Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Excellent post, Dave Count Deiro IMCA 3536 -Original Message- From: Dave Myers whitefalcons...@yahoo.com Sent: Mar 18, 2010 1:57 AM To: meteorite list meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com, Richard Kowalski damoc...@yahoo.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Hey Richard, My expertise is ART, moderan art Once at a online Auction. I seen a painting, That I knew was a $5,000.-$7,000. painting. The est. was only $100.-200. dollars, I knew this painting was placed in the wrong category at this auction. So, most people did not go into this category looking for good paintings! But I knew a few might! So I waited, till the end of the auction, and put in my bid, seconds before it ended! I got this painting for only $168.00 dollars. When it comes to collecting, If you know the value of what is for sale! (or just love it, and have to have it) and you know it is under valued, (if you really want it cheap) YOU SNIPE IT! ME myself could never afford to pay gallery price! I do not know enough about meteorites, and am not in the position to do so now, But if I could, YES, ON A, ON LINE AUCTION, THAT I KNEW WAS selling at a fraction of the price ...i would snipe every time. Only because of my life-long art research, and these opportunities, is my a apt. a little modern art museum. I wish 25 years ago I know about meteorites! Dave Myers --- On Wed, 3/17/10, Richard Kowalski damoc...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Richard Kowalski damoc...@yahoo.com Subject: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality To: meteorite list meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 11:58 PM This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so often, but much more often on the Daguerreotypes I bid on. The reason I was reminded of it was a lot I just lost out on. There wasn't just one sniper, but two. The both bid at the exact same time, 2 seconds before the auction ended... As I said, it doesn't mater that I lost the lot. It went for more than I was willing to pay, so I wouldn't have rebid even if I could. Possibly someone can explain what is gained by bidding like this instead of just bidding what you think it's worth and letting it go for that... I'd really like to see ebay eliminate this foolery. It'd be pretty simple. Any bids that occur within one minute of the closing time of the auction automatically resets the end time by 10 minutes, or 30 minutes. The snipers games are eliminated and the dealers (and ebay) gets more profits because the auction remains open for the bidding to continue to higher levels. Just like in a real live auction. Thanks -- Richard Kowalski Full Moon Photography IMCA #1081 __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
I vary in my bidding methods, depending on the current bid, how many people are bidding, how much I want the item... People snipe so that they have the best chance of getting the item for as cheaply as possible. Usually I bid my maximum as late as possible; if I can, manually sniping in the last few seconds. This puts my bid in late enough so that others can't 'top' it or raise it and make me pay more. I may put in an absentee bid early on if I know I won't be online when the auction is closing. I don't always win my item, but often enough I do, and for less than I was willing to pay, that it works for me. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. ;) Best! Tracy Latimer _ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/210850553/direct/01/ __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Hi Tracy and List, Yeah, it's a good feeling when you place an early bid and forget about it. Then a week later you get an email from eBay saying you won the item for a fraction of your maximum bid. I like it when that happens. :) Best regards, MikeG On 3/18/10, tracy latimer daist...@hotmail.com wrote: I vary in my bidding methods, depending on the current bid, how many people are bidding, how much I want the item... People snipe so that they have the best chance of getting the item for as cheaply as possible. Usually I bid my maximum as late as possible; if I can, manually sniping in the last few seconds. This puts my bid in late enough so that others can't 'top' it or raise it and make me pay more. I may put in an absentee bid early on if I know I won't be online when the auction is closing. I don't always win my item, but often enough I do, and for less than I was willing to pay, that it works for me. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. ;) Best! Tracy Latimer _ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/210850553/direct/01/ __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list -- Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone Ironworks Meteorites http://www.galactic-stone.com http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so often, but much more often on the Daguerreotypes I bid on. The reason I was reminded of it was a lot I just lost out on. There wasn't just one sniper, but two. The both bid at the exact same time, 2 seconds before the auction ended... As I said, it doesn't mater that I lost the lot. It went for more than I was willing to pay, so I wouldn't have rebid even if I could. Possibly someone can explain what is gained by bidding like this instead of just bidding what you think it's worth and letting it go for that... I'd really like to see ebay eliminate this foolery. It'd be pretty simple. Any bids that occur within one minute of the closing time of the auction automatically resets the end time by 10 minutes, or 30 minutes. The snipers games are eliminated and the dealers (and ebay) gets more profits because the auction remains open for the bidding to continue to higher levels. Just like in a real live auction. Thanks -- Richard Kowalski Full Moon Photography IMCA #1081 __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Hi Richard, I think, but I'm not sure, the reason for sniping is because if you bid early on an item, you are encouraging action. As a buyer, if you want the item at the lowest price possible, then you don't want a lot of bidding action going on. One way to accomplish that is to bid on the item at the last possible moment. I use an opposite strategy - I place my one and final bid early on in the auction. If the bidding exceeds my amount, I walk away from it. I don't get caught up in the sniper games - if someone wants it bad enough that they are going to use a special computer program to bid for them, then let them have it - but they will still have to outbid my early bid, and if their sniper bid is equal to my bid, then I win the tie-breaker because I bid first - a disadvantage that no sniper can get around. I have watched, in real time, snipers furiously try to outbid me in the final seconds, only to lose because my original bid was higher than their snipe attempt and they didn't leave themselves enough time to snipe again. I don't get it either, but I think it's because they are hoping by holding their bids until the very end, they will contribute to stagnant overall bidding and a lower closing price. ??? Or, they are developmentally disabled and have the whole concept wrong. LOL Best regards, MikeG On 3/17/10, Richard Kowalski damoc...