Ebay snipers

[RosieH]

Does anyone ever use any auction sniper sites?

Do they work? Would you recommend? Is it desperately unethical?

To be honest, I don't much care about that last question in this particular instance - am January-poor and in the front row for Jerry Sadowitz when the auction ends, so would rather be a bit sneaky than incur the unholy scottish wrath.

Obviously, when I am selling something, I will frown upon any such underhand behaviour that diddles me out of an extra twenty quid.

[Lowlander]

I do it myself, I go in the last 10 seconds and put in my absolute maximum bid. Works perhaps 75% of the time. If I'm beaten, so be it. Someone clearly thought the item worth more than I did.

Apart from convenience (not having to wake at 3am to snatch a magnum of Chateu Petrus for 99p), I struggle to see what's unethical?

I'd argue that they're ethical because they save people getting carried away with their emotions and bidding more than the item is worth?

[RosieH]

Yes, I can't really see a problem with them - it's just that a few people mentioned to me that they thought them unethical, and I've seen that online too, as though it's somehow cheating and I wondered if I was missing something.

Do you use any particular sites Lowlander?

[Huguenot]

The complaint against sniping seems to be that by bidding at the last instant it prevents earlier bidders from bidding higher.

However, if earlier bidders were below their limit, then they're deliberately trying to deceive other purchasers by underbidding in a attempt to acquire goods at less than the value they place upon them. They hardly have a moral leg to stand on if someone gave them a dose of their own medicine.

So I can't see a problem with sniping from that perspective.

Sellers (and hence auction house commissions) may be restricted by such practices, but given that the solution is so simple and already widely available (do not set a fixed completion time, just a time range) then they are making a commercial decision not to use it.

So I can't see a problem from that perspective.

The fact is that bidders are trying to get the lowest successful price, and sellers the highest - whingeing is pointless.

[Lowlander]

RosieH:

I snipe manually. Put in your maximum bid, wait until the timer hits 9 seconds and hit confirm.

[KidKruger]

The sniping tools are good for when you just won't be free to bid (and keep increasing your bids) at times such when you're working, sleeping, driving, etc.

I like that it kinda forces you to be cold about what you're prepared to pay - which, for any auction whether on-line or not, you should decide in front anyway.

I haven't done it for a couple years but the one I used was AuctionStealer, I don't know whether it's still around these days.

Never occurred to me at all that there could even be an 'ethical' question over using this tool - everyone uses eBay, everyone has access to bidding tools, everyone has times when they just cannot sit there watching a bid...

[DJKillaQueen]

I 'snipe' manually myself too and can't see any issue. It's an auction with a finite end time and any bidding right up to that end time is valid, even if it is submitted with 1 second to go.

[maxxi]

What H said - also sellers can short circuit sniping by adding a 'buy it now' option at what they think is the top 'achievable' price for the item and if any bidders are desperate for it they'll click on that.

[the-e-dealer]

lotsnipe is pretty good. Oh dear I told everyone!

[ClareC]

I do it manually too, totally don't understand why anyone would bother bidding any time other than the end.... Surely your just pushing the price up.

Don't see how it is immoral..... If a seller wants a particular price they can set a reserve or not use an auction to sell.

[giggirl]

Hello RosieH and happy new year.

Sometimes I use a sniper and sometimes not. I have no moral issues. Thing is, whenever I don't use a sniper I just put in the maximum amount that I'm prepared to spend on that item so I either win it or I don't. If someone else doesn't do that then they get sniped then more fool them.

In the old days ebay used to be rife with shill bidders but ebay has really put that practice under the kosh so it's a lot harder for sellers to shill bid on their own items these days. So the practice of sniping became popular in part because buyers were worried about shills. One big telltale sign of shill bidding is where you are "outbid" on something and then, as if by magic, the bid that "outbid" you is suddenly retracted, in the process revealing your own high bid (which obviously you wanted to remain private). This happened to me once and I just refused to pay for the item.

Best of luck.

[nimby]

So who exactly is saying sniping is unethical? or are we discussing something we all agree on?

Is outbidding someone else also unethical?

[katanita]

I use Just Snipe https://www.justsnipe.com/. It's a pretty basic site, but it works, and gives you several free credits a month.

[????]

nimby Wrote:

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> So who exactly is saying sniping is unethical? or

> are we discussing something we all agree on?

>

> Is outbidding someone else also unethical?

I think Rosie's just uncomfortable with the glorious wonder that is the free market :)

[nimby]

NO looking back Rosie has some friends who think it is unethical!

[*Bob*]

Bought ahh kid one of those wooden train track/set things a few years back. The bidding list went like this:

Mr & Mrs Nice - 2 days remaining - ?16.00

Jane SuperLovely - 18 hrs remaining -?17.50

Mr & Mrs Nice - 13 hrs remaining - ?19.50

Excited Grandparent 9 hrs - ?20.00

Jane SuperLovely - 4 hrs - 22.00

Mr & Mrs Nice - 2 hrs -?23.50

Excited Grandparent - 45 mins - ?24.00

Jane SuperLovely - 20 mins - 24.50

Mr & Mrs Nice - 8 mins - ?25.00

Excited Grandparent - 4 mins - ?25.50

Mr & Mrs Nice - 2 mins - ?26.00

Excited Grandparent - 1 min - ?26.50

*Bob*TheBastard - 2 second remaining - 27.00

Felt slightly guilty.

[nimby]

You Bastard!

Don't forget the seller may have lost their job and be trying to scrape enough together to get some food in for the kids. You did them a favour with that extra 50p!

[RosieH]

Quids, you know me too well, utterly busted! (ooh, I've just remembered you were in my dream last night sporting a most peculiar haircut - you were taking the piss as I recall - did the mockery come to me by osmosis I'm now wondering...)

Nah, a few mates said they didn't hold with it. Had never bothered with sniping myself, but then found myself in need yesterday and googled it, saw something on wiki and something somewhere else that I can't remember, and found myself thinking "Lawks! Here I am not eating foie gras to the detriment of my own taste buds and all that caper, but maybe I'm a wrong'un after all..."

Am pleased to learn that I'm only as much of a wrong'un as I already ever did think.

Edited to tell Quids I dreamt about him

[Sue]

katanita Wrote:

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> I use Just Snipe https://www.justsnipe.com/. It's

> a pretty basic site, but it works, and gives you

> several free credits a month.

xxxxxx

I also use Just Snipe.

It's very easy to use, and very effective, though a bit heart-stopping at the end of the auction if you're actually there to watch what's happening!

I don't have any moral issues with it at all because I do think sellers/their friends can easily deliberately push the bidding up when they can see who's bidding what, plus as somebody said above, the seller can always set a reserve.

It's much easier than manually sniping because then you have to be sure to be around at the end of the auction, which may not be convenient. And also to press the right keys at the right time!

If during the bidding the price goes over what you've put into Just Snipe, you have the option to increase your bid on the sniping website, which I have occasionally done. Obviously you have to be careful not to be carried away, but that's the same with bidding in an auction at all!

[polla2256]

auction sniper - google it

handy android app too.

they dont always win but its fire and forget.

[Sue]

polla2256 Wrote:

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>

> they dont always win but its fire and forget.

xxxxxx

Do you mean they don't always win because they don't get your bid in quickly enough and somebody gets the item cheaper than your maximum bid?

Or do you mean they don't always win because somebody else bid more than your maximum bid, in which case that's always a possibility!