Thread: Winning on Ebay

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Not to put words in Ray's mouth and then quote him.... but I think he is saying that with a feedback of 3 you have little or no experience in the ebay techniques of sensible bidding.

Or possibly even a case of shill bidding - the seller opens a new account and bids on his own items to jack the price up.

Feedback of just 3 implies a new or inactive account, raising my suspicion.

(Positive feedback= how many times you've traded on ebay and the other party was happy with how it went.)

EDIT> Oops, already answered by others, but that's what I was thinking anyway.

I snipe !!!!
and I win most auctions I go after....
I like the ability to pull a snipe up until 6 minutes before it fires off...

And I agree with Jimmy, Artifacts 100 is way, way, way, off base he buys, jacks in $100, and lists the same razor again.... But somebody is dumb enough to keep buying there....

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I like the ability to pull a snipe up until 6 minutes before it fires off...

Great advantage, eh I've used it many a time....

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Not to put words in Ray's mouth and then quote him.... but I think he is saying that with a feedback of 3 you have little or no experience in the ebay techniques of sensible bidding.

Thanks Jimmy, I really had no idea...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I snipe !!!!
and I win most auctions I go after....
I like the ability to pull a snipe up until 6 minutes before it fires off...

And I agree with Jimmy, Artifacts 100 is way, way, way, off base he buys, jacks in $100, and lists the same razor again.... But somebody is dumb enough to keep buying there....

How does that work exactly. Say the item is currently at 100 dollars. Do you set your snipe for a specific amount. If you set it for say, 200 and my max is 300, it doesn't work, right?

Originally Posted by Rajagra

Or possibly even a case of shill bidding - the seller opens a new account and bids on his own items to jack the price up.

Feedback of just 3 implies a new or inactive account, raising my suspicion.

(Positive feedback= how many times you've traded on ebay and the other party was happy with how it went.)

EDIT> Oops, already answered by others, but that's what I was thinking anyway.

Ya know Ray, I've wondered about that. Couldn't a seller have another system set up and list himself as a buyer too? Like stacking the deck?

Originally Posted by zib

Ya know Ray, I've wondered about that. Couldn't a seller have another system set up and list himself as a buyer too? Like stacking the deck?

Yes that's how they do it.

with any sniping software you give it your ebay username and password, then the auction number, the amount of your bid and sometimes how long before the end of the auction it should be placed.
then you go do your business and sometimes you get an email that you won an auction and need to pay for it.
the software just logs on ebay as you and places the specified bid at the desired time (if you can do that) - everything else about bid precedence etc works just the same.

and on few occasions the software didn't place my bid, so nothing is 100% guaranteed, so if you must have an item to ensure your bid is in you really should place it as soon as possible.

there is no way to avoid shill bids either - a seller can always ask a friend to bid and even though that's not allowed by ebay there is no way to prove it's not a genuine interest from the bidder. plus ebay doesn't really care as long as they get their fees, and since they are based on the final amount shill bids are good for ebay. only non-paying bidders are bad for them as then they don't get to charge the seller.

I'm with Glen on this one. I usually have a watch-list of 10-20 razors at any given time. When I get the email telling me I have items ending soon, I re-evaluate my interest, and if I decide I want to bid, I'll set a snipe for the maximum amount I'm willing to pay, and on on about my day. Sometimes I win, and sometimes I don't, but I don't get all bent out of shape about it when I don't, cuz I'm usually bidding on cleaner-uppers in the $20 range.

However, I also don't understand why anyone would bid on an item sooner than about 24 hrs (at most) before auction end time. I've noticed that razors (and other items) with early bids, no matter the amount, seem to generate a sort of "well that other person must want it, so I have to want it" kind of reaction, and these items usually sell for well over what I'd be willing to pay.

Originally Posted by gugi

plus ebay doesn't really care as long as they get their fees, and since they are based on the final amount shill bids are good for ebay. only non-paying bidders are bad for them as then they don't get to charge the seller.

Which is why it wouldn't surprise me if eBay trys to ban or block sniping programs (if it was detectable). Rational bidding can only drop overall prices.