@yahoo.com wrote: This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so often, but much more often on the Daguerreotypes I bid on. The reason I was reminded of it was a lot I just lost out on. There wasn't just one sniper, but two. The both bid at the exact same time, 2 seconds before the auction ended... As I said, it doesn't mater that I lost the lot. It went for more than I was willing to pay, so I wouldn't have rebid even if I could. Possibly someone can explain what is gained by bidding like this instead of just bidding what you think it's worth and letting it go for that... I'd really like to see ebay eliminate this foolery. It'd be pretty simple. Any bids that occur within one minute of the closing time of the auction automatically resets the end time by 10 minutes, or 30 minutes. The snipers games are eliminated and the dealers (and ebay) gets more profits because the auction remains open for the bidding to continue to higher levels. Just like in a real live auction. Thanks -- Richard Kowalski Full Moon Photography IMCA #1081 __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list -- Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone Ironworks Meteorites http://www.galactic-stone.com http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Hi Richard, You wrote, It'd be pretty simple. Any bids that occur within one minute of the closing time of the auction automatically resets the end time by 10 minutes, or 30 minutes Interestingly, the Astro Auctions website I and others mentioned earlier has exactly that format. -Walter - Original Message - From: Richard Kowalski damoc...@yahoo.com To: meteorite list meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 7:58 PM Subject: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so often, but much more often on the Daguerreotypes I bid on. The reason I was reminded of it was a lot I just lost out on. There wasn't just one sniper, but two. The both bid at the exact same time, 2 seconds before the auction ended... As I said, it doesn't mater that I lost the lot. It went for more than I was willing to pay, so I wouldn't have rebid even if I could. Possibly someone can explain what is gained by bidding like this instead of just bidding what you think it's worth and letting it go for that... I'd really like to see ebay eliminate this foolery. It'd be pretty simple. Any bids that occur within one minute of the closing time of the auction automatically resets the end time by 10 minutes, or 30 minutes. The snipers games are eliminated and the dealers (and ebay) gets more profits because the auction remains open for the bidding to continue to higher levels. Just like in a real live auction. Thanks -- Richard Kowalski Full Moon Photography IMCA #1081 __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Hi Richard and List, I agree with your solution but not your objection to sniping within the framework that is eBay. Ebay has set up a situation where it is the smart thing to do. As you suggest, if no item will officially end within even just one minute from the time the last bid was placed, this would end the advantage of sniping. I personally use a sniping service so when I see an item I want, I set up the snipe bid that will be executed a few seconds before auction end. This set up can be taken care of days before the auction ends. I have saved many hundreds of dollars, mostly on microscope equipment. It's not nice or fair but it is the way eBay is set up, so why not play to win. Tom In a message dated 3/17/2010 5:58:10 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, damoc...@yahoo.com writes: This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so often, but much more often on the Daguerreotypes I bid on. The reason I was reminded of it was a lot I just lost out on. There wasn't just one sniper, but two. The both bid at the exact same time, 2 seconds before the auction ended... As I said, it doesn't mater that I lost the lot. It went for more than I was willing to pay, so I wouldn't have rebid even if I could. Possibly someone can explain what is gained by bidding like this instead of just bidding what you think it's worth and letting it go for that... I'd really like to see ebay eliminate this foolery. It'd be pretty simple. Any bids that occur within one minute of the closing time of the auction automatically resets the end time by 10 minutes, or 30 minutes. The snipers games are eliminated and the dealers (and ebay) gets more profits because the auction remains open for the bidding to continue to higher levels. Just like in a real live auction. Thanks -- Richard Kowalski Full Moon Photography IMCA #1081 __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Thanks Tom I'm glad I posted this thread. I had no idea that there are software packages that would do snipe automatically. Ebay has to have to have some financial benefit to THEM to allow this nonsense, otherwise they wouldn't allow it. Seems to me it would be more profitable for them to just allow the auction to continue until the bidding stops. -- Richard Kowalski Full Moon Photography IMCA #1081 --- On Wed, 3/17/10, starsinthed...@aol.com starsinthed...@aol.com wrote: From: starsinthed...@aol.com starsinthed...@aol.