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eBay sniping coming to an end?

ms70ms70 Posts: 13,946 ✭✭✭✭✭

Taken from a post in another thread:



<< <i>Anyone hear anymore on the rumor that ebay may alter the ending so if a final bid does not stand unraised for 30 seconds the auction contiunes? >>



Does anyone have info on this? Sniping seems to be pretty popular among coin collectors.

Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.

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Comments

  • I would hate to see that happen. I rely pretty heavily on sniping.
    Paul in Pine Hill
    ----------------------------------------
    My ebay auctions

  • ms70ms70 Posts: 13,946 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I forget what type of bidding they call it, but it will probably increase incidents of using one ID to place a reasonable
    bid, then placing a huge bid after that with another ID that no one will beat. Then the top big bid will be a non-paying
    bidder and the item will go to the #2 underbidder (the same person) at the desired price.

    Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.

  • ms70,
    not an 'a' plan as we never offer the item to the #2 bidder as i'm sure others won't. kinda gets your alternate i.d. naru'd quickly, too.
    image
  • fishcookerfishcooker Posts: 3,446 ✭✭

    I don't care if I use Ebay or not. So if they take away a buyer advantage, while maintaining all seller advantages, I'm certain it won't bother me to spend money elsewhere.
  • RussRuss Posts: 48,515 ✭✭✭
    Sounds like wishful thinking from the anti-sniping crowd. You know the kind. They're the underbidder that sends you an eMail after you pick off a coin at the two second mark, and whine and cry and threaten to turn you in to eBay because it's not fair.

    Russ, NCNE
  • I think that "sniping" is just the nature of the beast. It's part of the ebay auction! And, I have to admit, it's kind of fun!!!
    Constellatio Collector sevenoften@hotmail.com
    ---------------------------------
    "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished!"
    "If it don't make $"
    "It don't make cents""
  • jomjom Posts: 3,385 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I really don't see how this changes anything too much. If you hold steady to the MAX amount you want to bid then you can still do a snipe. It'll just have to be the high bid for 30 sec or so.

    It does take away the ablility to place a real high bid LATE in the auction so that your bid doesn't have too much time to get run up. All you have to do is do a bit more "soul searching" to come up with a max bid you can live with. That could end up LOWERING potential bids....

    jom
  • hughesm1hughesm1 Posts: 778 ✭✭
    I hope it doesn't happen, it would take some of the thrill from the chase.
    Mark
  • I think eBay should leave the system as is. "Sniping" is not illegal and quite frankly their is absolutely nothing wrong with doing it. Anyone who whines about it after losing an auction is just mad they did not bid enough anyway. Then they ususally turn right around and start doing it as well, as they realize how handy it can be sometimes. I don't do it on a regular basis but I have done it a few times.
  • The only person that would benefit from this would be the seller. image
    image

    image
  • bearcavebearcave Posts: 3,993 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The way ebay does now is not really a true auction. How many auctions have you been to that the auctioneer stops taking bids at a certain point even if he has other hands up wanting to bid?
    Ken
  • DHeathDHeath Posts: 8,472 ✭✭✭
    Yahoo has used that strategy unsucessfully for a long time.
    Developing theory is what we are meant to do as academic researchers
    and it sets us apart from practitioners and consultants. Gregor
  • bearcavebearcave Posts: 3,993 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Yahoo has used that strategy unsucessfully for a long time. >>



    Yea, I knew they had, just throwing a different angle out. In fact I like the ebay does it now and I have the snipe software set up and have got a few coins that way. You can be beat with it tho.
    Ken
  • As a seller, I have no problem with sniping. Kind of exciting. Doesn't bother me as a buyer either. If I'm after a coin, I will bid my max and walk away. If it wins great, if not too bad.

    The thing that bugs the crap out of me are the bidders that make eight or ten bids in a row at one dollar increments.
    "DragonAzz doesn't strike me as a nutcase." clw54 06/18/06

    The good thing about having multiple personalities is that there's always a designated driver.

    Yes, I'm an agent of Satan but my duties are largely ceremonial.
  • fishcookerfishcooker Posts: 3,446 ✭✭

    You're right, Ebay is not a true auction. A seller can see a low price and tell the auctioneer "Uh, wait, uh, I didn't really mean to auctoin this..... and uh, it's already been sold elsewhere..... uh, yeah and I listed it by mistake, too......" and cancel the auction.
  • jomjom Posts: 3,385 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>The way ebay does now is not really a true auction. How many auctions have you been to that the auctioneer stops taking bids at a certain point even if he has other hands up wanting to bid? >>



    Absolutely true.

    fishcooker: Agree. I think that should be disallowed. In fact, it could be if Ebay would lower their fees on reserves or eliminate them altogether. Which, of course, won't happen.

    jom
  • Uhhh... No.

