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14 replies

Will someone please explain this to me???

G Guest
I was reading the bidding forum on Ebay and it appears that snipers are the enemy. I really don't understand what’s wrong with sniping. I thought that the reason for bidding on an auction items was the win the item and sniping does that so why are the people so mad. I really can't comprehend what has these people so upset. Some of these people have come up with names and descriptions of us that are very amusing. Example:

You’re Just No Damned Good, You Snipers
[Y]ou’ve just got to take something away from somebody, and be a sneak about it.

[E]njoy expressing their contempt for people

They aren’t just bidding for stuff, they’re screwing people over and enjoying it.

I think they just like 'getting over' on someone and are in it for the 'thrill' they get from causing honest bidders to loose what they have honestly worked to get.

[T]he thrill these deviates get from stabbing honest bidders in the back at the very last second.

You can read it in detail here http://www.geocities.com/footballboyisme2/link.html

I especially love this Quote

"Is anyone else tired of being out bidded 20 seconds into the auction and not having time to bid back? I am tired of these people. We should contact ebay and have petition. Its not right."

I love sniping. I am in this to win and with each new item I win (pretty much every item I snipe) I remember when I could not win any of the item I bid on. The thrill I get from sniping is second only to the thrill I get when I put on my new Gucci shoes that I won using auction sniper. There are no words to explain this feeling; someone said it was better than sex. That’s like comparing a pair of Chanel Spectator Pumps to your favorite Wal-Mart Shoes. Not even in a same category. I love designer fashion, I love auction sniper. I used to feel lost, unsure, and incomplete. Now that I have Prada, Gucci, Chanel and Auction Sniper I am whole and one with the Earth.

Maybe I am addicted to sniping and can't see past my addiction to see what these people see. I really don't see anything thing wrong with sniping. I would really appreciate it if someone could explain this to me.
quote:
Original Post

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S Steve (Guest)
I can recall my indignation the first few times I was sniped. I was outraged -- sniping was unfair! That item was *mine* and some faceless sniper stole it from me! Then I realized that a sniper can't take something away from me if my bid is higher at the end of the auction. Those who decry snipers in eBay's chat room haven't got the good sense God gave a goose. No item is theirs until they buy it. Instead of chintzing around seeing how low they can go and still win the auction (a bidding skill I have never mastered), they're not bidding their maximum amount -- or if they are then it's too low. The fact of the matter is that a sniper always pays more than anybody else in order to win. That should be pointed out to those bozos.
S Selma_Jungkov (Guest)
.....And they set their bids too low! I used to resent snipers, too--whether they used AS or sniped "naturally". But that's just because I wanted to WIN, and I resented ANYONE who stood in my way. Even then, I understood that if my maximum bid was high enough, no sniper could beat beat me.

Now that *I* am a Sniper MYSELF, I see so clearly that it is the best way to win an auction! It really helps keep the cost down. I usually set my snipe amount plenty high to ensure victory, but in most cases my winning bid is nowhere near my max! Because so many bidders set their max bids low--bidding just enough to be the "current" high bidder.

I have to admit that I enjoy sniping a little too much, at least for a "nice" person. I find that I love seeing the petty little bidding wars people have, out-bidding each other by 50 cents! Back and forth they go, 6, 7, 8 times or even more, totally unaware that I am out there, cooly waiting for the end of the auction. They end up raising the total price just a few measley dollars.

I, too, just LOVE having nice designer clothes and accessories that I normally could not afford. **LOVE** those Earl Jeans and those Seven Jeans, and the nice Italian leather shoes and handbags, etc.... I feel like a million bucks, thanks to AS.
S Steve (Guest)
Selma muses, 'I have to admit that I enjoy sniping a little too much, at least for a "nice" person. I find that I love seeing the petty little bidding wars people have, out-bidding each other by 50 cents!'

I guess that's the fun they get out of eBay...seeing how low they can go and still win. I haven't been nastied by a frustrated non-sniper yet but I've sure heard enough about them. And just because these people think I'm not a "nice" person because I'm a sniper doesn't make it true.

I don't go in for designer clothes, Selma, but I've been able to build a collection which I've insured for more than $35,000 while spending less than $8,000 on it. If it wasn't for sniping I couldn't possibly have done it. Big Grin
P preserve-n-protect (Guest)
Like most of you I have experienced the angst
when outbid by that 50center at the last min,
I assumed them to be dealers or something who know
that the thing is still profitable at 50 cents over the bid price. now I am a sniper too, but an honest one, I bid high for what I want and take the chance that others bidders are not going to
bid me all the way up, in the time left, if they do, well so be it, that item is now worth more
anyway.
J jazzie142 (Guest)
(Selma_Jungkov) You just had to mention designer handbags and shoes. I was doing just fine until you said IT (Designer handbags and shoes). You even went so far as to say Italian Leather. I just want you to know that I understand this love.

I try to explain this Ebay, AS, and designer shoes and matching handbag thing to my friends and family but they just don't understand. It's nice to know that you understand.

Before AS I couldn't afford to say Chanel. Thanks to AS I am now Chanel, Prada, Gucci, & Armani. I love designer clothes. I was a very nice person prior to AS. Now I am well dressed very nice person.

If by chance someone at AS is looking at the items I am sniping let me just say that all those shoes and clothes I purchased in the last fewer days, I really need them for work. I am not a shop-a-holic.