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 5:48 PM Hi Richard and List, I agree with your solution but not your objection to sniping within the framework that is eBay. Ebay has set up a situation where it is the smart thing to do. As you suggest, if no item will officially end within even just one minute from the time the last bid was placed, this would end the advantage of sniping. I personally use a sniping service so when I see an item I want, I set up the snipe bid that will be executed a few seconds before auction end. This set up can be taken care of days before the auction ends. I have saved many hundreds of dollars, mostly on microscope equipment. It's not nice or fair but it is the way eBay is set up, so why not play to win. Tom __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Hello Listers, My understanding with bidding on eBay is if your the top bidder you win. If you use a spiner program you don't win unless your the top bidder. Spiner programs make it easy for you to put your bid in and leave and not worry about sitting at the computer and waisting time while you can be hunting for meteorites. Lastly, just because someone snips in at the last seconds doesn't mean they will win, it just means they bid at the last seconds and if they are the top bidder they win and if not you win, easy as apple pie. But again, isn't eBay like a snipper program. Your able to put in your top bid and eBay on your behalf will increase your bid till your out bid by another eBayer or your the winner because you felt that the price you set was fair at what your wiling to pay. All I know is that people that use sniper programs are getting ripped off because eBay does the same thing for free. Shawn Alan __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Wow, I suppose the internet is slowing up... Old age. I don't know why, but sometimes I can post and it comes up immediately. Sometimes I post and it comes back to me, but it doesn't go to the list. And other times, it just doesn't show up. Damn, I must be a bad boy. ;) Oh well, whatever. Cheers John -Original Message- From: John.L.Cabassi [mailto:j...@cabassi.net] Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 6:15 PM To: 'starsinthed...@aol.com'; 'meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com' Subject: RE: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality G'Day All Interesting topic on eBay. Regardless of what you say, it's not going to change and somebody mentioned u-bid, that's the worst. Believe me, I've been there. As soon as it comes to the final time for the bid to end, the next person who bids, rejacks up the time for it to go on another 10 minutes and I've seen this go on for 4 hours before the item is finally sold at twice the price you'd pay for it retail at any store. There's definitely some sort of addiction going on here, which I can't comment on, but it just seems that way. As for snipers, I'm not really concerned. This new age of electronic bidding has alot to be desired. Being able to sit in a room next to a competitor and start bidding against each other till finally one concedes, is a lot of fun. But that's not to say that somebody in that room has a vendetta and will go all out, even to broke so you don't get the item. I for one, stand fast, kind of like Mike G. I have a limit and that's it, so I wait. Maybe I am a sniper, but I hate constant bids being placed by people that have never bought before driving the bids up. I've seen this happen time and time again and then I've seen the item relisted again because Oh, the person didn't pay me or I didn't really understand what the item was or I made a mistake, cancel my bid Now are they stand-ins? Hell yeah. There's only a certain point you can take stupid to. I've even got to the point of contacting the person offering the item with my email. When they get back to me, I offer them a price. If they accept it, suddenly the item's withdrawn, even though it had 10 bids on it. There's ways around ebay and then there's ways you can get caught out. To me it's a big game and not worth the money. That's not to say I've scored some great stuff, but that's only because the person involved really didn't know what they had, they just wanted to off load it. And then you have others and this is a disclaimer, I'm not attacking any individuals on this list, but suddenly the 0.99 offers are not panning out and then there's a rush to let everybody know; I've been caught in that one before. But that's not against the person offering it up, they're in it to make money, that's their income. I'm in it to get a bargain and sometimes it gets tough these days. But as I said in the beginning, it's not going to change. Either like it or lump it my 50 cents AUS Cheers John IMCA # 2125 -Original Message- From: meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com [mailto:meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of starsinthed...@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 5:49 PM To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Hi Richard and List, I agree with your solution but not your objection to sniping within the framework that is eBay. Ebay has set up a situation where it is the smart thing to do. As you suggest, if no item will officially end within even just one minute from the time the last bid was placed, this would end the advantage of sniping. I personally use a sniping service so when I see an item I want, I set up the snipe bid that will be executed a few seconds before auction end. This set up can be taken care of days before the auction ends. I have saved many hundreds of dollars, mostly on microscope equipment. It's not nice or fair but it is the way eBay is set up, so why not play to win. Tom In a message dated 3/17/2010 5:58:10 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, damoc...@yahoo.com writes: This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
All I know is that people that use sniper programs are getting ripped off because eBay does the same thing for free. Shawn Alan I don't think you get it! Tom In a message dated 3/17/2010 7:15:51 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, photoph...