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sniping ebay - good or bad - and how?

Hi all,

I'm curious on people's opinion of "sniping sites" for ebay? I've been outbid more than a few times by last second snipe bids. They seem to work within the rules of ebay so it may be time to join 'em rather than fight em. I know outside of ebay most auction houses use something like the "30 minute rule" to extend bidding and avoid sniping but since ebay does not why not do it (right?).

So, if you think sniping is the way to go ... any recommendations on sites to use and or tips and tricks?

And if not, any ways to beat out a snipe without a sniping site and not lose out?

Cheers!

August

Tags: ebay, snipe

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Permalink Reply by michelle on January 27, 2015 at 9:29pm

Oh I know exactly what you mean Paul . Had exactly the same thing re something going through the wretched USA global shipping programme with something I really wanted; - and the seller was really also unhelpful so I gave up in the end. And its a hugh amount of extra dollars for custom duties ;

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Permalink Reply by Paul on January 27, 2015 at 9:52pm

Its crazy Michelle. The seller knocked back a lot of Au dollars. When I buy of Perry d Cox he declares low value on customs other wise he wouldn't sell anything.
Ebay blows along with the riff raff that goes with it.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on January 27, 2015 at 10:00pm

I left them negative feedback for wasting my time.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Gregory on January 27, 2015 at 9:15pm

I usually bid early and what I feel is a fair price and if I lose the item then so be it. Often I win items as the only bidder and have had a few sellers not happy to lose an item for little money.

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Permalink Reply by James on January 27, 2015 at 10:04pm

So different people have different theories on what is the best way to win an eBay auction. I usually wait until the end to bid. And if an item has a relatively low opening bid, I watch, just hoping that no one will bid and then I can get it for that low opening bid price.

You, on the other hand, prefer a different method. And that's great if it works for you. Like I said, I usually like to wait until the end. I'm also afraid that an early bid will promote more bidding, thus driving the price up. If there are going to be other bidders besides just me, I still think that waiting until the end to battle it out will generally keep the final price lower. But I could be wrong.

On the other hand, if you put your max bid in early and then step away, you kind of get "anchored in". Some other bidders may try to test you to get a feeling for how high you might have maxed out. But after a few attempts, sometimes they back away, figuring that you're serious and probably too much for them. Anyway, those are just some thoughts.

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Permalink Reply by Sports n Stuff on February 16, 2015 at 8:35pm

Sometimes thou if you just put in a bid of $.99, at least you have your foot in the door. However I've been encountering way to many sellers taking down the item last second or saying I sat on it or don't have it...it's like how many excuses can you come up with? What's really annoying is when in one instance the guy said he sat on a card and would send me something else for my time..he refunded me immediately as so I couldn't file a case against him and obviously eBay can't force a seller to send something...I never received the supposed make-up card and he couldn't nor wouldn't provide a picture of the card! Seemed fishy to me and the person had the audacity to be like I'm gonna be listing something even better in a few months. It's sad what these sellers of anything and everything get away with

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Permalink Reply by Paul on January 27, 2015 at 10:08pm

At the end of the day no matter what method you use still have to be high bidder

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Permalink Reply by James on January 27, 2015 at 10:13pm

Very true.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on January 27, 2015 at 10:10pm

We had a free classified in Australia that was until ebay bought it and started charging to use it. Also only local pick ups no interstate because it would interfere with eBay.

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Permalink Reply by James on January 27, 2015 at 10:18pm

Can we say "greedy"? I think so. Ebay seems to be getting more like what in the States we might call the "Walmart" of auction sites. You know, go in and drive the little guys out. Although in the case of Walmart, they do tend to keep prices lower, which is different than in the case of your free classified.

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Permalink Reply by Sports n Stuff on February 16, 2015 at 8:37pm

I'm realizing that as well. They only want the people bringing in 5k sales a month..not money but items sold...and if people look at these sellers feedback they have so much negative or neutral feedback why anyone would wanna give them their money is beyond me. To me that's not someone I wanna do business with!