Aaron Nabil wrote:
> As I'm sure other people will or have pointed out, ebay is not the same
> format as a "real life auction". Snipers are playing by Ebay's rules and
> according to the auction format, and although annoying, it's certainly not
> "bad behavior".
>
> Sniping only works as long as people do not use the proxy system to bid up
> to the maximum they are willing to pay. If everyone used the proxy system
> and entered the maximum they were willing to pay, sniping would instantly
> stop being useful.
>
> If I can offer advise, use the proxy system. Enter the amount maximum
> amount you are willing to pay. You have absolutely, irrevocably defused
> ANY danger of sniping.
Aaron is correct if you set your max via the proxy then only a snipe
greater than your max will beat you. If your complaint is that you would
have bid more if the sniper bid earlier then bid more with the proxy. If
your complaint is that if you bid early the price goes nuts, well that's
why I switched to a snipe.
The reason I switched over to sniping is that I've watched as items I've
researched get bid up like mad if I had bid early (and the bidding went
beyond reason). So if you bid early most likely you lose the bidding.
Ignore the item until the end and you're more likely to get it and get
it at a reasonable price. I learned this while finding the same seller
selling several of the same items but he posted them with a day gap
between them. On the first item I bid with proxy and got out bid
very quickly (I wouldn't go above what I thought was a reasonable price).
It sold for $15 above the ~$30 I had researched, the second item I
ignored and it didn't sell. The third item I sniped and got it for ~$28.
The seller reposted a few days later the second item, it was bid on
early and it sold for ~$60 ($30 more than my research). Now this isn't
a scientific study was brought about by my initial (learning curve)
observations.
Oh one more thing watch out for shipping, I've seen totally unreasonable
shipping costs. I always check shipping as some sellers use it as a way
of making extra money. I always figure this into my bids so since I'm on
the east coast I tend ot lose a lot of west cost auctions.
--
Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry_at_home.net
http://members.home.net/ncherry (Text only)
http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/lightsey/52 (Graphics)
http://linuxha.sourceforge.net/ (SourceForge)
Received on Thu Dec 21 2000 - 12:37:34 GMT