could someone explain this to me?

Shannon,

You’re looking at how a proxy bid works. “404” is the high bidder. Their proxy bid is at least $61.50 (and probably more). “0” is what is called a nibbler – the thing snipers try to avoid. “0” is placing multiple bids (each will have a different time stamp). “404” need not bid, as ebay’s proxy bidding system will increase their bid by one increment over the 2nd highest bidder until “404’s” max bid is reached.

Wow, what a great advertisement for sniping.

By not sniping that item the winner just cost themselves $20! That was one heck of a nibbler!

Smart, the term nibbler, like sniper, is a term that has been used by eBayers for years. It refers to bidders who bid incrementally in small amounts, hoping to bid just enough to remain the top bidder.

They are a large part of why we are here.

quote:

those who place huge bids

Called “nuclear bidding”. Here are some other terms:

http://members.cox.net/cruentidei/ebay/invalid.html
http://members.cox.net/cruentidei/ebay/strategies.html

quote:

So, we've got nibblers and snipers and those who just bung a couple of quid on to see how it goes (is there a name for them

Lowballers.

Just read the bid categories on the links you provided---very interesting reading, indeed, and highly informative. That's originally whay I'm here!

I am going to pose another naive question--although there is a comment concerning 5 seconds being the optimal time interval to snipe prior to the end of an auction on eBay. Is this the consensus also of the community here? Would appreciate comments. Thanks.

I think you’ll find that 8 to 12 seconds is the usual recommended lead-time from forum members - 12 seconds for prime time auctions, and 8 for the rest.

Thanks so very much, Rick. You really are a diety.

OOPS--my typing is awful----you are a deity par excellence, Rick! Forgive plentiful typos.