    Numonebuyer

    image
  • fishcookerfishcooker Posts: 3,446 ✭✭

    Ebay could also be changed so that no sellers cancel auctions during the last 12 hours.

    As you said - Won't happen.
  • GeomanGeoman Posts: 2,491 ✭✭✭
    I ran across this once on an auction....

    "I do not allow snipers to snipe away in the final seconds a coin that someone else has already bid on previously. All bids made in the final seconds will be cancelled..."

    Crazy. I did bid on the auction at the last second. But this happened to be when I ran across it. I do snipe, but I happened to see this auction in the final minutes. And it took that long to check out the feedback, etc. So I bid on it, with about 10 seconds left, and won it. The seller did cancel my bid. I emailed them, stating that he/she is losing money, etc. Never got a response back. Also emailed Yahoo! Auctions, but they never did anything either. Needless to say, they are on my "Do Not Bid List."
  • flaminioflaminio Posts: 5,664 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I ran across this once on an auction....

    "I do not allow snipers to snipe away in the final seconds a coin that someone else has already bid on previously. All bids made in the final seconds will be cancelled..." >>



    Amazing. I can understand some buyer's dissatisfaction with snipers, but why would it bother a seller? Snipers are just more bids and more money. I may not be the sharpest cookie in the jar, but I do know that "more money" is better than "less money".

    As far as auto-exended eBay auctions -- I've been hearing this rumour for years. I'll believe it when I see it.
  • This is work. If you are going to dig for gold on EBAY you have to work at it. I do my homework and when I really want something I bid a high end bid for the item. Most snipers dont even get close to me. When they do, I didnt need it anyway. So all this fuss about sniping is a moot point to me. image
    In an insane society, a sane person will appear to be insane.
  • jomjom Posts: 3,385 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Amazing. I can understand some buyer's dissatisfaction with snipers, but why would it bother a seller? >>



    I agree with eagle7. I don't see why ANYONE should be dissatisfied with snipers. The only reason you get beat by a sniper is because they outbid you. If you didn't bid your max then it's your fault. If you did bid you max and got beat why would you complain?

    jom
  • CoinHuskerCoinHusker Posts: 5,030 ✭✭✭
    Why should a seller care if a bidder snipes at the last second? I don't get that?!!? If i snipe I push the price up to either my limit or over the current high bidders. Either way the seller makes more. So, where's the problem? Besides, who are they to say if i didn't just "stumble" across their auction at the last minute any way. Plus, sniping is like the lead in to the "Wide world of Sports", "The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat".
    Collecting coins, medals and currency featuring "The Sower"


  • << <i>...whine and cry and threaten to turn you in to eBay because it's not fair >>

    Life ain't fair image use the tools you can ~ sitting at a computer all day because you have no life other than EBay and sniping in the last seconds or using a program to do it, no difference...EBay allows, I say do it!
  • RussRuss Posts: 48,515 ✭✭✭


    << <i>The way ebay does now is not really a true auction. >>



    Correct. True auctions charge the buyer a fee. On eBay bidders get a free ride from a fee standpoint.

    Russ, NCNE


  • << <i>The only person that would benefit from this would be the seller. image >>



    Is it me, or does the above quote make no sense??
    "Wars are really ugly! They're dirty
    and they're cold.
    I don't want nobody to shoot me in the foxhole."
    Mary






    Best Franklin Website
  • khaysekhayse Posts: 1,336
    >The way ebay does now is not really a true auction. How many auctions have you been to that the auctioneer stops taking bids at a
    >certain point even if he has other hands up wanting to bid?
    Wanting to go up? How does sniping restrict them from bidding? Ebay is more like a sealed bid auction.
    Come up with the highest price you are willing to pay, put in that bid whenever, ignore the snipers.

    I can see how a seller would hate sniping. I know I hate having my coin sit at a low level with 30 minutes to go.
    Then a lot of activity at the end as you worry it's not going to make it to what you had hoped.

    Extending the auction for 30 at the end will not hurt snipers. It does sound like it would make it more like a
    real auction (it would make people more competitive, get them worked up against each other and possibly
    raise final values).

    Whatever, I'll continue as I always have.

