I've got a case of the guilts

Aww Coral, don't feel bad! I'm sure there have been times you lost an item at the last minute (It's happened to me a lot lol) so just think of this as making up for those times.

However, I do understand the guild feeling. I sniped on 3 items yesterday, and took them all from the SAME bidder. I'm sure she had a few words for me lol. But I think of it this way, if the person really wanted the item, they could have bid higher and/or look into using AS too. Anyways, congrats on your wins!

Take care,
~Shannon :-)~

Just wait until some dirty, rotten, lowdown, nogood sniper out-snipes you.

I think sniping is cheating and should be outlawed, except when I'm doing it.

It should be called "educated bidding." It is so nice to be able to place a bid without anyone else knowing. I can change it whenever I want, or retract it without repercussions.

It's the only way to bid for me anymore!

Happy sniping!

You know what I was thinking of over the weekend. I won two snipes yesterday from the same seller. The auctions ended within an hour of each other. But what if they'd ended within 2 days of each other? I asked for combined shipping naturally. How would I tell the seller after I won the first auction that I plan on winning another two days later (but I wouldn't want to tell her it would be by sniping it...hehe) and would she wait to combine shipping? It would be ok to ask if I actually had a bid on it but seeing as I have no intention on bidding til the last 8 seconds, I can't see how a seller would comply with that. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

I'm just waiting to start getting nasty emails from other bidders after I snipe an auction right out from under them.

Cora,

Just do not mention WHEN you will bid...tell the seller you will likely bid on that one too and would he hold your item until that bidding closes.

I have done this before.

Not all sellers hate snipers. When I sell,I pray for snipers. LOL, have watched an item more than double in the last 30 seconds.

Thanks Hidden. I never thought of doing that. I thought they'd want to see a bid on it already. Thanks for the advice.

Hi Coralbelle!

Don't worry about nasty e-mails re: sniping from bidders or buyers. You'll only get those from people who don't have a life! Don't feel guilty about winning auctions regardless of WHEN you place your bid, because it is the HIGHEST bid that wins, not necessarily the LAST bid placed. I've been sniped a few times -- my response? -- "You turkey!" & a knowing grin!

I think your concern about nasty e-mails comes from your first impression of sniping on an auction of your own. Yes, the auto-reply note AS can send for successful snipers is OBVIOUSLY self-serving for AS -- it's probably one of, if not THE best ways to pick up new clients! Afterall, it's how YOU found AS! (And we're happy you did!)

I think because you mentioned in another post that your initial impression of the sniper & the AS post-auction auto e-mail note was negative, you tend to think everybody else thinks the same way. My guess would be you are in the minority. There are those sellers who think POSITIVELY about snipers (afterall, the final winning bid is RAISED by snipers by at least one, sometimes SEVERAL, bid increments!) Then there are those sellers (probably by far the VAST majority!) who are for the most part completely ambivalent. They DON'T CARE WHO wins or when or how many times they bid on their auction. They just want the successful bidder to PAY for their item promptly and leave good feedback! Did the buyer snipe their auction (either manually or with a sniping program like AS)? THEY DON'T CARE?! Just SHOW THEM THE MONEY!

Even though I use the post auction auto e-mail to sellers, I've never gotten negative e-mail from a seller OR a competitive bidder. However recently, I DID learn from a seller about a disgruntled fellow bidder that I successfully sniped. (This item was a book for <$5 and I sniped an amount that was ONLY about one bid increment above the current high bid.) Apparently the disgruntled bidder e-mailed the seller and implied the seller & I (the successful sniping bidder!) were in collusion to avoid selling the book so cheap. The bidder did a little bit of investigation and found that both the bidder & I were located in the same state, sufficient evidence for that bidder that we were acting together! "So," the losing bidder concluded in his e-mail to the seller, "NOW how much do you want for the book?!" I was DELIGHTED to be included in the conspiracy theory, although not a whit was true! I e-mailed the seller and communicated my enjoyment of the losing bidder's accusations and machinations! I also said, "If the guy REALLY WANTED the book, he should have BID MORE!"

There is NOTHING WRONG with sniping! It is a legitimate bidding technique in auctions. And AuctionSniper makes it so much more easy to do than trying to accomplish it manually. The BOTTOM LINE is whoever bids THE MOST (regardless of WHEN their bid is placed during the auction) is the ONE WHO WINS!

Now repeat after me: "I am an auction sniper, and I am still a GOOD PERSON!"

Wow! Got a little wordy, didn't I?!

Snipe on!

Jabbergah

LOL, I once got an email from a bidder who lost one of my auctions too. It really surprised me that they actually went out of their way to tell me they were outbid at the last minute and didn't think that was fair that someone could do that. This was from a new ebayer. I chuckled to myself and mustered all my politeness before responding. I told her (since most of my buyers are women) that's all part of the bidding game and anyone can bid right up until the last second. I wondered what she thought she would accomplish by complaining to me that she lost the auction. I sold my item to the highest bidder, not to the one who thought she wsa going to win! hehe

Thanks for the pep talk. I am an auction sniper and I've won all four auctions I've sniped with AS. (not many, I know but give me time )

Ok, I'm really confused here. eBay even states that many bidders bid close to auction end so how can sellers/bidders get upset? Before I used AS I was always getting outbid at the last seconds.

Take care,
~Shannon :-)~

I've gotten reeeeeal used to using AS and barely ever even place manual bids anymore unless I use Buy It Now. I love this service! Of course I have spent $2000 on eBay since I found AS, and my hubby is about to kill me, but hey, life is good... hehehe!

Today, though, I got an email from a seller .... not complaining, just incredulous......

"Hi --- congratulations on winning so many of my auctions today. I noticed that you won ALL of them within the last 10 seconds ---- and I just have to know -- HOW DO YOU DO THAT?? Do you LIVE on your computer? Set alarm clocks? Open umpteen browser windows? Some of my auctions ended within seconds of each other, and you have piqued my interest!"

Of course, I told her about AS!

I used to wonder how people bid in at the last second on items that ended at the same exact time from the same seller...but, know I know the secret! Also, part of the bidding game and eBay in general is that you have to win some and lose some. We've all been sniped, and we all snipe our own auctions, as well. So think of it that way...it really goes both ways, and there's no reason to feel guilty! After all, the high bid not the last bid wins. All the nibblers out in eBay land just need to learn that very valuable lesson. So many times I watch an auction slowly being picked at and going up and up and up in price, with the high bidders going back and forth...x_x It really helps when you learn to get a bidding stratedgy together, and AS I have found is very useful for me. I can alter my bids at any time, I don't have to bid through eBay and have to retract it if I feel the need to, plus, I have the last second advantage AND I can put in my max bid as my only bid! It really does help me out a lot.

*~samuraiblossom~*