@yahoo.com writes: Hello Listers, My understanding with bidding on eBay is if your the top bidder you win. If you use a spiner program you don't win unless your the top bidder. Spiner programs make it easy for you to put your bid in and leave and not worry about sitting at the computer and waisting time while you can be hunting for meteorites. Lastly, just because someone snips in at the last seconds doesn't mean they will win, it just means they bid at the last seconds and if they are the top bidder they win and if not you win, easy as apple pie. But again, isn't eBay like a snipper program. Your able to put in your top bid and eBay on your behalf will increase your bid till your out bid by another eBayer or your the winner because you felt that the price you set was fair at what your wiling to pay. All I know is that people that use sniper programs are getting ripped off because eBay does the same thing for free. Shawn Alan __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Richard, I always use sniping services for bidding and my reasoning flawed or otherwise is as follows. There exists a category of bidders that do not bid their maximum and leave it at that, but like to continuously monitor the auction for the duration and outbid others when they lose highest bid. This sometimes reaches a frenzy of bid and counterbid in the last 30 minutes, and this behaviour seems more related to beating the competition than an incremental strategy that will cease as soon as they reach the maximum they have in mind. Here is somebody admitting this... http://ask.metafilter.com/47433/Psychology-of-Auctions So I don't really want to add to the liquidity in any auction with bidders like this that start out looking for a bargain and end up in a competitive fiscal pissing match. If I have a bid in well before auction end at my limit I risk provoking bidders like this to bid beyond what they originally had in mind as eBay will continuously outbid them to my maximum. If I snipe an auction with my maximum in the last 6 seconds I can rest assured that I haven't provoked any people to bid beyond their maximum and perhaps beyond mine. Regards, John -Original Message- From: meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com [mailto:meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Richard Kowalski Sent: March-17-10 4:58 PM To: meteorite list Subject: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so often, but much more often on the Daguerreotypes I bid on. The reason I was reminded of it was a lot I just lost out on. There wasn't just one sniper, but two. The both bid at the exact same time, 2 seconds before the auction ended... As I said, it doesn't mater that I lost the lot. It went for more than I was willing to pay, so I wouldn't have rebid even if I could. Possibly someone can explain what is gained by bidding like this instead of just bidding what you think it's worth and letting it go for that... I'd really like to see ebay eliminate this foolery. It'd be pretty simple. Any bids that occur within one minute of the closing time of the auction automatically resets the end time by 10 minutes, or 30 minutes. The snipers games are eliminated and the dealers (and ebay) gets more profits because the auction remains open for the bidding to continue to higher levels. Just like in a real live auction. Thanks -- Richard Kowalski Full Moon Photography IMCA #1081 __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
G'Day All Interesting topic on eBay. Regardless of what you say, it's not going to change and somebody mentioned u-bid, that's the worst. Believe me, I've been there. As soon as it comes to the final time for the bid to end, the next person who bids, rejacks up the time for it to go on another 10 minutes and I've seen this go on for 4 hours before the item is finally sold at twice the price you'd pay for it retail at any store. There's definitely some sort of addiction going on here, which I can't comment on, but it just seems that way. As for snipers, I'm not really concerned. This new age of electronic bidding has alot to be desired. Being able to sit in a room next to a competitor and start bidding against each other till finally one concedes, is a lot of fun. But that's not to say that somebody in that room has a vendetta and will go all out, even to broke so you don't get the item. I for one, stand fast, kind of like Mike G. I have a limit and that's it, so I wait. Maybe I am a sniper, but I hate constant bids being placed by people that have never bought before driving the bids up. I've seen this happen time and time again and then I've seen the item relisted again because Oh, the person didn't pay me or I didn't really understand what the item was or I made a mistake, cancel my bid Now are they stand-ins? Hell yeah. There's only a certain point you can take stupid to. I've even got to the point of contacting the person offering the item with my email. When they get back to me, I offer them a price. If they accept it, suddenly the item's withdrawn, even though it had 10 bids on it. There's ways around ebay and then there's ways you can get caught out. To me it's a big game and not worth the money. That's not to say I've scored some great stuff, but that's only because the person involved really didn't know what they had, they just wanted to off load it. And then you have others and this is a disclaimer, I'm not attacking any individuals on this list, but suddenly the 0.99 offers are not panning out and then there's a rush to let everybody know; I've been caught in that one before. But that's not against the person offering it up, they're in it to make money, that's their income. I'm in it to get a bargain and sometimes it gets tough these days. But as I said in the beginning, it's not going to change. Either like it or lump it my 50 cents AUS Cheers John IMCA # 2125 -Original Message- From: meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com [mailto:meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of starsinthed...@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 5:49 PM To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Hi Richard and List, I agree with your solution but not your objection to sniping within the framework that is eBay. Ebay has set up a situation where it is the smart thing to do. As you suggest, if no item will officially end within even just one minute from the time the last bid was placed, this would end the advantage of sniping. I personally use a sniping service so when I see an item I want, I set up the snipe bid that will be executed a few seconds before auction end. This set up can be taken care of days before the auction ends. I have saved many hundreds of dollars, mostly on microscope equipment. It's not nice or fair but it is the way eBay is set up, so why not play to win. Tom In a message dated 3/17/2010 5:58:10 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, damoc...@yahoo.com writes: This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so often, but much more often on the Daguerreotypes I bid on. The reason I was reminded of it was a lot I just lost out on. There wasn't just one sniper, but two. The both bid at the exact same time, 2 seconds before the auction ended... As I said, it doesn't mater that I lost the lot. It went for more than I was willing to pay, so I wouldn't have rebid even if I could. Possibly someone can explain what is gained by bidding like this instead of just bidding what you think it's