    -KHayse



  • If Ebay goes to that format it will helps sellers get more money for their items but only in the short run as I have much experience with that type as Onsale/Egghead used to use that auction method. The problem is that auctions can go on for hours after they were scheduled to end. I have seen it, while it sounds good. it is no fun having to monitor that thing. I found the amount of bidding I was able to do was much less since it took so much time and mental energy for a single long running auction. Sure you can proxy bid but it is not like setting the snipe and forgetting about it. Ebay would make a big mistake is they make that universal, it should be an option for the seller at best.

    image
    The D.O.T.
  • TayTayTayTay Posts: 465 ✭✭
    As a buyer, I only snipe. As a seller, I don't worry too much about it cuz I know most of the activity is going to take place in the last 15 minutes. If I'm dumb enuff to lose a lot of money, I shoulda put a reserve on it, or started it out higher. I say leave it the way it is image
    "What are you putting that tape on your nose for?"
    "Exactly."

  • I snipe all the time, ( infact last night I pulled offa 2 second snipe to win ), anyhow the main reason I snipe are the idiot bidders that bid in the lowest bid increments pecking away at item until they just beat your high bid. I come back and snipe them anyway but it just cost me more in the end since they never had a chance.
    Bill

    image

    09/07/2006
  • eBay will probably just make another category in addition to Buy It Now and Auctions. They may just create a new class of Auto Extend Autions and charge a small fee to the seller.
    image

    I can think of a dozen reasons not to have high capacity magazines, but it's the reasons I haven't thought about that I need them.
  • Hey sellers, if I couldnt place a bid in the last few seconds, my bid would be LOWER! Get it? You wont gain anything whining about sniping!
    You can fool man but you can't fool God! He knows why you do what you do!
  • AskariAskari Posts: 3,713


    << <i>As a seller, I have no problem with sniping. Kind of exciting. Doesn't bother me as a buyer either. If I'm after a coin, I will bid my max and walk away. If it wins great, if not too bad.

    The thing that bugs the crap out of me are the bidders that make eight or ten bids in a row at one dollar increments. >>




    << <i>I snipe all the time, ( infact last night I pulled offa 2 second snipe to win ), anyhow the main reason I snipe are the idiot bidders that bid in the lowest bid increments pecking away at item until they just beat your high bid. I come back and snipe them anyway but it just cost me more in the end since they never had a chance. >>

    Amen, brothers!! These guys don't have a clue, they just want the "charge" of being "on top" -- and they're the ones who most often whine about being sniped.

    There are two other particularly noxious types of bidders to me, although they're fully in their right to win by such tactics. One is the sort I call "überbidders". These haven't a clue to the value of something, so resort to sniping with outrageously high bids. They figure they'll get it for an increment over what the more knowledgeable bidders offer, so it's worth a tiny "premium" for using their knowledge to win. Justice comes when two of these clowns bids on the same item. I once watched two of them pay about 5-10 times what the item was worth on three separate auctions one night. It was a while before either of them bid on anything for a while after that.

    The other sort is the "trolling überbidder". These guys actually do some research ... not on values but on which other bidders seem to really know their stuff. They then search through the "guru's" current auctions to pick out what they like and put in an überbidding snipe at the end (since they can't know what the "guru" will finally bid). I really think eBay ought to prohibit other bidders from accessing your bid info on anything other than on completed auctions. Either that or give us a lot more than 30 Watched Item entries.
    Askari



    Come on over ... to The Dark Side! image
  • critocrito Posts: 1,735
    What they should do is end proxy bidding! What other auction house in the world takes a $100 bid and ups it to $10 because the last guy only bid $9? It's stupid, silly and a waste of my time. As a seller, I'm paying to maximize the price I realize. If bidders want to minimize the price they pay, then they should pay the fees too!!!
  • gemtone65gemtone65 Posts: 901 ✭✭✭
    Auctions with a time limit are an administratively efficient way for a firm like Ebay to sell millions of lots per day. However, such forms of auctions have undesirable consequences for the participants themselves.

    For one thing, sellers' tend to receive lower winning bids. This is the case because some of the most aggressive bidders will focus on end-of-auction tactics, which might not reflect how much each of these bidders is willing to pay for the item. This is more likely to be the case when all of those bidders do not use sniping software programs.

    For the same reason, the winning bidder is often delighted at obtaining the item at a far lower price than he was willing to pay. But, the flip side of this outcome is that often times the person who is willing to bid the most doesn't win the auction, because his end-of-auction tactics were not effective.

    These results are inconsistent with the notion that a competitive auction procedure is the best way to transfer an item. Suggestions to eliminate proxy bidding in the presence of a time constraint seem misguided as that would further limit the ability of bidders to reflect the value which they place on the item as reflected in their bids. Such a proposal makes more sense if the time constraint on bidding is eliminated or relaxed.

