on the Help tab or anything relating to help. They are also titled the “Top 12 Sniping Tips”. I have the URL, just don’t see how new users can find it.

Yes, once again, we are seing the common misconception with the last second here. Someone else was willing to pay more--one can NEVER when under these circumstances, whether one bids at 12, 10, 6, 2 seconds remaining.

ob·ses·sion
a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling

“Obsession” doesn’t seem like the right word. Obsession is a word I’d use to describe an individual’s abnormal behavior. Since so many people bring this up, perhaps it’s more complicated than just describing it as an obsession. And it doesn’t seem like an “unreasonable idea or feeling” because of the frequency. It may be something most snipers go through. When I started, I wanted my snipes placed in the “last seconds” (that’s what AS advertises, so it must be a hot button). Over time and through the patient and wise council of this forum, I realized that a handful of seconds here or there didn’t make that much difference. But, coming from a proxy bidder’s mentality and watching nibblers and snipers run up my bid, it did at first cause me some “obsession”. Like anything, there’s a learning curve. It’s easy being on the other side of the obsession and thinking others have the obsession.

I guess as long as there are new snipers, there will always be “concern” about early snipes. Hopefully more of the regulars will remember their early days and deal with each person as an individual and not as an obsession.

Funny thing about obsessions – they are what other people have.

Might "common misconception" be more appropriate than "obsession"???

I think it fits, jabber!

OK, you got me. I relent.

Chatter, You've got some great clip art!