Online Auction Sites

[Cryptos]

I don't know how many people are aware of this but the TradeMe online auction site that is accessible to New Zealand and Australia does not allow sniping! If a bid is placed in the last 2 minutes the auction gets another 2 minutes added to the finsih time. Essentially making the auction open ended.

 

What would happen if this policy was implemented on eBay?

 

 

<personally I like sniping, now that I know how>

[Icywolfe]

Sniping in the last second is such a troll. Fighting the last 15 seconds it fine but the last milisecond... srsly. But once I knew I lost so a I kept counter bidding and the other guy won. (I mean he came in yhe last 5 seconds.) A few weeks later the item was relisted as "previous buyer didn't want to pay." You troll me I troll you back. I won the second auction which a cheaper price than the previous.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Icywolfe

[Shaporama]

" What would happen if this policy was implemented on eBay?"

 

I'll tell you what . . . Prices would rise. No thanks!

[Cryptos]

Indeed. The system does not really allow for any chance of getting a good deal unless nobody else notices the auction.

 

I suppose it does raise the question of how long after the last bid does it take the caller to shout "Going, going...GONE! to the gentleman in the stovepipe hat and fur slippers".

 

I think TradeMe sucks, and I am guessing their system is designed to max their own fee profits.

[Icywolfe]

Indeed. The system does not really allow for any chance of getting a good deal unless nobody else notices the auction.

 

I suppose it does raise the question of how long after the last bid does it take the caller to shout "Going, going...GONE! to the gentleman in the stovepipe hat and fur slippers".

 

I think TradeMe sucks, and I am guessing their system is designed to max their own fee profits.

Their system is good but.... 2 minutes seriously? 10 seconds would be better. I have good feeling most sniper in the last 5 to 1 second(s) put in some absurd amount Like if the previous bidder had it at $40 the sniper puts like $9999 so they will always win (and not pay 9999) But in turn this allows for some funny trolling. (Which I admit I do, because if I'm going to lose in the last 5 seconds. I'm going to make sure you don't get a sweet deal. Fair trade.)

 

I'm sure many of you will disagree with me saying "oh you should snipe too." If I counter troll, some other bidders will counter troll too. And bidding in the 1s mark feels so cheap because in real auctions they say going once.... etc. And the other person can place a higher bid.

[Cryptos]

Yeah, seriously two minutes. It's good for the seller I guess. Sucks for the buyer looking for a deal.

[shawndp]

One of the online auctions I use to buy cars has a similar system where late bids extend the auction - it drives me crazy as the extensions are around 10 minutes from bid time meaning one that should close at 2:30pm can drag out all the way to 4 by the time the paperwork is done - makes for some very anxious afternoons... In those situations I usually bid heavily up front to scare off people contemplating a cheap snipe and with any luck no one decides to be a cowboy. For "real" bidders it makes for a more sensible auction, as the whole idea of trying to snipe feels cheesy anyway. As a seller if I see another dealer bid in a genuine manner, I will be more fair selling him the vehicle than if I see one trying to play "the cheap game", I will milk the few extra hundred from someone like that.

[MrThoth]

I find sniping really annoying, but since there's no eBay rule against it I just grumble and mutter, shake my fist in impotent ire, and move on to the next auction. In the end, from a purely capitalist viewpoint, I suppose you could say that the sniper wanted it more than I did. He was willing to go one extra step (download and use software that allows him to snipe, or however it's done) that I wasn't, so he gets the item.

 

I'd love to see it stopped, but I don't think there's a way to put an end to it that's fair to all concerned. I've often thought about a system that would artificially inflate a bid based on how long it's been since a bidder's first bid on the item, thus favoring those who tend to find auctions and bid on them days before they end (i.e., me ), but that's just as fraught with difficulties, and likely just as easy to manipulate. From my perspective as a game designer who often struggles with similar problems as part of my work, it's fun to think about, though.

[MrThoth]

Follow-up to my last post: so, snipers, how is sniping done? The last time I looked into it (research for something I was writing, honest! ). it involved using software or a web service to which you had to provide your eBay password and other such info so that you could automate bids. Is that still how it works, or have technologies and methods advanced?

[pen tom]

Follow-up to my last post: so, snipers, how is sniping done? The last time I looked into it (research for something I was writing, honest! ). it involved using software or a web service to which you had to provide your eBay password and other such info so that you could automate bids. Is that still how it works, or have technologies and methods advanced?

To my knowledge thats how it still works.

 

For some reason I've always thought that the software-generated sniping was un-gentlemanly. I don't always snipe, but when I do, I snipe manually. Kind of weird to feel this way since I spent most of my career working with the the best in computers, since the days of mainframes.

