Ebay reform

[kelly]

It's an auction. Until it ends, anyone with an eligible account, who can abide by the seller's and Ebay's terms should be allowed to bid.

I agree with this as well. My pet peeve is people who ask you to end auctions early for a fixed price. If that's what you want to pay for something, bid that amount. If it goes for more, you didn't pay more than you wanted to and better luck next time. In general I've been very happy with both buying and selling on eBay. I would like to see them lower Paypal fees for non-commercial sellers like me, and get their exchange rates sorted out. If I sell something I get a rate of 1.088, but if I buy something I wind up getting charged 1.18 through the Paypal system. That's ridiculous.

[Tarrbot]

kiramdear states

I agree, Mike, people should have to establish their interest in the items in some fashion before the last minute.

Wouldn't sniping presuppose that they've been interested silently for some time before bidding at the last minute?

I used to snipe quite a bit. I got out of doing a lot of ebay hunts.

Nowadays, I use ebay to find hard to find older PC parts for work. I don't use sniping because I generally need it yesterday so I go in for the BIN auctions only--unless there are none for that item.

[collin]

I firmly believe that he who is WILLING to pay the most, wins the item.

That is true even in sniper situations. ....and I've lost PLENTY of auctions by snipers enough to not get upset about it...just move on.

Say you were bidding along on an item you desperately wanted, money no object etc....a sniper will go in at the last moment, thinking he can snipe it away, but if bidding is at $100.00, and you absolutely CAN NOT lose the item....and your bid is listed at $100,000....you won't lose to any sniper ever.

Remember, a winning sniper is still a bidder willing to pay more than you will. The only difference is that you don't have the time to reconsider your price limits in the last second of an auction. Sniping is the name of the game, and either you're good at it, or you don't win much...

As a buyer, it's in my best interests to purchase something for the lowest possible opportunity cost (in this case, money...). Ebay demanding that I put in bids earlier only indicates to other buyers that they might have to reconsider their final price if they really want the item as bad as I do....how would that help me or any other buyer?

....and if you're a seller and don't like the fact that people wait to bid (and you're getting cold feet)...drop a BIN on there, and breathe easy.

[collin]

I would like to see them lower Paypal fees for non-commercial sellers like me, and get their exchange rates sorted out. If I sell something I get a rate of 1.088, but if I buy something I wind up getting charged 1.18 through the Paypal system. That's ridiculous.

Well......FEEbay's fee system is a whole other can of worms (worthy of its own thread). I don't have a huge problem with Paypal fees---the 3% they charge is no different than the 3% + a credit card company charges any retailer for the use of their services. I can understand that (even if I don't like it).

What I do despise is the horrific cut Ebay takes as a "final value fee" for basically doing absolutly nothing. In fact, come dispute time, they leave the sellers (who basically pay the bills for Ebay) in the dust as they scramble to help the buyer. Plus I dislike Ebay "double-dipping" on both Ebay fees and Paypal transaction fees, as Ebay owns Paypal.

I think a lot more transactions would finish "on the board" if sellers didn't have a damn good reason to sell outside of Ebay by ending the auction to avoid insane fees, which would strengthen the security of such transactions (ideally..).

[wints]

It's a standard auction format generally. You bid over a determined amount of time, and the highest bid wins.

Really quite simple...

[leftyguitars]

I used to hate being sniped when I had been the only bidder for 9 days, and as such used to say in my selling listings that I would stop my auctions 2 minutes before the end and sell to the then highest bidder (which I did). I got slated on an Ebay forum for doing this (by snipers I presume) and then got lots of anonymous offensive and threatening emails.

Ebay have now effectively stopped me from doing it as they moved the goal posts and now you can't stop an auction with less than 12 hours to go if it has bids on it.

So I thought 'if you can't beat them join them', and now I'm an ace sniper of the first order!

As the saying goes - All's fair in love and war.

[electrofaro]

Welcome, fellow sniper... I've been a sniper since I first joined eBay... why bid when there's more than 12 seconds left on the auction, anyway?

Is there a dedicated eBay bidding tips thread on this forum? I couldn't find it with all the reference to eBay coming up in a search!



W...

[cassius987]

Uh... it's eBay. If someone wants to bid they can. Come on.

If you want to avoid snipers put in a strong maximum bid or just wait for the end of the auction to let your guard down. But I think (with all due respect) that it's totally ridiculous to do what you're proposing.

[rictified]

I used to hate being sniped when I had been the only bidder for 9 days, and as such used to say in my selling listings that I would stop my auctions 2 minutes before the end and sell to the then highest bidder (which I did). I got slated on an Ebay forum for doing this (by snipers I presume) and then got lots of anonymous offensive and threatening emails.

