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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 Sports n Stuff on February 16, 2015 at 8:48pm

Agreed however some sites have their niche or crew of people that exploit people to get what they have. Or say hey here's a great deal and have their buddy say what a deal wish I had the money....I've been that sucker! Or you think your helping someone out in collecting what they collect yet when it comes to "karma" people don't care...they just want what they don't have. I don't believe in that however I'm thankful that I was not brought up on Me Me Me...and helping others. Hence why I have learned that karma doesn't exist!! And my example is beyond an auto, material object but of taking care of someone I truly loved to throw a wrench in my life but you live and learn! But karma wasn't on my side with that woman in my life!

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Permalink Reply by August on February 1, 2015 at 4:29pm

Yeah and it seems by doing this you get more trust and better deals to be honest. I agree with Scott above ... if you wanna win on ebay sniping may be needed - but i also have some personal relationships with dealers and it is a more enjoyable experience. And they often cut me slack on postage or throw in some local relic as a bonus :-)

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Permalink Reply by Ian Baldock on February 1, 2015 at 4:32pm

Basically I just bid as much as I am willing to pay. Only If I had to have it would I use a snipe serve.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on February 1, 2015 at 4:34pm

I think too as August said he gets great deals after established relationship and also as collectors we kind of know what items are worth so you can pay that price without a 10 day competition to win an item.

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Permalink Reply by Sports n Stuff on February 16, 2015 at 8:53pm

Agreed. I've met some good people on eBay that aren't even dealers but are all about helping out. I'm trying to complete a set of auto baseball cards and lots of them are impossible to get however I've got a few people that say hey this popped up here or there. But others aren't so keen to help! They just wanna try and take advantage of you because your trying to complete something that's nearly impossible and think you'll pay a premium. As one person straight messaged me I just sold the card you need and I'm glad your never gonna get that. I mean who does that but a self-centered greedy individual? Guess you take the good with the bad

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Permalink Reply by Paul on February 1, 2015 at 4:40pm

Tracks UK sometimes put there items on ebay and once i was bidding on a sex pistols item won the auction low and behold it didn't meet reserve end of story.
Must be just an advertising tool for those blokes.

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Permalink Reply by michelle on February 1, 2015 at 5:06pm

their reserves are ridiculously (is this spelt right??) high . They had a number of beatles up on ebay and not one of them reached their reserve price

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Permalink Reply by Paul on February 1, 2015 at 5:12pm

Also after I won and contacted them to buy item no reply, I thought maybe that could reach an agreement.
Tracks UK are high end their specific on what they sell.

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Permalink Reply by Scott W. Arnold on February 1, 2015 at 4:52pm

I agree with Paul and August. I used eBay as a necessary evil when I first started. But after dealing with people over the years from all over the world I don't even use eBay anymore. I just got two complete Pink Floyd "Toronto Sound Boards" Picture disks from Israel. When I first started collecting on the internet eBay was a necessary evil but no longer. Scott

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Permalink Reply by Jason Charnick on February 16, 2015 at 9:24pm

eBay is a necessary evil for me as a primarily sports card collector. And I snipe manually whenever I can be in front of the computer when a listing ends and use a service for instances when i can't. Gixen.com is the gold standard for that ladies and gents. free free free and the sevice hasn't let me down yet. Now I've lost plenty of listings too but dems the breaks. Sniping, whether manual or automated is really the only way to fly on eBay. I understand those that say bid your highest amount and let it run, but why tip my hand early when I don't have to? Why give other bidders the opportunity to see that there's interest on an item and give them the chance to budget higher and bid more than they would have if I hadn't bid early? Why give people the chance to run the price up early (shilling or otherwise legit bidding) having it at a higher price near the end there by almost ensuring another sniper might overpay at the end. It might stink, but that's how eBay is set up. If you consistently want the best odds of winning something at the most reasonable prices, you simply just HAVE to wait until the end of the auction to pop in your highest price.

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Permalink Reply by Sports n Stuff on February 16, 2015 at 9:37pm

Gixen that's the one I've heard of. I hope we don't bid against each other!! Ha! All your points are spot on....tipping your hand by putting a high bid will usually comeback to haunt you but not always. However if the seller is a big time seller or breaker...theirs no doubt IMO that they bid the sh't up like crazy if you start at your top price. I couldn't tell you how many cards I missed by $.50 due to not being around the computer taking a #2 or living a life off the computer! Sometimes it stings, mostly I just let it go as its not meant to be! It's sad that their has to be such an elaborate way of bidding on anything on eBay! I can only imagine what they make daily?? However I think Alibaba,the site from China might be the next thing. Just my opinion but they are huge and clattered to everything as far as I know.