To Snipe or Not To Snipe, that is the question...

dagnabitgrabitMember

Ok... this is just an "lets hear your advice/thoughts" type question.

First off, do you experienced snipers set up snipes for ALL the auctions you are bidding on, or only those that you REALLY REALLY want?

I can see the value in searching for an auction (hopefully here thru saved searches once it seems to be working properly), opening it, doing whatever research and soul-searching necessary to decide whether you'd like to have that thing (whatever it is), and then setting you maximum bid and not worrying about it!

I baby-sit the auctions I bid on like a hawk, refigure my min/max figures, bite my nails, and have tried (not always successfully) to snipe on the ones I JUST GOTTA HAVE! Sometimes I have buyer's remorse afterwards because I DID pay way too much!

Now there are some auctions (usually the stuff I'm buying for resell) where I just place my max bid and give up if someone bids over it. Profit margin is a compelling motivation for NOT overbidding. I keep thinking I shouldn't snipe on those auctions... why pay the extra money? Hmmmm but why show my hand before the last second, right? Is there any logic in that thinking? Don't bid, don't give anyone a clue I'm interested, and then have AS come in at the crucial moment... and maybe snatch it right up? I mean, is it possible by my placing a bid on an item well in advance of it's close time (lately I've been waiting until the 12 hr deadline-for-change has passed) that I'm setting up a flag that says "hey come bid on this item too?" If I just left it alone, are my chances of winning via snipe better? Am I rambing?....

So, I'm wondering if overall it isn't more cost-effective in the long-run to let AS do ALL my bidding for me. I know I'll pay a fee for auctions I could have won on my own... but... well, you get the picture I think.

So... thoughts? Do you have some auctions you don't use AS for, and others you do? Or do you just let AS handle all of it? Stategies??

Thanks for listening.

9/9/032:39 PM

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steveExpertSniper

I use AS for almost all my bidding. Exception might be a lowball proxy bid on something to take it out of the "buy it now" mode. But with a dialup modem it's useless to even try manual snipes.

I set up anything I'm considering buying for a snipe, since I'm on the AS snipe page many times during the day. I refresh by clicking on the "update items info" icon and see how the bidding is going. Usually, if the bidding tops my max I'll just cancel the snipe. Rarely, I'll grudgingly up my max amount, which for the most part is set in concrete. I also follow these auctions in "my eBay" so no matter where I am I'm only a couple of mouse clicks away from the latest scoop on something.

9/9/033:14 PM

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rickMember

quote:
Originally posted by dagnabitgrabit:
So, I'm wondering if overall it isn't more cost-effective in the long-run to let AS do ALL my bidding for me. I know I'll pay a fee for auctions I could have won on my own...

Since I've been using AS, the only time I've placed a proxy bid was for a seller that has done me a LOT of favors, and I expected that my putting out a proxy bid would cause him to make more money. I know that sounds strange, and I've only done it a couple of time, and only for this one seller. Call it a "tip".

The moral of MY story is: If you like to see higher closing prices then place proxy bids. If you like to see lower closing prices then place snipes. I have no idea how much money I "gave" sellers by placing proxy bids, and if I did, I'd be even more upset with myself.

Snipe everything you can - it's a jungle out there. Since you've already done manual snipes, you must have experienced lower closing prices. 1% is peanuts compared to the time and energy required to place a manual snipe, and AS is much more reliable (could you place up to 3 redundant snipes from multiple servers to make sure that at least one snipe gets placed incase of some problem?).

9/9/033:59 PM

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dagnabitgrabitMember

Great advice guys. Looking forward to reading more. NOW, I better go get some listings in and take advantage of the 2-day penny gallery offer!

9/9/035:12 PM

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chatterMember

Only when there is a Buy it Now do I NOT use AS. Otherwise, AS gets 100% of my auction business. It's worth the few cents to maximize my chances. And I win 95% of my auctions.

I set my max and forget about it. AS does the rest. The only buyer's remorse I could ever have is the one for not using AS sooner.

9/9/036:27 PM

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cybagirlMember

I only use AS now for everyone of my auctions unless of course there is a Buy It Now. AS has saved me so much money in the past and I dont waste my time bidding or mucking around with anything else. What I normally do now is just add everything that I am interested in into my watch list. Then on the day of the auction ending I review all of the things I am watching. If something is too high for me I just let it go. But if something has not recieved a bid or is still affordable to me. I then set my snipe at the maximum amount that I want to pay. Nine times out of ten now I win everything that I really want and AS has saved me alot of money. Especially when there has been a bidding war going on. I just come out of no where with my snipe and there I have it

.. I also use to bid before sometimes on things and I was even outbid most of the time and then at the last minute place a snipe. Now because I am a collector of certain things I found that other people who I was always bidding against if they saw I was bidding on something via the bid history page they would set a very high price. Sometimes I would win and other times I would not due to the fact they knew I was bidding and would set my bid price high. So now I do not show my hand until the last minute and since doing it like this I have found I have won more auctions and also have payed alot less for the item

.. Anyway thats what I do and it works for me.. So give it try you might find it works for you too

9/11/033:44 PM

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steveExpertSniper

Your story and mine are the same, CybaGirl. I was being followed all over eBay by people who collect the same things I do. I guess they followed me because I had a great search technique worked out and often found things that were misdescribed, misspelled, or overlooked. Anyway, the proxy nibblers quickly drove me bonkers. I tried several different sniping software programs until the original designer of AS, Adam Roth, sent me an e-mail inviting me to try his. I've been here ever since. Anybody who wants to is welcome to follow me around eBay because now my bidding history shows only closed items.

9/11/034:56 PM

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falcongalMember

I snipe most of the time. The only time I don't snipe is when the BIN option is really reasonable and I want to be sure to get the item or the BIN price is the same as the reserve price. Then I use BIN.

9/11/039:52 PM

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region2Member

I, too, use it all the time...

Wait, this gets interesting!

I also use it instead of Ebay's Watching option.

Why? Well, AS's My Snipes page is nicely laid out so I set up a really low snipe at the next increment in order to add it to the page. I can then watch things develop, consider my strategy and then set up a realistic snipe (or cancel!) nearer the time when I have more time!

I only came unstuck once - I set up a watching snipe and forgot to cancel it. Against all expectations I won (a quiet day in eBay land?) and I'm now the proud owner of 6 widgets that, although nice, don't fit anywhere in my house!!!!

For Sale - 6 Widgets - apply within.

9/11/0310:55 PM

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gardengnomeMember

I intended only using AS for "must haves", but I find that I use it all the time now.

The near certainty of winning means I don't have to tackle so many auctions to get the items I want, just pick off the best.

9/12/034:23 AM

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bjtMember

I too, use it for watching. I use a similar strategy, in that I place a low bid anad adjust it later when I have decided to "go for it"

-bjt

9/12/035:12 AM

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chatterMember

I know that some people, at least when they are new, opt to use AS only for "must have" items. Once I was confident in AS, I used it for everything. I was and am pleased with the reasonable rates and cannot see NOT using it, just to save a few cents, and have a greater chance of not winning the widget.

9/12/035:54 AM

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bjtMember

I agree, Chatter.
If someone wants the item enough to bid on it, why not use AS??
It doesn't make sense to me to just use it when you REALLY want to win an item.
Don't bid if you don't really want it, right?

9/12/036:04 AM

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dagnabitgrabitMember

I too originally intended to only use AS for MUST HAVEs and manually do my other bids. But I've adjusted my thinking, thanks to ya'll! And I've taken to using it as my watch list, too!

diva (aka Dag)

9/12/033:58 PM

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