Thread: Is sniping killing Ebay?

I don't know why people have a problem with sniping. It is a simple equation, he who bids the most wins.

The key words are "playing the game" I know it sucks...it took me months to get my Fili thanks to those snipers...lol. But think of it the other way..if it's one you really want and you can snipe it in the final seconds...well

Additionally, I'd bid last minute in person as well. No sense in starting a bidding war, right. But many auctions end when I am sound asleep. So sniping is really my only option.

It is really no different from you bidding in real life at a real auction, with the notary saying 'going once, going twice' and then someone shouting their maximum bid in the hopes that noone will go higher.

But if you already maxed out your bid, then you would have lost anyway.
If you didn't, well, then you should have bid higher. Complaining about sniping is imo just a case of sour grapes.

I can't remember the last time I bid on something on ebay and didn't snipe. I could set an alarm, I suppose, and bid on something in the last seconds manually - or I could just arrange it now and let it take care of it's self.

I don't pay for it, I am on a website that gives you three free bids a week, so that alone focuses the mind (on 'busy' weeks) - do I really want this enough to use up one of my snipes? It's worked out to be a good system for me and I suggest those who get a bit trigger happy sometimes and regret it do the same, there must be loads of sites around like this.

Originally Posted by breadstick

I was trying to get a cheap razor
[/rant]

It's only cheap if you can buy it for less than you think it's worth. Trouble is, someone else may think it's worth more than you do.

I see sniping as a way of keeping prices down, and prices of straights seem to be ridiculously high these days based on what some people say they paid a couple of years ago.

I have come to a point where I ask myself "can I buy a brand new good quality razor for this price ?" Before paying too much for an old ebay item that may be grossly misrepresented by the seller. "Near mint" and "shave ready" mean different things to some ebay sellers than they do to me.

As a beginner, I want to find which razors work best for me which means that I have to try lots of different ones. I really don't want to spend a small fortune going through this process, and besides, I'm sure everybody wants to pay as little as possible for any item.

Entering your highest bid early just gives the more determined bidder with lots of cash (or RAD) an opportunity to outbid you.
And like almost everybody else has said, whoever places the highest bid wins.
Hey, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em !
And have fun !

It is interesting to hear everyone's take on this. I don't snipe, but then again in the last year or so I don't win much on e-bay anymore.

I bid what I think I would like to pay and then forget about it until I receive the next mail. Prices have gotten so high on all razors especially on line that I know that I can beat them wildly by poking around in antique shops and such.

My wife and I like to do that anyway for various things. Prices on all razors swing wildly from area to area. Last weekend we drove up to TN just outside Nashville and most razors there were up to $150 for nothing special at all and $50 to $75 for the ones with pretty scales and big hunks gone out of the blades. The proprietor told us that all of the "young guys" were into straights and would pay the prices. And so they still can!

Down the road closer to Atlanta, I picked up a couple of really nice straights for just a few bucks and even a beautiful Aristocrat DE for less than 4 bucks.

I think you just have to poke around to find the deals.

Will N.

Is sniping killing Ebay?

I think ebay is killing ebay with the changes they've been making the past couple of years favoring the large sellers.

You can also see many more 'Buy It Now's than a couple of years ago, I think they're trying to be more like amazon.

As far as sniping goes, as mentioned, it's been there almost from the start of ebay and as an ebay rep put it 'part of the ebay bidding experience' or something like that.

you're sort of pulling something out from under others that play the game honestly

If the 'honest players' bid their absolute max in the 1st place, then they'd have nothing to complain about. If they lost, the winner paid too much.

Even non-snipers (don't know why you'd be one) should be happy with sniping, as it forces you to decide on your absolute max, and bid it, or, schedule a snipe for it.

I don't know why people have a problem with sniping. It is a simple equation, he who bids the most wins.

I think the reason most of the people that don't like it don't like it is they don't understand ebay's proxy bidding system - your full bid amount is accepted into the system, but it is only raised enough until you're the high bidder, or it has been exceeded.

It would be good to know ebay's minimum bid increments as well:

Bid increments

Bid Increments

So werden Erhöhungsschritte berechnet (beim Bieten)

(Automated) sniping is a convenience for people who want to avoid drawing early attention to an item that often brings bidding wars, 'nibbling' bidders (just bid enough to meet the bid increment, over and over) and a higher final price.

A couple of benefits of sniping that haven't been mentioned:

You can cancel a scheduled snipe if you change your mind or find something better (as close as 5 minutes til the auctions end with hidbid at least). If you placed a bid on ebay, you have to file a bid retraction, something that ebay and sellers frown upon. If you have to many bid retractions, you can be auto-blocked from bidding on other auctions.


Sniping is a way to combat shill bidding (seller or his buddy using a different ebay account to bid on their item, raising their bid until they're the high bidder and know your max, then retract their bid, leaving you the new high bid, maxed out). You can't see it defeats it, but it at least helps against it.

I think you just have to poke around to find the deals.

For ebay, you could try one of the misspelling tools (typojoe.com, ebuyersedge.com, fatfingers.com, etc) to look for some bargains, worth a try at least. Craigslist may be a place to look as well.

Sniping killed the Ebay star.
Sniping killed the Ebay star.

Snipers came and broke your heart.
Oh-a-a-a oh

And now we meet in an abandoned auction site.
We see the bids and it seems so long ago.
And you remember the proxy bids used to go.

Oh-a oh

You were the first one.
Oh-a oh

You were the last one.

Sniping killed the Ebay star.
Sniping killed the Ebay star.
On my iphone and on my mac , we can't win we've bid to far
Oh-a-aho oh,
Oh-a-aho oh

Sniping killed the Ebay star.
Sniping killed the Ebay star.


On my iphone and on my mac , we can't win we've bid to far
Snipers came and broke your heart, put the blame on Ebayers.

You are a Ebay star.
You are a Ebay star.
Sniping killed the Ebay star.
Sniping killed the Ebay star.
Sniping killed the Ebay star.
Sniping killed the Ebay star.

Sniping killed the Ebay star. (You are a Ebay star.)

No, it is still classic demand / supply theory.
No matter if you bid early or late (sniping) you are still bidding the maximum amount that you are willing to pay for the item.