Hi Guys,
That's an interesting article. I've long thought that some of the snipe bids are at much better prices than non-sniped wins.
I snipe. There, I've said it now. I don't have a problem with sniping. I don't see anything wrong with it.
I use snipe in eBay auctions. I see an article that I like & set up my snipe bid ( sometimes over a week before the acution end ). I decide how much the item is worth to me & set up my snipe bid. Sometimes I'll inform a couple of the various Omega internet friends that I have, that I'm sniping an item, but usually I don't.
It's a fair auction. I have entered my price & the bid will be given just before auction end. If noone else is prepared to pay more, I win. If someone else IS prepared to pay more, they win.
I've seen plenty of posts from Chuck reffering to (what I thought he reffered to as ) the "Stein limit" ( admitedly I can't find any just now ), where he discusses the price of an Item. I'm sure we've all done this. We bid, someone else wins & then we think "Why didn't I bid more ? It was worth more to me". These kind of thoughts are gone with sniping ( for me anyway ) I set my max & get on with my life. If I win - Good. If I don't - Good.
Everybody has seen the kind of auction where 2 bidders want an item & they both push each other & the prices up to a price that noone was expecting ( see Antiquorum/Omegamania as a good example ). This is gone with snipe bids. It's a one off. The person who bids highest wins. There is no second chance.
Another point that is important to me, is the geographical location of the item. I live in Europe. If I bid on an item in Australia or the USA there's usually a large time difference. So If I bid in the normal way with my max. It gives a "local" time to incrementally bid upto & just above my Max. ( Usually whilst asleep in bed ). With a snipe, I bid the same amount, but seconds before auction end. Have I done anything different ? I don't think so, all I have done is delay the timing of my bid.
BTW I also have a similar problem with European auctions. I often work out of customers offices. They don't pay me to sit infront of an eBay auction. I can't interupt a meeting to place a bid. I snipe.
Having now defeneded sniping for half a page, lemme say .....
Joe K.'s example of an auction site where the auction end is extended by 15 minutes after the last bid is a GREAT Idea. This will completely destroy the usefulness of a snipe ( unless you are purely using it to bid whilst you sleep/work ). I would have no problem if eBay would introduce this. I would still snipe. I'd set my max & arrange that the bid was placed as close as possible to the acution end. If the auction then gets extended & someone chooses to push the price up & eventually outbid me, Good. I have still bid my max.
Finally, from my own experience, I'd say I win about 30% of what I snipe. So 70% was for nothing, somoeone else was prepared to pay more. But from that 30% about half is won at a price WAY lower than my final offer.
What do you think about sniping ?
I've seen some poeple get very personal & annoyed about sniping. For me it's just a tool. It's not personal & anyone can do it.
If a bidder chooses not to snipe - good. If his bid is higher than a snipers & he wins, the sniper looses. - Good.
If his bid is lower & the sniper wins ( or someone else ) - Good.
However if his bid is lower & the sniper wins then he starts to complain about the fact that the winner sniped.... my simple answer is, "Why didn't he offer more ? If he is complaining that he didn't win because he didn't know what others were prepared to pay, maybe his bidding strategey is wrong. IMHO he should have bid his max & not an incremental amount more than anyone else is currently willing to pay. Just offer your max & walk away ( until it's time to pay )"
What do you think ?
This entire post is written from a buyers perspective ( till now ). I have also sold via eBay. I accept that my auctions may be won by a sniper. I don't get annoyed when an item doesn't reach the price I'm hoping. There are 2 ways around this.
1, Set the start price at you minimum selling price. This has the disadvantage that it puts off a lot of interest. Many bidders don't bother. I have seen a large number of items that didn't sell at a price X, then the seller re-lists the item from , say, $1 & the final price is more than X.
2, Set a reserve.
What really annoys me is when a seller pulls the auction BEFORE auction end .... but that's another thread. There is a Powerseller in Australia that I refuse to bid on their items, because they use this tactic a lot. ( NO, it's not Watchco - I bid on their stuff :-) )
S.