    Personally, I don't like to snipe as I find it to be a cowardly way to win an item. During my first several years of bidding on Ebay, I would always submit my bid with sufficient time to allow my opponent an opportunity to counter. I didn't submit my bid too early, because I found that opponents would simly run up my bid. But, eventually, I reluctantly concluded that I could raise my chances of winning and simultaneously lower my winning price paid by sniping. So, I adopted that strategy. But, I don't like to do it.


  • << <i>What they should do is end proxy bidding! What other auction house in the world takes a $100 bid and ups it to $10 because the last guy only bid $9? >>


    All of the legitimite, honest ones. Heritage, B&M, Superior, Stacks, ANR etc. All of them will let you submit a proxy bid and bid on your behalf with you winning the coin at one increment above the second high bid. Even if your proxy bid is much higher.
  • sinin1sinin1 Posts: 7,500
    eBay will add a feature similar to this sometime - it will increase their revenues


    they have copied and added many Yahoo features - Buy-It Now, scheduled starting time, multiple auction lengths, multiple picture hosting, featured items, ....


    they included these as additional listing costs to seller


    by adding some sort of autoextend - they will increase final value fees - more cash to them - bottom line
  • BlindedByEgoBlindedByEgo Posts: 10,754 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Yep, sure did come to and end, huh? image
  • It would be quite nice from a sellers standpoint, and obnoxious from a snipers standpoint. I have a foot in each boat...


  • << <i>Ebay could also be changed so that no sellers cancel auctions during the last 12 hours. >>

    image

    Missing My Life -PSA-Please Watch- 30 seconds could help someone you know

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  • telephoto1telephoto1 Posts: 4,713 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Sounds like wishful thinking from the anti-sniping crowd. You know the kind. They're the underbidder that sends you an eMail after you pick off a coin at the two second mark, and whine and cry and threaten to turn you in to eBay because it's not fair.

    Russ, NCNE >>



    Agreed. Sellers love snipers (assuming they honor their bids, of course). image

    RIP Mom- 1932-2012
  • YaHaYaHa Posts: 4,220


    << <i>Sounds like wishful thinking from the anti-sniping crowd. You know the kind. They're the underbidder that sends you an eMail after you pick off a coin at the two second mark, and whine and cry and threaten to turn you in to eBay because it's not fair.

    Russ, NCNE >>




    Isn't that what those other anti-snipers are doing over at the bay in Africa?:image

    Snipers are in it to win, not to finish second..image


    It's not fair, it's not fair..image
  • I've benefitted from the sniping of others; I've also sniped myself (meaning getting my best/ last bid in- sometimes with a max with room to spare.)

    That being said- an auction should end with inactivity- no more bids; a "fresh" bid should keep it open. IMO.
    WILL WORK FOR CENTS, QUARTERS, HALVES, DOLLARS....

    1879-O{Rev}: 1st coin of my "secret set"
    imagemy eBay
  • notwilightnotwilight Posts: 12,864 ✭✭✭


    << <i>The only person that would benefit from this would be the seller. image >>



    And we all know ebay hates sellers....image
  • notwilightnotwilight Posts: 12,864 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Hey sellers, if I couldnt place a bid in the last few seconds, my bid would be LOWER! Get it? You wont gain anything whining about sniping! >>



    Show me a seller that is whining? It is the buyers who get sniped who whine....
  • OverdateOverdate Posts: 6,903 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Why not let the seller choose in advance whether to keep the auction open following a last-minute snipe? I think software could be written that would allow the seller to make such a choice when setting up his or her auction. The seller's rules for that particular auction could then show up on the auction listing.

    My Adolph A. Weinman signature :)

  • DorkGirlDorkGirl Posts: 9,994 ✭✭✭
    image

    BlindedByEgo, I'm not sure anyone noticed that you bumped a 6 year old thread.image
    Becky
  • BlindedByEgoBlindedByEgo Posts: 10,754 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>image

    BlindedByEgo, I'm not sure anyone noticed that you bumped a 6 year old thread.image >>




    Ding ding ding ding ding. We have a winner image
  • yellowkidyellowkid Posts: 5,486


    << <i>The only person that would benefit from this would be the seller. image >>



    Not if the potential buyer sats "f--- it" and doesn't bid at all.
  • HTubbsHTubbs Posts: 4,138 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I would hate to see that happen. I rely pretty heavily on sniping. >>



    Agreed.

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