 

I have heard that some of the sniping software does not always work that well.

[CraigR]

I rarely use Ebay these days, but for many years I did and sniping was a way of life if you wanted to win an auction. My method was manual in that I did not use special software to snipe with. I would hang on-line and in the auction until the last second. My practice was to pre-establish a dollar limit for the item which I would not exceed. As the auction wound down, I would wait until the last seconds to enter my bid, trying to time it so that no one else had time to bid before the auction ended. Fun? No. Fair? Yes, because anyone, and often there were many, could do the same thing. In a live auction, the bidding continues until no one raises their paddle. A bidder can bide their time and see where the bidding goes and then jump in as it starts to struggle to reach the the next price point and then enter their bid.

 

Ebay's auctions are different because they are timed events with an expiration time. If the auction were to end when there no more bids, it would be a whole other senario. The bidder would need to monitor the auction in real time and place bids within a certain time frame. When a period of time has elapsed since the last bid, the auction ends and high bidder wins. No perfect, but it would be different.

 

Now days, I prefer to buy directly from other pen users and collectors using FPN and other such sites. I still troll the flea markets and estate sales.

 

Craig

[pen tom]

Their system is good but.... 2 minutes seriously? 10 seconds would be better. I have good feeling most sniper in the last 5 to 1 second(s) put in some absurd amount Like if the previous bidder had it at $40 the sniper puts like $9999 so they will always win (and not pay 9999) But in turn this allows for some funny trolling. (Which I admit I do, because if I'm going to lose in the last 5 seconds. I'm going to make sure you don't get a sweet deal. Fair trade.)

 

I'm sure many of you will disagree with me saying "oh you should snipe too." If I counter troll, some other bidders will counter troll too. And bidding in the 1s mark feels so cheap because in real auctions they say going once....

That is really dangerous. It will work unless there are 2 people doing the same thing. If you bid 9999 for the $40 item, you are winning and will top every one else's bid. But what if someone does the same thing. They bid 9999 and your bid now jumps to $9,999 because you both have the same bid but you were first. So you win and pay $9,999 for a $40 item.

[Icywolfe]

That is really dangerous. It will work unless there are 2 people doing the same thing. If you bid 9999 for the $40 item, you are winning and will top every one else's bid. But what if someone does the same thing. They bid 9999 and your bid now jumps to $9,999 because you both have the same bid but you were first. So you win and pay $9,999 for a $40 item.

Well this is what I felt that some do. I've seen where I was to put my bid 60 bucks higher than what the item is worth. And no win for me. Then a few days later the item gets relisted with the seller saying the previous guy didn't want to pay. I know it was evil of me, but I swear I thought the dude bid like a milion bucks to have a 100% chance to win.

Edited October 11, 2014 by Icywolfe

[pen tom]

I'm sure that happens. Putting in a super-high bid like that is a good strategy for just topping any other bidder. It will work almost all of the time. Except in the example that I gave. If 2 people do it, you can end up with a crazy overbid situation. And statistically, when a large number of people have access to bid (as with eBay) then the unlikely is more likely to happen. Rarely, but possible. And think about it, unlikely things always happen with a big enough population. That is what makes people buy lottery tickets.

[Icywolfe]

I'm sure that happens. Putting in a super-high bid like that is a good strategy for just topping any other bidder. It will work almost all of the time. Except in the example that I gave. If 2 people do it, you can end up with a crazy overbid situation. And statistically, when a large number of people have access to bid (as with eBay) then the unlikely is more likely to happen. Rarely, but possible. And think about it, unlikely things always happen with a big enough population. That is what makes people buy lottery tickets.

I've seen a similar over bid situation. I was laughing my butt off. It was Pilot 823 used and the bidding price was at like 1200 USD. (I think it was at like 1234)

My max bid was 100 USD. I know when to stop, so I stopped. Saw the bidder I beat put 20 above mine and the auto bid out bid him. And when ebay warned me the bidding item was ending soon and I looked. 1.2k for a pen that is at the most worth 400 USD.

[pen tom]

Wow. That seems to be any example of this unintended, wild overbidding happening. I have a nice 823. I'll sell it for $1200 hahaha

[Icywolfe]

Wow. That seems to be any example of this unintended, wild overbidding happening. I have a nice 823. I'll sell it for $1200 hahaha

I always wondered this: does Ebay ban people if they don't want to pay for those stuff?

 

I remember the guy who ended up winning had like 400 or so Ebay points. Which made me wonder how did he be so careless.

 

I should start saving all of these over bidding. I see it happen far too much on Pilot and Sailor pens.