Ebay have now effectively stopped me from doing it as they moved the goal posts and now you can't stop an auction with less than 12 hours to go if it has bids on it.

So I thought 'if you can't beat them join them', and now I'm an ace sniper of the first order!

As the saying goes - All's fair in love and war.

Yup, I came to that same conclusion. My ebay bidding hasn't been the same since a friend of mine sent me the link to auctionsniper a few years ago, if I lose something now it's mainly because I don't want to pay the price. If you just have to have something and have a lot of money the 100,000 snipe is a great idea. I've used esnipe also but am more accustomed to auctionsniper. I bid on a lot of antique receivers and on a sought after one it's not uncommon for 4 or 5 snipes to come in at within the last 7 seconds. You KNOW that the vast majority of these bids are automatic. Ebay tips? I'm telling you try one of these sniping services, you'll never regret it and they are VERY cheap and can save you a lot of money. I got in a bidding war once with someone for a certain uncommon receiver case and it went close to 1000.00. This item normally would sell for approx 500.00-600.00 probably less as this one was not in great shape. It was actually remembered on some radio forums a few years later and I had to admit I was the idiot who paid that ridiculous sum for it.

[whojamfan]

Personally, I think that it's unethical to snipe people 2 seconds at the end of an auction when there have only been 2 bidders on it since it started. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a piece of gear I've almost won get sniped, and then appear 2 weeks or so later by this person for twice the price. Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean I compromise who I am to get what I want. Writing it off as "good business" is the same **** white collar criminals say when called on the carpet about jilting old ladies out of their pensions. But hey, they didn't have a problem with that untill they got caught.

Melodramatic, sure, but I have a reputation to live up to here

Auctions are fine, yes, the highest bidder gets what they want, but this practice takes all of the sport out of it. I grew up in a family business, so I know how the whole deal works, and you're in business to make money, and buy your stock for the best price you can. Got it, know it, lived it etc. But this isn't good business, it's a sham. There is no chance to legitimately win these auctions due to snipers, so what's the point of even going there. I'd love to see one of these million dollar snipers get slammed by the other one who bid $999,999 for the same reason. It's bound to happen, and then they will be crying sad tales of how unfair life is when it does.

I don't think it is ridiculous to give the non computer savvy a chance to participate in something where they have as good a chance of winning as anyone else. It reminds me of when I really in to the Mod thing. There would be these big scooter runs with a judging contest at the end for different categories, and they were always won by these little rich boys who would bring their scooters in trucks on trailers. If you didn't go on the ride, why the hell should you be allowed in the contest? I see this as the same kind of thing.

I guess since my whole mentality doesn't revolve around money, the dillusion that everything doesn't boil down to it must be a major shortcoming on my part. If you think sniping is the way to go and I'm just some idealist, so be it, and enjoy. I won't be a target anymore and will just BIN items if I happen to go there again. In all reality, the only time I've gone there in the last year or so is to see some link from this forum.

[Tarrbot]

Mike, I like your sig...

Don't bust my chops.

So I won't.

[whojamfan]

Mike, I like your sig...

Don't bust my chops.

So I won't.

Much appreciated, and my intention was definitely not to offend anyone, but obviously the whole deal really isn't for me. My post may smack a little of self righteousness, but it's really more of a frustrating disappointment. If it works for you, who am I to say don't. On that note, I have a pickguard screw from George Harrisons 12 string on Ebay that's up to 22,000 bucks right now

[collin]

It reminds me of when I really in to the Mod thing. There would be these big scooter runs with a judging contest at the end for different categories, and they were always won by these little rich boys who would bring their scooters in trucks on trailers. If you didn't go on the ride, why the hell should you be allowed in the contest?

Scooterville? Scoot Expo? Pow Club? LA scene, right?

Ya have me laughing, Mike. It's like the other half of my hobby-life is crossing over.

I was usually on the judging side of the scooter rally custom shows.....and I always gave out trophies to riders.


(sorry....thread drift! )

[wj350]

Personally, I think that it's unethical to snipe people 2 seconds at the end of an auction when there have only been 2 bidders on it since it started.

I have to agree Mike--I certainly think all the snipers here should set their software to snipe no earlier than ten seconds before the end.

[jingle_jangle]

It's an auction. Until it ends, anyone with an eligible account, who can abide by the seller's and Ebay's terms should be allowed to bid.

Exactly what I was going to post. I typically use Esnipe as a convenience, and it saves time and money, both in the long and short run. I realize there may be some sour grapes from those not willing to use this tool, but if it's available, ethical, and gives me a no-hassle advantage, then I'm going to use it.