Are There Secret Bidders On Ebay?

[OcalaFlGuy]

There's really just one thing about sniping/not that befuddles me.

 

That I SEE Extremely Experienced Fleabayers with FBs in the Thousands, actually still biding as the auction progresses.

 

I can't For.The.Life.Of.Me. figure that out. Certainly somewhere along that 1000+ bid "career" they'd figure out it's just not smart.

 

Amazingly, this happens A LOT with Real C-Worder fodder. Big Time Pen People bidding live. I just don't get it. They of all people should know they Aren't sitting face to face with each other at a night before the pen show REAL auction.

 

But, if I HAVE to be clueless, at least it's on something Someone Else besides Me is doing.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

 

[EJKorvette]

The way I see it, the vast majority of stuff listed on eBay isn't so rare that there won't be more just like it coming along eventually. If you are bidding on a very rare item, decide how high you want to go and stick with your price. Don't bid early in the auction or you'll just contribute to driving up the price. If at all possible, wait until close to the end of the auction and see if the price has exceeded your limit. If so, then you can decide if you want to go higher or forget about it. At least with eBay, if you play it smart you can't get into an endless bidding war with somebody who just wants to see you spend too much money.

[furious]

I have had good luck on EBay over the years. Of course I've lost many, many items to higher bidders, but I have won many wonderful things that I would never have imagined that I would possess for much less cost than in the pre-internet days of yore.

[jar]

I've used snipe service for at least five years, maybe more and I still lose more auctions than I win.

 

That happens when someone else wants the object more than I do.

[rtruslow]

When playing on Ebay, some days a diamond, some days a stone.

[Mardi13]

The price was at $40, then someone entered their highest bid at $70, but it only came up initially as $41. But then someone else bid $77 (or something) so this trumped the last max bid. there's no foul play as far as I can see.

I couldn't see that $70 max bid but now it makes sense. See, I knew I would feel dumb. Thanks!

[Mardi13]

...and I didn't mean to start a whole debate about sniping.

[OcalaFlGuy]

You didn't Start it Mardi, you just picked the scab off and got it bleeding again.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[00Photo]

I prefer 3 seconds or less when I snipe my bid. No need to telegraph my maximum bid days in advance.

[Mardi13]

You didn't Start it Mardi, you just picked the scab off and got it bleeding again.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Well, shoot.

 

Play nice, everybody.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Mardi, this one's been pretty sedate.

 

I like to hopefully think that the anti-snipers are finally understanding that the snipers are on Their side too.

 

There's plenty of pens for everybody.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[lahlahlaw]

There's really just one thing about sniping/not that befuddles me.

 

That I SEE Extremely Experienced Fleabayers with FBs in the Thousands, actually still biding as the auction progresses.

 

I can't For.The.Life.Of.Me. figure that out. Certainly somewhere along that 1000+ bid "career" they'd figure out it's just not smart.

 

Amazingly, this happens A LOT with Real C-Worder fodder. Big Time Pen People bidding live. I just don't get it. They of all people should know they Aren't sitting face to face with each other at a night before the pen show REAL auction.

 

But, if I HAVE to be clueless, at least it's on something Someone Else besides Me is doing.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

 

I think they do this because they can't stand to see something else get something for really cheap, even though they don't really want it.

[inkstainedruth]

I got sniped the other day on one of the pens from Bruce's Sunday Fleabay picks thread for this week. With about 2 seconds to go. No time for me to respond. Grrrr. For the auction I lost last night I don't know if I got sniped or not, because I wasn't home when it ended. I got outbid by only a couple of dollars -- it had been in the mid $30s US for most of that day, and then apparently jumped at the end (I didn't actually look at how the automatic bidding went. So I was in the ballpark for both auctions, just not *quite* high enough.

