[Klaatu]

I recently returned to eBay to purchase an item and have noticed that I've been outbid in the last five seconds or so (and lost) on a few items. I posted this issue in an eBay forum and was told that although it is ethically questionable, many users are using sniping software that enable them to bid just higher than
the highest bid in the closing moments.

I'm ready to take the gloves off, stoop to their level and start sniping too.

Anyone with any recommendations on good, reasonably priced (ultimately freeware) sniping software?

Thanks.

[mphenterprises]

Hi Klaatu. Before you stoop to their level, which will probably be thwarted by eBay in the future, maybe you should look into changing your strategy when bidding. Can you please detail what strategy you use?

I have used eBay for years and have never had one issue. I have won every auction I enter and I do not use sniping software of any kind.

[Klaatu]

Thanks, mph ...
For instance, there's an item with no reserve who's auction will expire in a bit over three days and who's current bid is $29.88. The next bid higher requires $30.88 or more.
I've been in the market for an item like this for a few months now and I know $30.88 won't win as it usually sells in the mid to high $100 range. One piece of advice from eBay's forum said, "Bid once, bid your max, bid as late as possible. If you win, you didn't overspend, if you lose, someone else did."
Do I bid my maximum now or just $30.88 and bid up until the end and risk being sniped? And if I do bid my max now, won't I reveal my hand and probably lose again? Wouldn't "proxy bidding" prevent revealing of my hand?
Don't know if this forum will allow it, but I could send eBay item URL to you. Kind of reluctant to divulge it in an open forum.

[mphenterprises]

Klaatu said:

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One piece of advice from eBay's forum said, "Bid once, bid your max, bid as late as possible. If you win, you didn't overspend, if you lose, someone else
did."

This is not necessarily true. Personally, I gauge several things before I place my bid:

- The seller

- The item itself

- The time left

- The amount of bids already placed





Before I detail my philosophy with each point, please feel free to read {document:id=1152}. This is what I use to pretty much guarantee a safe eBay experience. I will update the Document with the information I provide in this Discussion.

The Seller

The Document outlines what strategies I use when looking for items on eBay. The fact is that the average eBay shopper will be drawn to a seller who has a significant amount of feedbacks; whether positive, negative, or neutral. The first thing I do when I search for an item is to see how many feedbacks the seller has. If the feedbacks total into the thousands, that is a red flag for me. When I check the actual feedbacks, if I see that the seller has multiple negative and neutral feedbacks, I will stay far away from that auction. You will be able to find the exact item you want with a more reputable seller.




The Item Itself

The more unique the item, the less likely you will have too much competition within a given auction. If the item I want is something that I feel very few people will want within the next few days, I will follow the mantra you detailed and bid my max from the gate. However, if I feel that what I want may be a hot ticket item, for example my HP Color LaserJet 1600 Printer Toner, I will bid selectively and only increase incrementally.




The Time Left

If I see an auction that may only have less than an hour left, or even up to several hours left, I will place my full bid. If there are days left, I will only watch the auction and bid accordingly. Watching is a great tool. Right now, I am watching five auctions. There have been times when I have watched up to 20 auctions at once. Watching gives you a change to gauge the activity level within the auction.




The Amount of Bids Already Placed

If I see an auction that has 25 bids, I know this is an active and heated auction and there would be no reason to add my bid into the mix. The chances that your bid will out bid all the other buyers is slim. If you only see a handful of bids, or no bids at all, either place your bid or watch the auction.

Klaatu said:

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Wouldn't "proxy bidding" prevent revealing of my hand?

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I have no idea what "proxy bidding" is but I think the information listed above may have provided some alternatives to this method.

Klaatu said:

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Don't know if this forum will allow it, but I could send eBay item URL to you. Kind of reluctant to divulge it in an open forum.
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Sure. If the auction is still active, feel free to send me a Private Message with either the url or just the item number. I will look at the auction and provide my opinions.

[mphenterprises]

Okay, from the information provided by the auction, here is what I think:

- The seller is very good. Of the 5500+ feedbacks this seller has had, only 20 were either neutral or negative in the past six months.

- The auction has been live for two days and has only had three bids. There may be plenty of watchers but this is not a very active auction

- The auction ends in three days.




Mix all of this together and I would suggest you watch this auction until at least the morning of the last day. If you see an influx of new bid between now and then, hold tight and see what happens. If the bidding does not significantly increase the price, I would suggest you submit your initial with a couple of hours to go. I would not suggest you max out your bid. This will show your hand and affect the way others bid against you. Do not rely on email notifications. If possible, keep an active eye on this auction by hitting the refresh button of your browser.

At this point, things can go one of two ways - either bids start flying in or things remain constant. If bids start flying in, start to increase your bids accordingly. If the bids remain somewhat constant, continue to watch the auction with a very open eye. Once the auction reaches the last hour or so, I would monitor the intently.

Now, once you get into the last few minutes of the auction, I would start to refresh every couple of minutes, at the very least. Within the last five minutes, start to refresh the auction every minute. Be prepared for anyone who may have a sniper set up.

