Track number of bids in the Snipe Window?

Your suggestions are welcome, bjt, even though in this case your idea has been suggested before. The long and the short of it is that the number of bids in an auction don't matter to a sniper. You're aiming to put in, if not the last, then at least the highest bid right at the end of the auction. All the bids that have gone before are immaterial. If your maximum is high enough, you win. If you lose to an earlier proxy bid, then someone was willing to pay as much as or more than you. Why on earth would you want to keep track of the total number of bids?

For me, its a good indicator of how much interest an item is attracting - like the number of hits on an item, it can be an indicator of how heavy the bidding might be.
Knowing the amount of attention something is attracting can allow me to place my bid amount accordingly.
For instance, I may place a more reasonable bid on something that only has 12 hits and 2 bids in a 7-day auction, but I may place a higher-than-usual bid on an item that has attracted over 200 hits and 18 bids.
I realize that ultimately, the highest bid wins, but how does one effectively gauge what that high bid should be without consistently bidding outrageously high?
(I've been burned by that tactic)

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Originally posted by bjt:

I realize that ultimately, the highest bid wins, but how does one effectively gauge what that high bid should be without consistently bidding outrageously high?
(I've been burned by that tactic)

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One simply decides how much one is willing to spend and sticks with that. For me, that value is often sentimental and that means that often I will bid more than the "going" rate of an item. But I decide that amount based on what I am willing to spend, regardless of how whether there are 2 or 200 bids. Some items appear more frequently than others and command a lower price. Others are less frequent and go for more money. But one still decides, based on his situation, what he is willing to spend.

I am not sure what you mean by being "burned by that tactic." If someone is willing to pay more for an auction item, regardless of his reason, does that mean he should NOT win the auction?

Oh No, not at all...
I was referring to an incident in which I was bidding on an item that probably would have gone for $30.00 or so.
The bidding was high, and the item rare, so I wanted to make sure I won the auction by placing a very high bid at the last possible moment - one that I didn't think anyone would dream of paying.
Well, When I placed my bid at the last moment, someone else had the same idea, and I ended up paying $80.00 for a small stoneware bowl (Ouch)

That's not a "tactic," that's looking for trouble. Evidently you bid more than you really wanted to spend for that item -- overextended, as it were. Chatter has it right: decide what you're realistically willing to spend (won't say "ouch" if you spend it) and stick with it.

Thats what I love about AS....being a fairly hyper person, I am one to get carried away with the bid wars.

My tactic is put in my snipe and DONT LOOK AT THAT ITEM AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just make sure that I am willing to pay my snipe amount and no more and leave it at that

I never say OUCH anymore and I have no regrets

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For me, its a good indicator of how much interest an item is attracting

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If you have no idea what an item is worth then this interest can help in the decision process. For example, I might see a widget and imagine it's worth 10 Euros despite a starting price of 1 Euro.

If, when I look at my snipes a bit later, and see it at 9 Euros with 2 bids then I know that there is a bidding war on and can react accordingly, either cancelling (as futile!) or increasing my snipe to react to the interest shown.

If, there are no bids and the price is still 1 euro then I can rest on my laurels.

If there are 24 bids and the price is 100 Euros then maybe widgets are more expensive than I realised!

I know this goes a little bit against the "Set it and leave it" principle, but like to be involved with my snipes occasionally, still using AS's functionality but also allowing the excitement to allow me to up my snipe.

So, I say, show the number of bids - it cannot be much work for the programmers (a simple job for when they have FIXED THE SEARCHES perhaps) and might prove useful to some of us!!!

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Originally posted by basrah:
I know this goes a little bit against the "Set it and leave it" principle

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basrah;
That "principle" does come up a lot, but I think it's more of a theory, or guideline. I have changed my snipe based on other bids, and because of specific competitors. I know of at least one other active member that admited they also have changed their snipe based on a competitor.

I have a feeling this happens more with snipers that deal in smaller markets where one sees the same handful of competitors. This might also be for items that cost more, or are collectables. I'm sure there's some snipers that never change their original snipe, but I'm also sure that it happens more times then anyone talks about.

P.S. This is not an endorsement for AS to added the # of bids. I'm of the opinion that AS should do what they do best - place snipes; and eBay should do what they do best - everything else.

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"I have a feeling this happens more with snipers that deal in smaller markets where one sees the same handful of competitors. This might also be for items that cost more, or are collectables."

This is my area of bidding. I typically bid on somewhat expensive, rare antiques and collectibles, and the arena is pretty small comparatively.
I usually recognize many of the bidders and have even conversed with them online about our interests.
With antiques, the item is not always listed correctly, so you may have to get creative about searching for what you are looking for.
If an item is listed incorrectly, you may find yourself a bargain if no one finds it, but if something in the title or description has tipped them off, you may have a lot of competition and that's when it helps to know how many bids are being placed.
I still don't think a "place a bid and walk away" approach is applicable in all cases for all things. I think its important to know your market,
but the number of bidders can also teach you a lot about items you didn't know the value of.

As for placing the number of bids on the "My Snipes" page, I get the impression AS is not interested, but I thought it helpful to at least state my viewpoint so you knew where I was coming from.

bjt, I collect the same sort of things you do, only in my case it's usually rare books related to a specific topic. I, too, often recognize my competitors as being members of the same organizations I belong to. Over the years I have not only corresponded with them, I've met a goodly number of them in person. It's relevant to add that several of them are millionaires who could blow me away with a single bid -- if they knew what I was bidding for.

As a rule, though, if they're interested in an item they put a bid on it. Only one or two of them are snipers, and even they don't snipe every time. The amounts of their bids are not maximums; these people have no maximums. Rather, the amount is a function of their level of interest in the item. (Read: if it's something they don't already have, I can forget about it right now.)

So, while I'm interested to learn that these acquaintances are bidding on something I'd like to have, it's not material to me how many bids they've placed simply because if one of them wants, or can afford, something more than I do or can, why, my maximum bid means nothing. And if none of them are bidding on an item, I have learned that my maximum is usually enough and to spare to win the auction over the occasional "dabbler" that enters a bid...or two, or three.

That's my nickel's worth.

Steve,
Sounds like there are some real interesting theories on the psychology of bidding out there!

AS is such a great tool. I have been very successful so far using AS and the strategies and advice given on this forum.
Thanks again for the discussion - it was fun!

Best of luck on future acquisitions to your collection!

It sounds like we agree that "Set it and leave it" may be a goal but that some, if not many, of us don't always practice it, and deciding our max bid might require multiple "decidings".

I agree a little bit with everyone on this topic. Philosophically and intellectually, I enjoy watching the counters and the number of bidders, and it can serve as interesting 'research' for what I might do in the future...however, my max is my max. If somebody else surpasses it, sure I'm unhappy, but the bottom line is that I placed the maximum bid I could afford.

So, I just use eBay to watch the counters and number of bidders...and I use AS for the actual sniping. I really don't want AS to get bogged down with too many bells and whistles; keep it simple, that's my motto!!

Now that doesn't mean that I've never reconsidered, gone back, and raised that maximum, however, I have never put it beyond my means...and generally when I win, it is with a bid that is wayyy below my max. I guess the only 'ouch' I've experienced was being outbid.

WarriorNun

"If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning"

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Originally posted by WarriorNun:
So, I just use eBay to watch the counters and number of bidders...and I use AS for the actual sniping. I really don't want AS to get bogged down with too many bells and whistles; keep it simple, that's my motto!!

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Good point!