Thread: In need of enlightenment about sniping

I've been reading a few posts about sniping in this forum and am still confused about it.
What is the difference between 1. Sniping, 2. Max bidding early, or
3. Max bidding in last seconds.
They all seem alike to me as your max bid is your max bid, No?
Thanks for the info in advance

Max bidding in the last few seconds = sniping. If I put in a max bid early on and get outbid I'm out of the running ..... or worse I'm compelled to bid more than I originally intended. If the item doesn't get many bids, the high bidder feels comfortable with where it is, I come in at the very end and nail it with a max bid .... Or I get out bid and I don't have time to increase my bid. The advantage is that I don't drive the price up and pay more by bidding too early. The disadvantage is that if I snipe I may lose .... but maybe that isn't so bad as I probably didn't need the darn thing anyway.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Max bidding in the last few seconds = sniping. If I put in a max bid early on and get outbid I'm out of the running ..... or worse I'm compelled to bid more than I originally intended. If the item doesn't get many bids, the high bidder feels comfortable with where it is, I come in at the very end and nail it with a max bid .... Or I get out bid and I don't have time to increase my bid. The advantage is that I don't drive the price up and pay more by bidding too early. The disadvantage is that if I snipe I may lose .... but maybe that isn't so bad as I probably didn't need the darn thing anyway.

So those snipe programs are just doing the last second bidding for you and is not something different. Thanks!

Originally Posted by paco

So those snipe programs are just doing the last second bidding for you and is not something different. Thanks!

I've never used a sniping program. I love the adrenaline rush of doing it manually in real time.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I've never used a sniping program. I love the adrenaline rush of doing it manually in real time.

That is what I do, just thought the program did something different or was quicker on the draw or should i say slower

yes that's all the programs do, and that's really the only legal things they can do - place your bid. it makes no difference when the max bid is placed, the max bid always wins the auction.
there are however differences that placing your bid early may not result in it being the maximum, or it may, these things can go both ways.

I use a sniping program set to make my bid in the last three seconds of an auction.

If the possibility didn't exist that the sniper program clock and eBay clock could be slightly different or that some technical delay may occur, I'd do it in the last second.

From my point of view, eBay is designed for sniping. When the auction ends at a time that is certain, rather than extended for a set period of time following the last bid as with some internet auctions, why play your cards early?

Putting your maximum bid out with days left just makes no sense to me. I want to avoid what I call "nibblers", the bidder that works in $5 increments probing to find your max and just driving up the price you pay. I also want to avoid "the big spender", the bidder that enters a very high amount to discover what your high bid is and then withdraws the bid. Normally this is one is done in teams, one discovering the max, the other setting a snipe just over the max. Yes, I've had both of these happen.

Sniper programs are also nice if you are at work or asleep when the auction ends. I can't access eBay from work computers, and I'll be darned if I'm going to interupt a night's sleep by waking up to bid on an auction that ends at 2:30 AM.

Also, you set your price and don't get caught up in auction fever and exceed your price. If the price goes over my snipe, I normally just cancel the snipe. You can be more rational and objective.

But here is the kicker for me. Take these two Grim Reapers that recently were sold on eBay. If you bid on one with a high max bid, and a nicer one shows up before the first auction is over, you may end up doing what the high bidder on the first auction did and withdraw your $500+ bid, crashing the price to $200 something and go bid on the second. With a sniping program all you have to do is cancel the snipe. No harm, no foul, no mistakes, and no mess such as was created with the Reapers.

Originally Posted by paco

I've been reading a few posts about sniping in this forum and am still confused about it.
What is the difference between 1. Sniping, 2. Max bidding early, or
3. Max bidding in last seconds.
They all seem alike to me as your max bid is your max bid, No?
Thanks for the info in advance

If Max is bidding, you might as well forget it

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I've never used a sniping program. I love the adrenaline rush of doing it manually in real time.

I hate the rush that comes when there are five minutes left in the auction and the internet goes down, and I'm left scrambling for a solution

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I've never used a sniping program. I love the adrenaline rush of doing it manually in real time.

I enjoyed the rush too, but it made losing an auction too much to bear! It also riled me somewhat when I'd be trying to snipe myself, only to find I'd misjudged it by a second & missed the bloody thing! Programs for me.