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
It's just so simple to understand why sniping is likely to get you the best price...just an obvious thing to do! Just keep it quiet Tomthe less people that understand sniping the more bargains for us.. ;-) Graham starsinthed...@aol.com wrote: All I know is that people that use sniper programs are getting ripped off because eBay does the same thing for free. Shawn Alan I don't think you get it! Tom In a message dated 3/17/2010 7:15:51 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, photoph...@yahoo.com writes: Hello Listers, My understanding with bidding on eBay is if your the top bidder you win. If you use a spiner program you don't win unless your the top bidder. Spiner programs make it easy for you to put your bid in and leave and not worry about sitting at the computer and waisting time while you can be hunting for meteorites. Lastly, just because someone snips in at the last seconds doesn't mean they will win, it just means they bid at the last seconds and if they are the top bidder they win and if not you win, easy as apple pie. But again, isn't eBay like a snipper program. Your able to put in your top bid and eBay on your behalf will increase your bid till your out bid by another eBayer or your the winner because you felt that the price you set was fair at what your wiling to pay. All I know is that people that use sniper programs are getting ripped off because eBay does the same thing for free. Shawn Alan __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Damn, that was quick! Only an hour later after I posted it. So I've worked out some questions. If I post them now, you should get them at the end of the month :-) Cheers John -Original Message- From: meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com [mailto:meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of John.L.Cabassi Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 6:15 PM To: starsinthed...@aol.com; meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality G'Day All Interesting topic on eBay. Regardless of what you say, it's not going to change and somebody mentioned u-bid, that's the worst. Believe me, I've been there. As soon as it comes to the final time for the bid to end, the next person who bids, rejacks up the time for it to go on another 10 minutes and I've seen this go on for 4 hours before the item is finally sold at twice the price you'd pay for it retail at any store. There's definitely some sort of addiction going on here, which I can't comment on, but it just seems that way. As for snipers, I'm not really concerned. This new age of electronic bidding has alot to be desired. Being able to sit in a room next to a competitor and start bidding against each other till finally one concedes, is a lot of fun. But that's not to say that somebody in that room has a vendetta and will go all out, even to broke so you don't get the item. I for one, stand fast, kind of like Mike G. I have a limit and that's it, so I wait. Maybe I am a sniper, but I hate constant bids being placed by people that have never bought before driving the bids up. I've seen this happen time and time again and then I've seen the item relisted again because Oh, the person didn't pay me or I didn't really understand what the item was or I made a mistake, cancel my bid Now are they stand-ins? Hell yeah. There's only a certain point you can take stupid to. I've even got to the point of contacting the person offering the item with my email. When they get back to me, I offer them a price. If they accept it, suddenly the item's withdrawn, even though it had 10 bids on it. There's ways around ebay and then there's ways you can get caught out. To me it's a big game and not worth the money. That's not to say I've scored some great stuff, but that's only because the person involved really didn't know what they had, they just wanted to off load it. And then you have others and this is a disclaimer, I'm not attacking any individuals on this list, but suddenly the 0.99 offers are not panning out and then there's a rush to let everybody know; I've been caught in that one before. But that's not against the person offering it up, they're in it to make money, that's their income. I'm in it to get a bargain and sometimes it gets tough these days. But as I said in the beginning, it's not going to change. Either like it or lump it my 50 cents AUS Cheers John IMCA # 2125 -Original Message- From: meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com [mailto:meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of starsinthed...@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 5:49 PM To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Hi Richard and List, I agree with your solution but not your objection to sniping within the framework that is eBay. Ebay has set up a situation where it is the smart thing to do. As you suggest, if no item will officially end within even just one minute from the time the last bid was placed, this would end the advantage of sniping. I personally use a sniping service so when I see an item I want, I set up the snipe bid that will be executed a few seconds before auction end. This set up can be taken care of days before the auction ends. I have saved many hundreds of dollars, mostly on microscope equipment. It's not nice or fair but it is the way eBay is set up, so why not play to win. Tom In a message dated 3/17/2010 5:58:10 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, damoc...@yahoo.com writes: This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