OTOH, I got that Plum 51 Demi last year for under my *intermediate* maximum bid. Which was about $30 less than the previous one I'd seen listed end up going for. YMMV

The last pen I got on Ebay, a Vac Shadow Wave, got bid up towards the end, but it was clear that the other bidder kept testing to see what the limit was and then dropped out (possibly my max was higher than that person was prepared to go; possibly the person feared that my max was *much* higher than it actually was, because I didn't quite hit my max on that pen). Go figure.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[proton007]

I don't mind sniping.

 

Infact, it's better than the usual auction bidding system, because you just set your max. bid and move on to other things in life. No need to go through the frantic bidding process when adrenalin jitters make you bid insanely high and unrealistic amounts that you regret once the rush wears down.

[Mardi13]

As Bruce said, "There's plenty of pens for everybody."

 

And trust me, I'm just as disappointed when I don't win something as anyone else. But that's the name of the game. You put up what you are willing to spend, and wait. I have been outbid on many auctions that I sniped because someone was either later or had a higher max bid to start with. And if I wasn't willing to spend that amount then it wasn't meant to be.

[OcalaFlGuy]

I think they do this because they can't stand to see something else get something for really cheap, even though they don't really want it.

 

Busted. But mainly for Dirt Cheap primo condition P-45's or maybe a P-21 Super. (And still that's NOT bidding while the Auction is in progress) I need another P-45 like I need another hole in my head. Still I had to go for my last one about 4 months ago. It was a MINT Turquose Deluxe with a 14k nib and period converter. It came home for $17 and change shipped. It was just too good of a deal to let Anyone Else get. I also told myself I didn't already have a Turquose Deluxe (though I do have a Turquose Arrow 45) or a Fine 14k Gold 45 nib. There aren't any Really Good deals anymore on the nicer Streaker Estie J's that I like.

 

As Bruce said, "There's plenty of pens for everybody."

 

And trust me, I'm just as disappointed when I don't win something as anyone else. But that's the name of the game. You put up what you are willing to spend, and wait. I have been outbid on many auctions that I sniped because someone was either later or had a higher max bid to start with. And if I wasn't willing to spend that amount then it wasn't meant to be.

 

Thankfully I have most of the pens I really want. Most of what I buy now is heading for someone else so that doesn't hurt Quite as bad as if *I* lose out personally. Usually I am happy to see Anyone pay what They want to pay to win the pen. At least then I know it's going to someone who really wants it.

I'd rather have someone else get it than have the seller toss it in the can because no one bid on it and the seller doesn't think it's worth relisting.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[tmenyc]

You didn't Start it Mardi, you just picked the scab off and got it bleeding again.

 

 

wonderful, Bruce. He's right, of course. Remember that these are Dutch auctions, not Sotheby's auctions. The highest bid is the first increment higher than the highest extant bid. At the end of the auction, the highest bid wins by an increment above the next highest bid, and the difference between what the two highest bidders would've paid if they had to do so disappears. Strongly suggest careful reading of ebay's commentary on bidding here , which displays all of the rules and conventions. At this point, with ebay's changes/improvements in automatic bidding, the only difference between sniping and not sniping is that the sniper withholds interest in the auction until the final seconds, helping keep bids low, without having to be at the keyboard during those seconds. That should complete the explanation for the original poster.

 

Tim

[Taiin]

In my opinion, auction 'nibblers' are far more aggravating than snipers. Sniping is to be expected, nowadays.

[Captivelight]

I once watched a Parker 75 Perl go from something like 1.99 to £90 in the last 7 seconds of the auction. The poor seller must having been sweating bullets at the thought of letting his pen go at the 1.99 price! Gotta spare a thought for the "buyer" as well who really must have believed that he was going to get that pen for peanuts right up to the last few seconds. Oh well, all is fair in love, war and Ebay.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Oh well, all is fair in love, war and Ebay.

 

I like it.

 

I also adapt a saying usually for the NFL football arena to Fleabay, "On any given day on Fleabay, ANYTHING can happen."

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl