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34 replies

I Was Out-Sniped With A Black Screen!

M montague7Member
I sniped with AS with a 15 second lead because of a high-traffic time. A second sniper came with a higher bid at 5 seconds. That in itself is fair, but this second sniper blacked out my entire screen for 5 to 8 seconds so I couldn't get in another bid (I was ready to do so but obviously was prevented). What software was he using to black out my screen for that time? I have no problem with competing with another sniper; it was my fault I didn't have a higher bid in the first place. My problem is that I want to prevent anyone from tampering with *my* computer in the future. I e-mailed the winning hacker-sniper and asked *very* politely what software he was using to do this, but he has sent no response. Does anyone have experience with this happening to them or any suggestions to counter this? Thanks.
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rickrickMember
I'm going to have a skeptical moment here.

Isn't it more likely that your server was having a problem, or that ebay was having one of it's heavy usage times, or that your pc was acting up.

You're suggesting (I hope that's the case and that you haven't moved beyond that) that some how this other bidder happen to single you out of all other ebay bidders, and they some how knew that you would place a manual counter snipe AFTER your first snipe, and they somehow loaded down something in the last 10 seconds to block your computer so they would win? If this were "Mission Impossible" I'd might warm up to it.

That must have been one very expensive auction.

If I were the other bidder, and I received email from someone that suggested what your are suggesting, you can bet that I would also not respond.
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mrsmmrsmMember
Kind of my thought too, Rick, but I wanted to see the auction first to see if there was anything unusal. It looks like the other person had a preset snipe and there is no way in h*** that you could have come in with a manual snipe in the time left.



[This message was edited by Mrs.M on December 10, 2003 at 11:27 AM.]

[This message was edited by Mrs.M on December 10, 2003 at 11:28 AM.]
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puppyraiserpuppyraiserMember
I think not being able to refresh your screen at that time was just a coincidence, and WAS a loss of sync between you and your ISP.

A few observations about the sniper that out-sniped you. Looking at items from feedback and bidding history.

She/He IS a sniper...Big time. All bids (except buy it now items) are placed 3-6 seconds before auction end. I only went back 50 or so auctions, but they also have very high max bids. I can tell this because She/He wins 90% of the time. Even if you were able to see his bid, could you have placed another bid in the 3-4 seconds left? If so, would your bid have been high enough? It’s just a guess, buy my guess is no, you still would not have won.



[This message was edited by puppy_raiser on December 10, 2003 at 11:44 AM.]
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puppyraiserpuppyraiserMember
The positive spin on this is that He/She paid to much. They had to pay more than you were willing to pay. ( If you were willing to bid again, you didn't give AS your real max bid ) Smile

Always enter the max you are willing to pay. That means if you are outbid, you are NOT willing to bid again. That way you are satisfied wether you win or loose. Wink

mrsmmrsmMember
quote:
post hoc, ergo propter hoc


It has been 50 plus years since I studied Latin, Chatter. Hmm. post is after..hoc is the latter...ergo is about...propter is because of.....lol, you have to help me put it together!
Ok, try A caused B because A happened before B. How's that, Chatter?


[This message was edited by Mrs.M on December 10, 2003 at 03:23 PM.]
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M montague7Member
Thanks for your replies guys, but I really don't feel that I am assuming wrongly that this happened. My total screen (which I never have any problem with) went absolutely black without warning for five to eight seconds. It didn't die or "go out" or lose a connection. It was like it had been instantly covered up. As soon as the auction closed, the screen instantly uncovered to what it had been before. It doesn't seem farfetched that there could have been software written to block other possible snipers. I might not have been able to get a second bid in the last four seconds, but this method sure would prevent any other *manual* last second snipes.
puppyraiserpuppyraiserMember
If you are new to eBay and/or AS, or not a "computer person", I understand your concern. Something unexpected happened and you want to know why.

But... trust me, it IS a little farfetched that another bidder caused it. It’s just not realistically possible to black out all screens that MIGHT bid on an item, or cause eBay to stop accepting bids for a single item.

B beezoMember
quote:
Originally posted by Rick:
quote:
Originally posted by montague7:
but I wonder how many auctions he's won blocking other snipers' views at the end of other auctions.

Aren't you LEAPING to some very unfounded conclusions. It no longer sounds like you're questioning this ability. Sounds like you are now convinced.

I tend to agree with Rick. I think you have been watching too many sci-fi movies.

quote:
Rick:
You're suggesting that some how this other bidder happen to single you out of all other ebay bidders, and they some how knew that you would place a manual counter snipe AFTER your first snipe, and they somehow loaded down something in the last 10 seconds to block your computer so they would win? If this were "Mission Impossible" I'd might warm up to it.

That must have been one very expensive auction.

It was a $10 Hawaiian shirt!

It is extremely unlikely that a sniper went to all that trouble in the last 10 seconds of an auction just to win out on a $10 shirt.

If you are that paranoid that "THEY are out to get you", download or buy some firewall software.

I must agree with chatter
quote:
Chatter:
I, too, am skeptical. I think the fallacy in reasoning here is post hoc, ergo propter hoc.


       

     
rickrickMember
quote:
Originally posted by montague7:
It doesn't seem farfetched that there could have been software written to block other possible snipers.

It doesn't sound like you are looking for advice, but confirmation. Since confirmation doesn't appear to be in the cards, at least from this forum, wouldn't you be better served by contacting ebay. After all, ebay would be very interested in knowing that someone could hack into their computers and block other bidders. Considering that this seller has won 1,099 auctions out of 1,156 in the last 30 days, I think ebay would take this very seriously, if there is something to take seriously.

Another idea is to get on one of the ebay forums and see what kind of response you get there.

You've been on ebay for 4 years, so you have had a lot of experience.

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