Jump to content
When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
  • Current Donation Goals

f'ing ebay!


lionsandtigers

Recommended Posts

Actually there are web based sniper apps that will make that last second bid faster than any human. If u set your bid right and it's higher than the current high bid it will enter yours at the very last possible quarter second...you probably lost to a sniper. Good news is its legal and Ebay supports it. I use 'EZSniper.com' and almost always win when I bid.

Theres and actuall sniper class??? :p I missed out on a Nice mechanical chrono movt, but I have been pretty lucky with used eta movts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

eBay uses a proxy bidding system. Bid your honest max, and you'll never live with regrets. If someone pays more than you are willing to pay, then they paid too much.

 

I disagree.  If someone pays more than you are willing to pay, then they paid more than you are willing to pay. 

 

Doesn't mean that they didn't snag the deal of the year, or that you won't regret your timidity for months to come.  :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually there are web based sniper apps that will make that last second bid faster than any human. If u set your bid right and it's higher than the current high bid it will enter yours at the very last possible quarter second...you probably lost to a sniper. Good news is its legal and Ebay supports it. I use 'EZSniper.com' and almost always win when I bid.

 

Sorry - Im going to explain one more time that eBay uses an automated proxy bidding system. They bid for you automatically. There is no "human" to out-maneuver. It's instant and automatic.

 

Im sure the "sniper" companies appreciate your business, tho. I bet it makes them a lot of money every year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry - Im going to explain one more time that eBay uses an automated proxy bidding system. They bid for you automatically. There is no "human" to out-maneuver. It's instant and automatic.
During an auction, have you ever changed your mind on the most you were willing to pay for an item? More importantly, do you think any of the other bidders have changed their minds during the auction? Do "You have been outbid!" notices cause you to reassess your maximum bid? Also, to be clear: I didn't mean 'timidity' as a knock against you. That's just the thought that runs through my head after I lose an auction to, say, a Junghans J88 that I'll never see on eBay for another two years or so...
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, sniping is the way to go, I do agree somewhat with jkay though that setting your max and sticking to it helps keep you from getting 'involved' with the bidding process and going too far, but in some cases you get done for a $1 as mentioned above, and that can be really frustrating. Tbh best way, is have a target, have a sniping tool do the business late so as not to have human bidders get too emotionally involved winning the bidding process and push up the price out of normal in those last 20 minutes. This is a significant problem on there, it's surprising how many human bidders feel the need to win the bidding 'competition', and go further than they planned, when you leave your input till late, someone who thinks they have sole control is less likely push at the price. Also look for stuff at obscure ending times midweek, when traffic is low. Checking misspelled auction helpers can be useful in certain cases also.

 

...fckin ebay is right! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have used the Ebay proxy system, and as was said it works great, but what it does is puts you in a bidding war with others all during the auction. Lets say  I proxy bid  500 USD for that Rolex bracelet.Bidding starts at 100 Dollars.So I'm high at 100 dollars, Bidder X bids 125, which automatically makes my proxy bid 130 (Lets say the bid increments are 5 dollars. Now it's off to the races, X bids 140, I top him at 145. this can go on in 5-10 dollar increments until he gets discouraged, or he finally tops my max proxy bid. If there are lots of bidders, the proxy system probably works as well or better than the snipe tool, but if there are only a couple of bidders and it's some obscure item, or its closing at 3 AM CST, I may set my snipe bid at 500, the other bidder who is high at say 225 is sitting on his bid right up to the end, thinking he has the winiing bid, but 3 seconds before the auction ends, my snipe program sends in my bid for 230 dollars and by the time he gets and outbid notice, the auction is over, so instead of paying 500 for the item, I got it for 230. dollars. 

What I want to do in my bidding is to lull the other guy into thinking he has it won, and decrease the number of bumps or bids during the auction. Now the problem with the snipe tool is the Ebay proxy will win no matter how close to the end your snipe bid is placed, so if the other bidder sitting at 225 is using the Ebay proxy bidding system, and his max is 501. he will win but he had to pay 501 to get it.

 

The main thing, no matter whether or not you use the snipe programs or Ebays Proxy bidding, you need to decide the most you are willing to pay for something, and then make that your maximum bid. If you win, great, but if you lose, hey, someone wanted it a little more than you did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a really good summation P of the craziness of the auction format, it is simply amazing the psychology around how people will react when bidding against someone or a group of people. I've seen items (2nd hand) bid up to ridiculous levels, well above the true price or even close to new price depending on the item, ...just because bidders get involved in the heat of the moment.

 

I remember about 6 months ago, I was keeping an eye on some nos gen speedmaster pro cases from the well known aussie supplier on there. There were about 8 of them all ending at an odd time, like 2am GMT and staggered within 5 minutes of each other. Now I knew there would be interest so I kept an eye on the first and as expected lots of action, so I let it go, the 2nd a little less and so on. I came very close to getting the forth unexpectedly, but it was just above my asking price.

Then they went up again on the next and started coming down again after, and I got the 7th one (2nd last). The price was just over £200 for an NOS speedmaster case (retails about £600). When looking back at the previous auction end prices it was ridiculous, ...the first went for 2.5 times the price of the one I managed to pick up, all the later ones, when the dust settled and the die hard bidders were bled off were all much cheaper. Sometimes people can be really predictable on there!

Edited by cougar1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...
Please Sign In or Sign Up