negative repercusions? does ebay know... or care

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I'm just wondering whether I should worry about whether or not ebay -- or a specific seller -- knows that one uses an auction sniper.

They typically can’t tell.

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they "watch" for snipers, but can they really know?

They only know if the bid was placed in the last few seconds, but they can’t know if you placed the bid yourself, or some service did.

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Can they even tell the difference between a snipe and a last minute bidder?

Typically not, but there is one indication that a sniping service was used. Since AS places multiple snipes via multiple servers, sometimes those snipes are so close together that eBay will record multiple bids with the same timestamp and for the same amount. That’s not suppose to happen, as eBay is suppose to prevent duplicate bids from the same person, but it does sometime (rarely) happen.

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and does it matter?

Apparently it does to some sellers. Best to avoid those that mention that they dislike snipers.

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If detected, would negative ebay feedback, or anything else, result?

They could decide not to sell the item to you, or not ship it to you, or try to figure out other ways to be pissy.

AS bids by logging in as you so how can any seller know unless you tell them?

Some sellers see sniping as a system that costs them money by eliminating bidding wars.

Some buyers see sniping as unfair or ungentlemanly.

Some buyers confuse eBay with a real auction where you start bidding at the start and keep bidding until someone wins. Fools!

Luckily more and more don't care any more...

R2

quote:

Originally posted by region2:
Some sellers see sniping as a system that costs them money by eliminating bidding wars.

Which it does - read the "Features" tab.

I usually watch each auction close . I always bid at the last 2 seconds . Well I refresh teh page 5 or 10 times prior to actually placing my bid just so I have the proper lead time , I usually win . If the seller doesnt sell to you , you sue them for breach of contract , just as they have the right to sue you for non payment . Its a LEGAL binding contract in 50 states and who knows how many countries .
If it sells to too little they should not have started the item that low , plain and simple , but they want to save on listing fee's . boo hoo if I won 10 auctions and you combine shipping and I only pay 12-15 dollars for 50-60 dollars worth of stuff . I have no sympathy , if that makes me a bad person then so be it .

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you sue them for breach of contract

I'd rather spend my time golfing.

Hello Happy New Year,yes I'm a newbee to this form but not new to sniping with Auction sniper.
I love it and usually do all my bidding on this system. I don't see much wrong with sniping even as a seller also I welcome it as it just adds that extra bid. If the snipe wasn't on it then it would sell for less right? A sale is always good and if you listed it for to little, that's the risk one takes. I'm in Australia and working all sorts of hours and this system is a set and forget,just to easy. I have had the odd trouble loading my watchers but that may be due to some other issue. I often see that it has gone to a 'higher bidder' and it turns I won. I'm not sure why this happens? Also I usually only purchase if I can combine several items so sniping is an asset for me plus international time frames also play a part. A quote I like to use when selling and leaving feedback is "don't tell them how easy it is" Makes you think about it right? Maybe don't? Happy New Year All