Bid Groups

You have to create a bidgroup folder. Bring up "My Snipes". Over on the right click on "Folders: Manage". Then supply a "Folder Name" and check "This folder is a bidgroup". Put your snipes in that folder, and you're set. After you use the folder, delete it, as a bidgroup folder doesn't clear itself. If you don't delete it, once you've won the # of items you want, additional snipes will not be placed, even if you add them 6 months later.

Am I making sense?

Thanks for your quick reply! I do think you're making sense, but . . . if there are three items in my current "bid group" and I win a bid for one of them, do the other two remain viable -- or do I have to form a new group for them? When *can* you add items to a group?

Am *I* making sense? :-)

Judy

One other thing: Do I *have* to name a bid group, or can I just have my list on the "main screen" and add/delete at will?

Judy

Judyandstu, I'm certainly no expert on bid groups since I never use them, but you asked a couple of questions I can answer:

"...if there are three items in my current "bid group" and I win a bid for one of them, do the other two remain viable -- or do I have to form a new group for them?"

You must form a new bid group in a new folder. Once you've won one of a group, the others in that group become inactivated unless you put them in a new bid group folder.

"When *can* you add items to a group?"

At any time prior to winning one of them. Once you've won one, though, make a new bid group folder if you want to keep the remaining items active.

"Do I *have* to put them in a bid group folder?"

Yes, if you want the bid group "bid until one has been won" technique to apply. Keeping them all on your main snipe screen will keep them all active irrespective of whether one is won or not.

Depends on the number you put in the box titled "Bid on the items in this folder until I win:" AS will stop bidding once you reached that number of wins, in a specific bid group folder.

You shouldn't add items to a bid group after you use it. Lets say you had specified "1" as the number of items you wanted, and assuming that you win one of those three auctions, adding additional items will result in no result. You've already satisfied the number of items you wanted to win in that specific bid group folder. You should delete the bid group folder after you use it, and create another (can be the same name) when you need it.

I'm not sure about your last question "Do I *have* to name a bid group ...". You can put snipes into any folder, bid group or not, or move them between folders. I don't think there's a limit on the number of folders you can have.

Also, it MAY be that auctions that close close can have problems. AS says you have to allow "at least" 30 seconds between auctions in a bid group. It MAY be longer. There was a post today from someone that had a lapse of 94 seconds between 2 auctions, but CLAIMS that AS placed, and won, both auctions. I don't know if that is accurate, and I'd wait for a post from AS support to verify what happened on that. But, there's always a chance that 94 seconds wasn't enough time.

Thanks everyone for your help. I think I understand now. So . . . I'm watching three items, two of which are the same. I put those two in their own "bid group" and indicated that I want only one. Then I made another group for the third item (maybe didn't need a group for one item, but . . .).

Since I'm only looking at three items right now, it seemed like overkill to use bid groups. But now that they're starting to make sense, I'll go with it.

Again, thanks! Now . . . wish me luck!

Judy

Absolutely, Judy -- best of luck! I'd keep my fingers crossed for you but that sorta hsif& nu rtoubf kiij dybbt.

Here is a link to the bid group tutorial. Should only take a minute or two to figure them out:

http://auctionsniper.com/bidgroup.aspx

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Then I made another group for the third item (maybe didn't need a group for one item, but . . .).

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That is correct, you didnt really need a bid group for just that 1 item. However if you plan on maybe looking around eBay for more items like that, or expect more to come onto eBay in the next few days then it's a good idea because then you can just add them to that bid group as you find them.

Well, it appears I did everything correctly. My snipe was placed according to my schedule. However, one of the active (open) bidders apparently also "sniped" -- because his higher bid was placed hours before mine and was simply the required increment higher. I do have a second chance on a duplicate item, so I'll see how that goes.

Thanks again for all your help. It made a huge difference!

Judy

Judy, sometimes in situations like that I've found that I can later get an identical item for much less than I was prepared to pay. Hang in there, you'll prevail! Just bid your max and wait.

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Originally posted by judyandstu:
Well, it appears I did everything correctly. My snipe was placed according to my schedule. However, one of the active (open) bidders apparently also "sniped" -- because his higher bid was placed hours before mine and was simply the required increment higher. I do have a second chance on a duplicate item, so I'll see how that goes.

Thanks again for all your help. It made a huge difference!

Judy

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Judy, if the winning bid was placed hours before yours, it was not a snipe, which is, by definition, placed in the final seconds. The winning bidder simply bid higher than you did, and almost surely not by a single bid increment.
One increment was all that his bid needed to win, by beating yours. He could have bid $100 more than you, for all that you know.

Thanks for your response. What I can't understand is why my lower bid ($20.01) would show up at 23:56:51 when the winning bid ($20.51) showed up at 13:22:56. Does eBay post even a too-low bid made at the last minute via a snipe? My bigger confusion was that I had updated the bids well before bidding ended -- although as I said in an earlier message, I'm not perfect :-) -- perhaps I accidentally "refreshed." :-(

All's well that ends well though -- I got an identical item for $12.50 Friday night.

Judy

Judy, what you're looking at is a proxy bid kicking in. The winning bidder placed a bid of whatever amount (at least $20.51 and probably higher) at the time you mentioned. That held up until your bid of $20.01 at which time the other guy's proxy kicked in and beat you by one bid increment of $.50. You still don't know how much his actual bid was for; eBay only shows enough of it to beat your bid.

In any case, $12.50 sounds a heckuva lot better than $20+.

Things happen for a reason?????

Anyhow, that was my very first experience bidding. I can deal with one loss.

I told someone about AS last night. He's been sitting in front of his computer trying to get the "last word" in and has lost some auctions. Hopefully I can get him here!!

There's usually a reason for things. The world isn't run entirely by accident and happenstance.

Even if he doesn't sign up, tell your friend it's not the last bid that counts, it's the highest one.

I have posted this before, in a modified form, in other threads. It may help you understand how eBay's proxy bidding system works.

The other bidder does NOT know how much your bid is. If you place a high bid--even one with five seconds remaining--your true max is not automatically revealed. All that is revealed is the amount necessary to make you the high bidder. For example, if the item is currently going for $26.50, and your snipe is for $35, your last-minute bid would simply raise the price to $27.50, not $35, assuming no one else bids higher. If someone else puts in another (even a last-minute) bid for $30, then you would still win, but for $31. But if that other bidder placed a bid for $50 anytime during the auction, then there is no way you can win, since his snipe would raise the winning bid to $36, one increment above your snipe. That bidder had no way of knowing that you bid $35; he simply placed a bid for a higher amount, and would have done so, regardless of whether or not you bid. The only difference would be in the precise amount paid by the winning sniper. Ebay always lists the bids in order of highest to lowest, NOT in chronological order.

This all points back to the same thing. Decide your max well in advance, then bid that at the very last second, through AS. If you win, great--and you will win most of the time, unless you are bidding pittances. But when you do lose, it is usually because someone else was willing to pay more than you were.

I do understand the "system" now. You know how it goes -- you learn fastest when you *have* to learn! Since I was already interested in a couple of items and had never bid on eBay before, I had to learn fast. Fortunately, there was lots of great support here, and for that I am very appreciative -- the beauty of forums (I'm an active forumer and staff member on several CompuServe forums, so . . . been there, done that. )