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 Replies: 26 / Views: 3,565 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
539 Posts |
so I've read a few posts here about how folks snipe an auction at the last second. But I wonder is that really even necessary if you have already decided what your max bid will be? I mean waiting until 3 seconds before an auction ends and then tossing in your max bid seems a little unnecessary.
I've had pretty good luck by bidding ahead of time and letting the games begin!. I've been sniped but I wasn't ready and/or willing to bid higher than I did originally.
I mean if you want to spend $25 on a catalog value $10 coin, then putting that in 3 days early does not change your chances of getting it for $25. If someone wants it worse than you and is willing to pay bigger dollars for it, then I say, fantastic for the seller, and the next time that same coin shows up, I won't have to bid against that other guy anyway!
Thoughts?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4846 Posts |
well sniping helps becuse the first bidder probably wont bid higher in time. lets say theres a st.Gaudens $20 on ebay, the first bidder bids 750 max bid. and he is willing to bid $1500 and you only want to make a max bid of $1000. If you bid $1000 early he would just go higher and you would loose. Instead of doingg that, he could have his bid at $750 and at the last 2 seconds you enter a max of $1000 an you would win! you would actually get the coin and for a little less to! soo sniping is benificial for you hope this didnt confuse you. Edited by Adam_E
02/17/2010 7:01 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
2830 Posts |
sniping definitely works ... sometimes.
But if you don't have the highest bid, it doesn't matter.
Peter
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Valued Member
Canada
464 Posts |
Definitely. I have never won an auction by placing a bid hours, or days ahead of time. The only auctions I have ever won have been by sniping.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4846 Posts |
exactly soo if he bids 1250 you wouldent get it (again, when you bid, bid 1 or 2 cents more so the competitor will be only a couple of cents off
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
539 Posts |
well yes I see that sniping works if your bid is the highest but my point is when I'm the first or second even last bidder, I bid the max I will pay. So if that first bidder is really willing to pay that $1500 then he is a fool (no personal attack intended on anyone) because he is going to get sniped. Plain and simple. You all have that down to a science and he is going to feel bad he didn't bid the extra buck that you beat him by. However, if he had bid that $1500 upfront and you came in with your $1000 at the last second, whoops, you lose and he gets for the extra buck.
Maybe that is too simple but I have won a couple of hundred auctions and I hardly ever snipe and do so only because I missed it the first time through.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
677 Posts |
weavus, I completely agree with you. Bid the most you are willing to pay, and leave it alone. When I have lost auctions, it's because someone else paid more than the coin was worth to me. Obviously they thought it was worth more, and that is fine. I just chuckle at them for paying "too much" while they are chuckling at me for "beating me". The snipers that really bug me are the ones who under bid, close to "my value" of the coin. What I mean is: Let's say my bid is high close to closing time. And, it's at a pretty good (low) price. The snipers come in at the last seconds and raise it up. I win, but it costs me more. Irritating.  But hey, I made the highest bid I was comfortable paying, and won. So, I get over it pretty quick!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
The reason sniping works is because people don't bid their true maximum.
If you bid too early, people will run up your bid until they can beat it. If you bid in the last second, they never get the chance.
A perfect example of this on an item I am bidding on right now. There's a coin that the seller listed as AU. Now, it's not AU but it's a nice VF/XF - easily worth $20-25. I saw it and dismissed it and then thought - what if everyone else does this too - i.e., says "it's not AU, not interested"? So, I put in a low ball bid of $7.50. Now, some other guy comes in, bids $5.32, then $6.66, then $7.77. He's now high bidder. But I know exactly what his bid is - it's $7.77. So, I will come back at the end and bid $10 or something and if no one else bids, it's mine.
Don't you think if I bid $10 now, he's gonna bid $8.88, etc. until he's high bidder again? This is why I snipe.
It's not a guarantee, but it improves the odds in my opinion. As I have heard say, "bidders bid for a bargain and hope for a win; snipers bid for a win and hope for a bargain".
Ken
Edited by KenKat
02/17/2010 8:48 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4846 Posts |
you get a better chance of winning if you bid later than earlier
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4846 Posts |
Perfect example KenKat, Exactly right!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2150 Posts |
I have done it both ways. First trying to put the maximum I would pay hours or sometimes days before the auction is closing. I almost always lose those, by just the next bid increment. I have had lots of luck sniping and most of the time getting it for cheaper than the max I would have paid.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
731 Posts |
I concur with KenKat. And a lot of times, I walk away paying significantly less than what I would have paid (my max bid), than if I had bid my max ahead of time.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
677 Posts |
I know sniping works. It just bugs me. For exactly the reason that you gave an example of, kenkat. I just wish I could put in my high bid and not look at it again until it closed. Of course, I wish that the Olympic coverage would quit pushing figure skating on me, too.  But that ain't gonna happen!  How about if you couldn't bid more than once on an auction? You put in your TRUE high bid, and that's it. Wouldn't that make sense? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4846 Posts |
well what if you bid and then change your mind and say that you want to bid higher?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
677 Posts |
You are supposed to bid the maximum amount you want to spend. Yeah, I know, it doesn't work that way in real life.
I understand the reason for sniping. I don't like the situation that makes it necessary. I am serious about the one bid idea. I think it would work well.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4846 Posts |
Mabye...they could have seperat sectons for those different kinds of auctions
they could name it the 1 bid 1 chance auctions
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Replies: 26 / Views: 3,565 |
Posted 02/17/2010 7:05 pm
