Is it worth it?

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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For a casual eBayer like myself, is it worth it to subscribe to an auction sniper service? I'm obviously looking to spend as little as I can, I'm trying to stick primarily to my want list, except for maybe a gift I might see.
 
I am not sure thats a money saver. Is that like an auto bidder?
I like just going for the ones that have the least time left.

does that make me throat cutter:confused:

Zoo
 
I don't use it but my wife does and usually has pretty good results. She sets it up whereas the bidder fires at 4 seconds left. Sure beats sitting there with the kitchen count down timer ;)
Matt
 
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If everybody used some form of sniping software ebay would be a silent auction, where no one knows who else is bidding or how much. As it is, some people don't use sniping software, so it's a silent auction in which some of the bidders don't understand what's going on and shout out their bids for everyone to hear.
 
When I find something on Fleabay that I want, I bid at the last minute or so. I don't use an autobidder; I just determine exactly how much I am willing to pay(shipping and insurance included) and throw in my max bid at the last minute or so. I gear myself up for the reality that if somebody wants it that bad, they can have it. I refuse to get into a bidding war over something. I have enough stress already.
 
I have never used a sniper but have considered it. I have no patience to sit and wait for an auction to end, everytime I try, I get distracted. You know, like work
gets in the way. The other thing that makes me think sniper is auctions that end late at night. There have been a few items from the orient and the auctions are ending at 3 AM.

Other than that I just put in my best offer and walk away. Like Danbo, I'm not getting caught in a bidding war.

Win
 
Just be a man about it and put in your highest bid...If you win, you win...If you don't win, it's not the end of the world (unless it's a heart or kidney for a personal transplant that you were bidding on.).

I've lost a couple of bids on things that I REALLY wanted and thought I had won, only to be snipped in the last couple seconds...I HATE snipers!!!. :mad:
 
I never understood the sniping thing, and bidding wars an auto bids like ebay just seem silly. You put in your max bid when ever you see the auction and you either get it or someone wants to pay more. If they outbid in you an hour or 4 seconds before the close, you don't not get it any less. If you wanted it more all you had to do was put in more money in the first place.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
I never understood the sniping thing, and bidding wars an auto bids like ebay just seem silly. You put in your max bid when ever you see the auction and you either get it or someone wants to pay more. If they outbid in you an hour or 4 seconds before the close, you don't not get it any less. If you wanted it more all you had to do was put in more money in the first place.

-Cliff
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Thats exactly what I was going to say ;)
 
Cliff Stamp said:
I never understood the sniping thing, and bidding wars an auto bids like ebay just seem silly. You put in your max bid when ever you see the auction and you either get it or someone wants to pay more. If they outbid in you an hour or 4 seconds before the close, you don't not get it any less. If you wanted it more all you had to do was put in more money in the first place.
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The problem is that it tends to draw attention to an auction when there are many early bids. Also, some people don't understand the proxy system and they will just keep bidding and bidding until they are the high bidder when they get the "got to win it" syndrome.
 
Here's a different slant. Suppose you want the item, and you know what your max bid is going to be. Joe schmo wants it too, and goes in to the end as the high bidder at say, $10. Your max is $15. If you put it in early, Joe decides, hey, he really wants it and goes up to $16. You lose. If you waited to the end, you put in your $15, and get it for $11, since Joe is out of time and can't bid against you at the last seconds. Price stays lower. Some people do get caught up in the competition and will beat your price every time, if given the opportunity to keep bidding. Hence, the sniper system, or just using the kitchen timer. It really can save money.

But against sniper service is you have to give them your ebay name and password, and I am a bit too paranoid to trust a third party.

Timer works for me.
Rich
 
I didn't take into account giving the company my password. It just bothers me a little that when I bid, say 50 bucks on something, at the very last minute, someone gets it for 51 dollars. Just wanted to hear everyones opinion.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
It just bothers me a little that when I bid, say 50 bucks on something, at the very last minute, someone gets it for 51 dollars. Just wanted to hear everyones opinion.
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You need to take into account that the bidders high bid may have been $101. Ebay's proxy system only puts in the amount to reach the next highest bid level. It may look like you were outbid by only a dollar, when you were really outbid by $50.

I sometimes wait until near the end, and sometimes I put my bid in up front. Either way, I only bid what I will pay. Period. If I'm going to lose, I'm going to lose.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
I didn't take into account giving the company my password. It just bothers me a little that when I bid, say 50 bucks on something, at the very last minute, someone gets it for 51 dollars. Just wanted to hear everyones opinion.
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I think Auction Sentry is worth it. $14.95, no need to give anyone your password. Your internet connection has to be good and your computer on, of course. You'll still wrestle with other snipers. But it's nice not to worry as much about those bidiots we all know and love, who will drive up an item to several times its actual value.

You can snipe manually as well of course. You just have to stay on top of things.
 
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I find it kind of laughable that people seem to think it is somehow unethical to bid at the last moment either in person or via a bidding service. It is an auction, not a confessional. No one owes the seller more than he has to bid to get an item. With the rare exception of where you might be bidding on some friend's item, it is a war and winning at the best price you can buy at within your limit is the only result that counts. MANY, but certainly not all, sellers on ebay cheat you in ways you never have even thought of in the bidding arena, bidding at the last second is one way to avoid some of the ploys they use. YOU ARE SPENDING YOUR MONEY and like most rational people, using a bidding service or bidding yourself at the last minute is the most rational way to get the item at the cheapest possible price. I wasted (in the sense of paying more to the buyer than I had to)many thousands of dollars on ebay and hundreds of hours sitting in front of the computer waiting for the last minute when I had the time until I started using bidnapper. It has repaid the relatively minor fees (for me) many times over, both in money saved and in convenience. I bid all I want for all the auctions on any given day in an hour or so in the morning and do what else needs to be done the rest of the day. I changed my ebay sign in so that bidnapper would only have access to ebay. I only use that password for ebay nothing else.

It's your money, bid how you want, but I'll take a sniper service ALL the time and I'll save a ton of money in the process. Do I get outbid, sure, and I have no problem with that. But I buy a LOT of items well below my maximum.

OTOH, the services like Gunbroker that use the 15 minute rule are best for the seller.
 
Hi,
I use SNIPERFOX and AUCTION SENTRY they are both GREAT!

Auction Sentry has a 1 week trial and I won a lot during this week so I´ll buy it $15 is not much for saving you a lot of money
 
Gatogordo said:
....people seem to think it is somehow unethical to bid at the last moment either in person or via a bidding service. It is an auction.....
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I've never understood that either. It's an AUCTION, not an "Honor System" open-book trigonometry exam. As Patryn points out, eBay uses a proxy system so bid whatever amount you want to spend. If you get 'sniped' for a dollar, you didn't bid what you "WANTED" to pay in the first place!

I got 'sniped' yesterday on a Mustang PFD jacket at $71 - but I'm sure the winner's 'maximum' proxy bid was a lot more than that.
 
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