Two shots, one kill :(((

Paolo,

So very sorry. Today was a bad day for AS. This was posted by AS support (Sofia C.) today at 2:37 PM:

"Hi,

It's been a bussy day...

One our swicthes died today, and we had to put a backup one up and set everything so the sites would work again.

We apologize for this inconvinience, we have some engineers down in our colocations reviewing everything.

As for now, snipes are being placed normaly.

Once again, we apologize for this inconvinience.

Sofia"


I hope you stick around. When do you sleep?

Yes I have read...

Actually I go to sleep very late.. I suppose I'm slowly adapting myself to the official time of eBay headquarters in San Jose, California.

I know things don't always work - so far all of my snipes have (keep my fingers crossed) - but thanks Paolo for a good attitude and I do really hope that you win your next one.

ciao

Paolo,

It's a pity that AS was having a problem on the day of your auction. Unless I'm missing something, looking at the bid history and the next increment, it looks like you would have won.

Hopefully this item will come up again, and you'll get it for less. Hopefully.

Why does it always seem to happen to the nice people? Never mind, Paolo, one like it will come up on eBay again.

Is this a situation where Paolo could have placed a manual proxy bid and been using the snipe as "insurance"? (thanks Steve for that idea)

Ask me about the monkey.
http://www.greatestnetworker.com/is/christy

As you can see from a post I already made, I also had a snipe which was never placed and I also was sitting right in front of my computer and could have placed it.

If you're having a problem with a switch, how about this: LET US KNOW ABOUT IT!!! If I would have been warned about this possibility when logging in, I would not have lost my snipe, nor would I be looking for another auction sniping service.

Finally, this is the third time it has happened to me and on all three occasions I have received NO SNIPER REPORT WHATSOEVER.

It's true - I'm bias. It must be karma. For some reason I never have any problem with AS placing my snipes. I just don't get it!

Yes a sorta of popup alert if there are major (or minor) problems on AS backend can be useful.

Anycase, I was in front of the computer (of the computerS, e.bay opened on portable and AC opened on the desktop) in the last thirty second of the auction, when I have noticed that just in that moment the AC Home Page had stopped to answer.

I'm remained frozen with strange expression on the face surely thinking "no. He will shot my bullet", but it has unfortunately not gone like this.

A pair of items of the same type can still be find on e.bay (in Europe) but, with the comebacks from Easter, the prices task will grow at least 200$ more.


Regards,
e.BreakeR
[spaghetti sniper]

Paolo, you might be pleasantly surprised by the price you can get. I've noticed that the earliest eBay appearances by quality items fetch super-high prices. Then more of the same items come out of the woodwork, so to speak, as other sellers see what the earlier one brought and think, "Hey, I've got one of those! I'm gonna cash in!" It's happened to me many times in the past, until I learned that (a) another one will always come up for bids and (b) I'm likely to get the later one cheaper than I could've got the first one for.

My advice would be to stick with the price you're willing to pay. Eventually, you'll win, very often for a lower price than you were willing to pay.

What Steve said is so true. I use to snipe using high amounts. I would usually "win" (hate that word). But I noticed that later the same item would go for a lot less. It appeared that a seller saw how crazy I was, and decided to sell the same item. Of course, the 2nd highest bidder ("loser"?) on that 1st auction would get the item a lot cheaper on the 2nd auction.

The following is an example which many of you must have experienced: Early February, I was 2nd high bidder. The "winner" (hate that word) "won" (hate that word) the auction for $230. 6 weeks later, I "won" (hate that word) the same item for $105.

The question has come up about how to deal with deep pocket bidders. There IS satisfaction in knowing that you paid less than half the price of your competitor.

So (here it comes): Wasn't the "winner" in that first auction really a "loser"?

A "loser" (hate that word)? That depends. Was the price reasonable for the item in question? If it was high by usual market price standards, was there something exceptional -- condition, free shipping, signed by creator -- about it that would cause it to have more value attached to it? And, in the final analysis, we must ask: is the winner/"loser"(hate that word) happy with his purchase and satisfied that he paid a reasonable price for the item? Because, my friend, the bottom line lies with the satisfaction of the purchaser (how's that?).

"(how's that?)" - VERY good!

"Was the price reasonable for the item in question?" - the 3rd highest bidder (the same one in both auctions) bid $60 and $65 (respectfully).

SAME item. Nothing different. Nothing exceptional.

"... the bottom line lies with the satisfaction of the purchaser". - I'm wondering how much of a reduction in satisfaction the 1st "winner" (hate that word) feels after seeing how much I "won" (hate that word) it for?

AS always; challenging. AS always; entertaining.

I can't completely agree... be honest: it's not only spending some bucks on various pieces of crap, it's about auction mastering, the art of bidding, the art of "going going gone" war.. I can throw some money more only for the good vibe received from a winning (I don't totally hate this word) auction

Regards,
e.BreakeR
[spaghetti sniper]

Well, I think many of us will agree with the following statement: "... I learned that (a) another one will always come up for bids and (b) I'm likely to get the later one cheaper than I could've got the first one for."

I can agree with those two statments, Rick. And, going back to your earlier comment, I honestly do feel some diminution of my enjoyment when I have to pay more than I wanted to pay (but obviously not more than I was willing to pay). But this is not so much due to the money aspect as it is a wholly irrational feeling of irritation at the #2 bidder. How dare he run me up that high?

But I have to side with Paolo -- it's more than being high bidder (how's that, Rick?); some of my enjoyment comes from the thrill of the chase with the clean, quick kill at the end.

"How dare he run me up that high?" - I agree.

"high bidder" - Perfect.

"... some of my enjoyment comes from the thrill of the chase with the clean, quick kill at the end." - Again, we agree.

http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=3323153762

My third sniping experience gone very good!!! In a sunday full of closing auctions AS placed my 5 seconds snipe precise like a swiss watch!

I think you will have to tolerate my annoying presence in this forums for a lot of time..

Ciao,
Paolo
[Spaghetti sniper]

Paolo,

Success stories are never an annoyance. Not enough people share the good news. Some people only like to discuss bad news. Also, the more success stories newbies see, the less apprehensive they'll be.

SO KEEP 'EM COMING!

"Spaghetti sniper," huh? The way Paolo's going, he'll be the next Supersniper. Way to go, Paolo!