I have sniped and won and sniped and lost but I have and will continue to snipe whether it's effective or not. It's just a strategy one of many. Jerry flaherty -- From: John Hendry p...@pict.co.uk Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 10:08 PM To: 'Richard Kowalski' damoc...@yahoo.com Cc: Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Richard, I always use sniping services for bidding and my reasoning flawed or otherwise is as follows. There exists a category of bidders that do not bid their maximum and leave it at that, but like to continuously monitor the auction for the duration and outbid others when they lose highest bid. This sometimes reaches a frenzy of bid and counterbid in the last 30 minutes, and this behaviour seems more related to beating the competition than an incremental strategy that will cease as soon as they reach the maximum they have in mind. Here is somebody admitting this... http://ask.metafilter.com/47433/Psychology-of-Auctions So I don't really want to add to the liquidity in any auction with bidders like this that start out looking for a bargain and end up in a competitive fiscal pissing match. If I have a bid in well before auction end at my limit I risk provoking bidders like this to bid beyond what they originally had in mind as eBay will continuously outbid them to my maximum. If I snipe an auction with my maximum in the last 6 seconds I can rest assured that I haven't provoked any people to bid beyond their maximum and perhaps beyond mine. Regards, John -Original Message- From: meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com [mailto:meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Richard Kowalski Sent: March-17-10 4:58 PM To: meteorite list Subject: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so often, but much more often on the Daguerreotypes I bid on. The reason I was reminded of it was a lot I just lost out on. There wasn't just one sniper, but two. The both bid at the exact same time, 2 seconds before the auction ended... As I said, it doesn't mater that I lost the lot. It went for more than I was willing to pay, so I wouldn't have rebid even if I could. Possibly someone can explain what is gained by bidding like this instead of just bidding what you think it's worth and letting it go for that... I'd really like to see ebay eliminate this foolery. It'd be pretty simple. Any bids that occur within one minute of the closing time of the auction automatically resets the end time by 10 minutes, or 30 minutes. The snipers games are eliminated and the dealers (and ebay) gets more profits because the auction remains open for the bidding to continue to higher levels. Just like in a real live auction. Thanks -- Richard Kowalski Full Moon Photography IMCA #1081 __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Thanks all. I now have a much better understanding all the way around... -- Richard Kowalski Full Moon Photography IMCA #1081 __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Hello list again, I have been bidding and watching an item on eBay for the past few days and I wish I had gotton the 46g Norton Meteorite at $600 or so but that wasn't the case. Before I went down in the subway to go home I got on my phone to watch the clock tick on the eBay item I was wishing I could get but I knew It wasn't going to happen. As the clock went down the price stayed steady for the remaining 4 minutes. But it wasn't till the last few seconds that the price went from $800 to $850 and I thought to myself, WOW the winner is going to make a killing. In the back of my head I was wishing I was him/her but I don't have the leisure to spend that much on a meteorite. But when I thought it was over it wasn't and when the clock stopped the auction was over and the winning bidder got the Norton County meteorite at $1,225 not to mention its from Dr LaPaz estate, what a deal. Here is a link of the auction. http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBidsitem=230447906846showauto=true At any rate the winner got a great meteorite and did it smart. If I had money and I knew I would do anything to get it, I would place my bid at $3000, that's a guaranty that I would get, but again, it could lead to high costs if I have someone else that wants it more then me. So the morel to the story is, if you want the item, then you will do anything to get it. If this means you wait to the last seconds to bid, or hire a third party to bid for you, or put a max bid in a day before the bid ends, you do what ever it takes :) But at the end of the day what comes down to it is who placed the highest bid in the allotted time. Shawn Alan [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Richard Kowalski damoclid at yahoo.com Wed Mar 17 19:58:00 EDT 2010 Previous message: [meteorite-list] $122.23 per gram Next message: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so often, but much more often on the Daguerreotypes I bid on. The reason I was reminded of it was a lot I just lost out on. There wasn't just one sniper, but two. The both bid at the exact same time, 2 seconds before the auction ended... As I said, it doesn't mater that I lost the lot. It went for more than I was willing to pay, so I wouldn't have rebid even if I could. Possibly someone can explain what is gained by bidding like this instead of just bidding what you think it's worth and letting it go for that... I'd really like to see ebay eliminate this foolery. It'd be pretty simple. Any bids that occur within one minute of the closing time of the auction automatically resets the end time by 10 minutes, or 30 minutes. The snipers games are eliminated and the dealers (and ebay) gets more profits because the auction remains open for the bidding to continue to higher levels. Just like in a real live auction. Thanks -- Richard Kowalski Full Moon Photography IMCA #1081 Previous message: [meteorite-list] $122.23 per gram Next message: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] More information about the Meteorite-list mailing list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
First you say All I know is that people that use sniper programs are getting ripped off because eBay does the same thing for free. Shawn Alan Then you saySo the morel to the story is, if you want the item, then you will do anything to get it. If this means you wait to the last seconds to bid, or hire a third party to bid for you, or put a max bid in a day before the bid ends, you do what ever it takes :) But at the end of the day what comes down to it is who placed the highest bid in the allotted time. Shawn Alan So first you lay down a stupid insult and then you follow it up with Yoda wisdom? Tom In a message dated 3/17/2010 10:31:00 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, photoph...