As far as people hating me for sniping, I still find it stupid and hard to understand. I guess my pride won't allow me to be a cry baby or a sore loser. While writing this I lost a suit (Armani) that I really wanted but I didn't feel robed or cheated, my bid was to low and I lost. Oh well life and the sniping goes on. When I initially read the complaints about sniping, I thought I was committing some type of crime now that I know what these people are mad about I feel better. I love sniping and I will not apologize for being a sniper. I am not bidding on items on Ebay for entrainment I am bidding two win. With AS I have won. Thanks AS.
O orubin (Guest)
I posted this elsewhere, but it applies here:

As a buyer, sniping is a great tool, ESPECIALLY the ability to "bid" on multiple items in groups and only actually bid on one. Also, as a buyer, you actual bid is not posted, so your bid does not immediately up the bidding amount, nor does it draw attention to you as a bidder, so others do not necessarily bid higher in response, knowing you want the item. It keeps the price lower.

As someone who also sells, I hate the sniper for all the same reasons. If a bidder of my item knows someone else wants it, they may up their max bid, or push the item up higher. The snipper stops that from happening.

To reply to one post here, the goal for a seller is not to simply have someone bid, but toget the most for their item, and Snipping effects the outcome.
R Rickdogg (Guest)
Yes, snipers do effect the final price of an item... sometimes. For hot items, it doesn't matter because people bid regardless and a sniper will drive up the price at the end.

But on an auction for an item not really wanted, a sniper does effect the price. The current high bidder probably will just bid the minimum required just to win thinking that that no one else wants it and a sniper will take it right from under them at auction end.

So, pretty much the effect a sniper has on an item depends on the demand.
L Laura (Guest)
Bottom line is what is a bidders top dollar they are willing to pay for an item. Sniping is not a well kept secret. Anyone can snipe. If a bidder is not willing to place a higher proxy bid and pay top dollar for something they really want, then they shouldn't be dissapointed if a sniper wins the auction.

I have won auctions for fifty cents over the highest bid, and I have won auctions for twenty dollars over the highest bid.

Sniping does not mean I am not a nice person or an honest bidder, it only means that I have a stratigy, and want to wait and see what is the most that others are willing to pay for item.

I recieved my first nasty gram about a month ago, when I won an auction for fifty cents above the highest bid. I emailed them back, and told them they should have placed a higher proxy bid if they realy wanted the item. I was willing to pay more than twenty dollars above the highest bid amount for the item.

I attended an Ebay workshop about a month ago, and in the confrence the speaker said experienced bidders usually use a sniping program to win auctions. And anyone can do it.

I love the thrill of sniping, and winning. Auction Sniper, you are the greatest.

Laura
Wink
M Marilyn (Guest)
I used to lose auctions because either A) i lowballed or B) they ended at some absurd time (like 3am) or C) I wasn't home or D) the kids erupted at the auction end, etc.etc. AS and sniping changed it. First, I can bid my max and either I get it or I don't--no more "oh, just $1 more", etc.--i stay within my budget for that item. Second, I don't have to be home or have my computer on, its all taken care of. I didn't realize how much I had come to depend on AS until the outage in June--I was a WRECK that week! With toddler twins, I don't have that much time to spend sniping--what ebay time I get is either spent listing my own stuff or searching for items. AS takes care of it, and i am so grateful for it.

As far as people complaining about snipers, they have done that since ebay was created. Ebay isn't going to change the rules, and I say, Sniping with AS RULES.

http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/marilynsattic/
N nate23 (Guest)
If you can't do something at a real auction, you shouldn't be able to do it at an on-line auction. This would include sniping.

The idea about "well, the bidder should have set their max bid higher if they really wanted it" is rediculous. That is NOT the way an auction works. If this were the case, everything would be "Buy It Now"...... the very nature of an auction is so that the bidders can play against one another. This allows 2 things to happen:

1. The bidder wins at a price he is comfortable with.
2. The seller is awarded a fair price for his sale.

Sniping does NOT allow condition #2 to be met in many cases. It is strictly an immediate advantage to the bidder, and everyone else is hurt because of it. Think of it as selfish.

In the end, however, even the sniper runs out of luck. eBay is large enough that it is looked upon as the market-value setter for many, many items. Sniping effectively lowers the average selling prices of goods on eBay, thereby lowering the product's overall value. So by sniping, everyone will lose out at some point.

Anywayz, these are just my thoughts on the subject.
L lisa (Guest)
quote:
Originally posted by nate23:
If you can't do something at a real auction, you shouldn't be able to do it at an on-line auction. This would include sniping.


You're comparing apples to oranges here nate. The rules are determined by the parties that offer the auctions in the first place and there is a huge difference in bidding habits between live and cyber sales. Live auction bidders share eye contact and body language in the same room along with an audience watching their every move. This, as opposed to online bidders worldwide, unseen and completely anonymous in every way, the majority pussy-footing around in nickle-and-dime increments. I participate in a handful of livestock auctions a year and see this all the time. Funny thing is cyber-bidders expect that they somehow deserve to get an item at the lowest price. What, because they spent extra time creating a bidding war or piddling around by upping their offer by 50-cents a crack?

quote:

... the very nature of an auction is so that the bidders can play against one another. This allows 2 things to happen:

1. The bidder wins at a price he is comfortable with.
2. The seller is awarded a fair price for his sale.


1. Or the bidder loses because he stops at the price he is comfortable with. There's two sides to that coin.

2. Or the seller gets an even fairer price for his widget because another bidder came in at the last moment, outbidding the bargain hunter who would prefer to pay the seller the least possible amount of money.

quote:
eBay is large enough that it is looked upon as the market-value setter for many, many items. Sniping effectively lowers the average selling prices of goods on eBay, thereby lowering the product's overall value. So by sniping, everyone will lose out at some point.


Ummmm, I disagree, particularly in light of the current US economy anyway. Even if something is perceived to have a higher value, in the end an item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

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