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Dodged a bullet... almost cost myself big with a nuclear snipe

airplanenutairplanenut Posts: 22,150 ✭✭✭✭✭

It was an hour before an item I was definitely going to win was set to close and I went to check the snipe I had set. It wasn't there. I could have sworn I set it. Oh well, I'll just set a new nuclear snipe.

And then it hit me... I have a second buying account I rarely use, but... did I accidentally log into that one when I set my snipe? And would you know, yes. Yes I did. I canceled that snipe and set the snipe from my main account.

Every so often we see items go sky-high because two people place nuclear bids. I wonder if any of those times it was someone dumb enough to set two separate nuclear bids, so not only did the price go super high, but they have only themselves to blame...

JK Coin Photography - eBay Consignments | High Quality Photos | LOW Prices | 20% of Consignment Proceeds Go to Pancreatic Cancer Research

Comments

  • tincuptincup Posts: 5,139 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yikes! Certainly could happen. In some cases, maybe you would never learn that you were bidding against yourself and think yourself lucky to win the coin!

    ----- kj
  • vplite99vplite99 Posts: 1,276 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yes, that could have been expensive!

    Vplite99
  • DocBenjaminDocBenjamin Posts: 1,413 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Another good reason to manually place a bid.

  • TrickleChargeTrickleCharge Posts: 174 ✭✭✭

    In addition to making sure you aren't bidding against yourself, make sure your max bids are always an amount you are willing to pay.

  • kazkaz Posts: 9,171 ✭✭✭✭✭

    A cautionary tale, to be sure.

  • airplanenutairplanenut Posts: 22,150 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @DocBenjamin said:
    Another good reason to manually place a bid.

    I often do, but I knew I wasn't going to be reliably available for this one.

    @TrickleCharge said:
    In addition to making sure you aren't bidding against yourself, make sure your max bids are always an amount you are willing to pay.

    I did... it was just a little under double what I ended up paying

    JK Coin Photography - eBay Consignments | High Quality Photos | LOW Prices | 20% of Consignment Proceeds Go to Pancreatic Cancer Research
  • M4MadnessM4Madness Posts: 327 ✭✭✭✭
    edited August 18, 2024 4:03PM

    @DocBenjamin said:
    Another good reason to manually place a bid.

    I've been known to set an alarm to go off in the middle of the night 5 minutes before an eBay auction closes just so I can bid manually in the last 30 seconds.

  • WalkerfanWalkerfan Posts: 9,315 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I’ve done some really crazy things and tossed my hat into the ring with some nuclear bids, but Bidding against myself is one thing that I have never done! Lol

    Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍

    My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):

    https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/

  • DocBenjaminDocBenjamin Posts: 1,413 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @M4Madness said:

    @DocBenjamin said:
    Another good reason to manually place a bid.

    I've been known to set an alarm to go off in the middle of the night 5 minutes before an eBay auction closes just so I can bid manually in the last 30 seconds.

    Not sure if Ebay still does it, but on higher value bids, the site requires verification from the bidder. Suppose that that would smoke out a bunch of snipes.

  • CopperindianCopperindian Posts: 1,455 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It must have been due to all that meat you bought in Chicagoland!

    “The thrill of the hunt never gets old”

    PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
    Copperindian

    Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
    Copperindian

  • EliteCollectionEliteCollection Posts: 168 ✭✭✭✭

    The question is why do you need a second account? I don't think most people will have this problem.

  • U1chicagoU1chicago Posts: 6,030 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @EliteCollection said:
    The question is why do you need a second account? I don't think most people will have this problem.

    Sometimes you want to have different accounts for buying and selling. Another possibility is that one account is a backup in case the first one is blocked or you don't want the seller to know who you are (if there is a cherry pick to be had and the seller gets suspicious of why a higher feedback account is bidding).

  • airplanenutairplanenut Posts: 22,150 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @EliteCollection said:
    The question is why do you need a second account? I don't think most people will have this problem.

    My primary account is a high volume selling account. There are times when I don’t want someone to put two and two together, whether it’s another coin person knowing what coins I’m buying, or a non-coin person seeing what I routinely deal in.

    JK Coin Photography - eBay Consignments | High Quality Photos | LOW Prices | 20% of Consignment Proceeds Go to Pancreatic Cancer Research
  • sellitstoresellitstore Posts: 2,870 ✭✭✭✭✭

    This can also happen if you use two different platforms to bid on the same item.

    Proxibid, LiveAuctioneers, and Invaluable sometimes host the same auctions and one can bid against oneself, if you are not careful.

    Collector and dealer in obsolete currency. Always buying all obsolete bank notes and scrip.
  • DoubleEagle59DoubleEagle59 Posts: 8,313 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 19, 2024 5:38AM

    This thread reminds me of the crazy years on Ebay (2003 to 2005) when I would watch my auctions ending and (as an example) a $200 coin was being fought over by two separate bidders and within the last 15 seconds would go back and forth and end up at $600.

    Sorry, but I was literally laughing as this happened.

    Oh....and today, that coin sells around $85.

    "Gold is money, and nothing else" (JP Morgan, 1912)

    "“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)

    "I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
  • etexmikeetexmike Posts: 6,811 ✭✭✭

    I have enough problems keeping up with one account. Having a second would definitely get me into trouble at some point.

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