As a side note, I would also suggest that you find alternative auctions. I normally watch at least three to five similar auctions in case one or two of them fall short. However, whenever I bid on an auction, I win.....34 in a row. :D



Please let me know if you have any additional questions and how the auction ends up.

[Klaatu]

What do you think of EZ sniper? First three are apparently free.

[mphenterprises]

Klaatu said:

What do you think of EZ sniper? First three are apparently free.

MPHEnterprises said:

I have won every auction I enter and I do not use sniping software of any kind.

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:| I guess I wasn't too convincing, huh? LOL If you want me to be honest, I think any application like this is cheating the system; like using cheat codes to beat a video game. Personally, I would not stoop to this level just to win an auction. It is not that serious. If you get beat, life goes on. Find another auction and bid on that.

I really do not like to flaunt numbers but 34-0 is pretty good. :D I am about to look into three more auctions today: an upgrade wireless phone for both me and my fiancee and a Terabyte hard drive for myself. When I find the right auction, I will use the same strategies that I laid out here and, Lord willing, I will win all three of them. I have updated the Document to include the information I posted in this Discussion.

[coastie65]

From my experience on Ebay, there are a lot of people cheating the system, primarily to drive up the bids ( shills ). I bid on a USED Pentium D 950 processor. The bid was at $25.00. I watched it for a while and it didn't move and the clock was winding down. I bid $26.00 and set the max to $50, as I wasn't going to pay but so much for a used processor. Long story short, that thing went for $116.00. I thought that was a bit much for a used processor. That was my last experience with Ebay. I have written them off as a lost cause as I don't really see any deals. If I need something, I just hunt it down on the internet, although the Pentium D 945 or 950 are somewhat of a problem, and rather pricey if you do find one. coastie65

[Klaatu]

Yeah, post your results too. Good luck.

Good perspective on auction results in general. It's just that losing by $.50 gets frustrating.

And regarding ezSniper, besides the ethical consideration, one also has to share log-in data and I'm always leery of sharing any kind of data on any server no matter how secure it's purported to be.

[mphenterprises]

Klaatu said:

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It's just that losing by $.50 gets frustrating.

Oh, I can imagine. I am very competitive and hate coming in second. Think about this, I am sure there are people who are using those applications and still not winning auctions. There is always a catch. In this case, data would have to be shared. I am with you. I do not want to involuntarily provide information to any entity.

[Klaatu]

Your potential shill seller is reason to study sellers as mph... suggested. It's almost sad people have to resort to such things.

I've found eBay in general to be mostly "miss" (as compared to hit).

[coastie65]

Hi Klaatu, Actually I was refering to the buyer being a shill to drive up the bidding. Anyway, the bottom line is, if I'm looking for something Ebay is not even on my radar. coastie65

[Klaatu]

You were clear in what you meant but a shill (a decoy who acts as an enthusiastic customer in order to stimulate the participation of others) ultimately acts on behalf of the seller for unjust profit.


And eBay is still worth pursuing for unusual items like the item I'm after, that sold new, are outrageously priced. Most often, eBay's shipping costs are also prohibitive even on mainstream tech items so that it's almost always advantageous to buy from Newegg and the like.

[coastie65]

Yeah those shipping charges are a whole nother thing. Just some extra "Hidden" profit for the seller. In all fairness, you can generally find stuff that you can't find elsewhere, and if it is marked " BUY NOW" and was something I was looking for, I would probably consider it. I am pretty cynical on some things and play Devil's advocate :D . I know a lot of people who shop on Ebay and like it. As you said it has it pluses as in being able to locate hard to find & unusual items. You got my point about the shill acting on behalf of the seller, and that tends to dampen any enthusiasim. coastie

[mphenterprises]

You Coastie and Klaatu. Yes, there are definitely some unscrupulous sellers on eBay but that is just a fact of life. There are bad people everywhere. I try to take the good with the bad and not write off something until I have given all benefits of doubt.

[Klaatu]

Well, shame on me for using EZsniper to win my auction.
The trick was to bid a higher max bid than originally intended. But still got item essentially brand new without paying the exorbitant cost of a new one. And this was the first of three free snipes. Still, kind of feel sorry for guy who lost out by $2.50 in the last seven seconds.
If anyone is interested, I'd recommend EZsniper to those who become ethically challenged after losing eBay auctions in the last few seconds by a few dollars.
I hope you had similar luck with your auctions, mph...

[coastie65]

Hey Klaatu, Glad you beat the system and I'm happy to hear EZsniper worked for you. Incidentaly, your user name reminds me of an old Sci-Fi movie I have always liked, " The Day The Earth Stood Still ". coastie65

[Klaatu]

Thanks, coastie65.

'Gort, Klaatu Barado Nikto.'

[coastie65]

Hey, Yup, that's it. I haven't seen that movie for a long time. In my opinion, it is a classic. coastie

[Klaatu]

Yikes! One last point.

Found a post in a newsletter I read regarding someone pretending to offer unbiased advice in response to a planted question, which in fact was just an attempt to get people to buy a product for which they receive a commission.

Read over my endorsement of EZsniper and it rather smacked of this. In no way was it intended to market any product. I was just so happy by finally winning that I had to share it with others who might want the same.