@yahoo.com writes: Hello list again, I have been bidding and watching an item on eBay for the past few days and I wish I had gotton the 46g Norton Meteorite at $600 or so but that wasn't the case. Before I went down in the subway to go home I got on my phone to watch the clock tick on the eBay item I was wishing I could get but I knew It wasn't going to happen. As the clock went down the price stayed steady for the remaining 4 minutes. But it wasn't till the last few seconds that the price went from $800 to $850 and I thought to myself, WOW the winner is going to make a killing. In the back of my head I was wishing I was him/her but I don't have the leisure to spend that much on a meteorite. But when I thought it was over it wasn't and when the clock stopped the auction was over and the winning bidder got the Norton County meteorite at $1,225 not to mention its from Dr LaPaz estate, what a deal. Here is a link of the auction. http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBidsitem=230447906846showauto=t rue At any rate the winner got a great meteorite and did it smart. If I had money and I knew I would do anything to get it, I would place my bid at $3000, that's a guaranty that I would get, but again, it could lead to high costs if I have someone else that wants it more then me. So the morel to the story is, if you want the item, then you will do anything to get it. If this means you wait to the last seconds to bid, or hire a third party to bid for you, or put a max bid in a day before the bid ends, you do what ever it takes :) But at the end of the day what comes down to it is who placed the highest bid in the allotted time. Shawn Alan [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Richard Kowalski damoclid at yahoo.com Wed Mar 17 19:58:00 EDT 2010 Previous message: [meteorite-list] $122.23 per gram Next message: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so often, but much more often on the Daguerreotypes I bid on. The reason I was reminded of it was a lot I just lost out on. There wasn't just one sniper, but two. The both bid at the exact same time, 2 seconds before the auction ended... As I said, it doesn't mater that I lost the lot. It went for more than I was willing to pay, so I wouldn't have rebid even if I could. Possibly someone can explain what is gained by bidding like this instead of just bidding what you think it's worth and letting it go for that... I'd really like to see ebay eliminate this foolery. It'd be pretty simple. Any bids that occur within one minute of the closing time of the auction automatically resets the end time by 10 minutes, or 30 minutes. The snipers games are eliminated and the dealers (and ebay) gets more profits because the auction remains open for the bidding to continue to higher levels. Just like in a real live auction. Thanks -- Richard Kowalski Full Moon Photography IMCA #1081 Previous message: [meteorite-list] $122.23 per gram Next message: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Messages sorted by: [ date
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
John, That has been my experience too. I've seen people bid early, and then come back and keep bidding up and up (not the bid early with your max strategy). And a few of them will wait till the last few minutes and in a frenzy, bid past what is reasonable (either because they don't know what they're bidding on, or because of the issue you describe, or...?). And yes, sometimes after such an event, the seller contacts me and says they didn't pay... I now use a program that only charges me about $0.25/win (nothing if I lose). Since using it, I've increased my wins and hardly ever pay my max, so it seems to me that there are folks out there who have some sort of bidding addiction or the like. If I lose, then I know for sure that someone wanted it more than I was willing to pay. Unlike before when I bid my max early, and I went back at the end and discovered that someone beat me by bidding against me multiple times in the last minutes at odd intervals (which indicates they weren't using a sniping program). And I've determined to bid only my max, because if I go beyond that, I assume that there are folks out there who use a snipe program and put in a crazy bids so they can't be beat (so if you get two of them, someone is going to get burned). ;-) Clear skies, Mark - Original Message From: John Hendry p...@pict.co.uk To: Richard Kowalski damoc...@yahoo.com Cc: Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Sent: Wed, March 17, 2010 7:08:23 PM Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Richard, I always use sniping services for bidding and my reasoning flawed or otherwise is as follows. There exists a category of bidders that do not bid their maximum and leave it at that, but like to continuously monitor the auction for the duration and outbid others when they lose highest bid. This sometimes reaches a frenzy of bid and counterbid in the last 30 minutes, and this behaviour seems more related to beating the competition than an incremental strategy that will cease as soon as they reach the maximum they have in mind. Here is somebody admitting this... http://ask.metafilter.com/47433/Psychology-of-Auctions So I don't really want to add to the liquidity in any auction with bidders like this that start out looking for a bargain and end up in a competitive fiscal pissing match. If I have a bid in well before auction end at my limit I risk provoking bidders like this to bid beyond what they originally had in mind as eBay will continuously outbid them to my maximum. If I snipe an auction with my maximum in the last 6 seconds I can rest assured that I haven't provoked any people to bid beyond their maximum and perhaps beyond mine. Regards, John -Original Message- From: meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com [mailto:meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Richard Kowalski Sent: March-17-10 4:58 PM To: meteorite list Subject: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so often, but much more often on the Daguerreotypes I bid on. The reason I was reminded of it was a lot I just lost out on. There wasn't just one sniper, but two. The both bid at the exact same time, 2 seconds before the auction ended... As I said, it doesn't mater that I lost the lot. It went for more than I was willing to pay, so I wouldn't have rebid even if I could. Possibly someone can explain what is gained by bidding like this instead of just bidding what you think it's worth and letting it go for that... I'd really like to see ebay eliminate this foolery. It'd be pretty simple. Any bids that occur within one minute of the closing time of the auction automatically resets the end time by 10 minutes, or 30 minutes. The snipers games are eliminated and the dealers (and ebay) gets more profits because the auction remains open for the bidding to continue to higher levels. Just like in a real live auction. Thanks -- Richard Kowalski Full Moon Photography IMCA #1081 __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com
[meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Hi Tom, Tom, really. As for the insult, who did I insult? I remember saying that people are getting ripped off if they use a sniper company to bid for them, cause the last time I check, eBay does that for you automatically till they reach your maximum bid. And that's how it works on eBay, i f you biiid the hiighes TOM. You win the item. But again, who am I you said yourself, So first you lay down a stupid insult and then you follow it up with Yoda wisdom? Tom your giving me a god laugh with the end at the end of your statement with the question mark. Any whos have a great night Tom LOL [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Starsinthedirt at aol.com Starsinthedirt at aol.com Thu Mar 18 00:42:00 EDT 2010 Previous message: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] First you say All I know is that people that use sniper programs are getting ripped off because eBay does the same thing for free. Shawn Alan Then you say So the morel to the story is, if you want the item, then you will do anything to get it. If this means you wait to the last seconds to bid, or hire a third party to bid for you, or put a max bid in a day before the bid ends, you do what ever it takes :) But at the end of the day what comes down to it is who placed the highest bid in the allotted time. Shawn Alan So first you lay down a stupid insult and then you follow it up with Yoda wisdom? Tom In a message dated 3/17/2010 10:31:00 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, photophlow at yahoo.com writes: Hello list again, I have been bidding and watching an item on eBay for the past few days and I wish I had gotton the 46g Norton Meteorite at $600 or so but that wasn't the case. Before I went down in the subway to go home I got on my phone to watch the clock tick on the eBay item I was wishing I could get but I knew It wasn't going to happen. As the clock went down the price stayed steady for the remaining 4 minutes. But it wasn't till the last few seconds that the price went from $800 to $850 and I thought to myself, WOW the winner is going to make a killing. In the back of my head I was wishing I was him/her but I don't have the leisure to spend that much on a meteorite. But when I thought it was over it wasn't and when the clock stopped the auction was over and the winning bidder got the Norton County meteorite at $1,225 not to mention its from Dr LaPaz estate, what a deal. Here is a link of the auction. http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBidsitem=230447906846showauto=t rue At any rate the winner got a great meteorite and did it smart. If I had money and I knew I would do anything to get it, I would place my bid at $3000, that's a guaranty that I would get, but again, it could lead to high costs if I have someone else that wants it more then me. So the morel to the story is, if you want the item, then you will do anything to get it. If this means you wait to the last seconds to bid, or hire a third party to bid for you, or put a max bid in a day before the bid ends, you do what ever it takes :) But at the end of the day what comes down to it is who placed the highest bid in the allotted time. Shawn Alan [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Richard Kowalski damoclid at yahoo.com Wed Mar 17 19:58:00 EDT 2010 Previous message: [meteorite-list] $122.23 per gram Next message: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so often, but much more often on the Daguerreotypes I bid on. The reason I was reminded of it was a lot I just lost out on. There wasn't just one sniper, but two. The both bid at the exact same time, 2 seconds before the auction ended... As I said, it doesn't mater that I lost the lot. It went for more than
Re: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality
Hey Richard, My expertise is ART, moderan art Once at a online Auction. I seen a painting, That I knew was a $5,000.-$7,000. painting. The est. was only $100.-200. dollars, I knew this painting was placed in the wrong category at this auction. So, most people did not go into this category looking for good paintings! But I knew a few might! So I waited, till the end of the auction, and put in my bid, seconds before it ended! I got this painting for only $168.00 dollars. When it comes to collecting, If you know the value of what is for sale! (or just love it, and have to have it) and you know it is under valued, (if you really want it cheap) YOU SNIPE IT! ME myself could never afford to pay gallery price! I do not know enough about meteorites, and am not in the position to do so now, But if I could, YES, ON A, ON LINE AUCTION, THAT I KNEW WAS selling at a fraction of the price ...i would snipe every time. Only because of my life-long art research, and these opportunities, is my a apt. a little modern art museum. I wish 25 years ago I know about meteorites! Dave Myers --- On Wed, 3/17/10, Richard Kowalski damoc...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Richard Kowalski damoc...@yahoo.com Subject: [meteorite-list] The Sniper Mentality To: meteorite list meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 11:58 PM This mentality, waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, is something I just don't get. Maybe someone can explain it to me. I bid for lots on ebay just like I do when I bid at a real auction. I set in my head what I believe the value of an item and what I have available in my budget to bid for that item. I then bid that much and no more. If I get the item, great. If not, someone wanted it more and we're willing to pay more for the item... While I will sometimes raise my ebay bid a little before the end of the auction, I really don't understand the idea of sitting there and in the last second or two, to try to jam in bids high enough to win the item. Do snipers really want the item or are they just trying to screw others out of the item? Are they just trying to get the item at a lower price, thinking that their competitors will just rebid again, upping the price? I see this on meteorite auctions every so often, but much more often on the Daguerreotypes I bid on. The reason I was reminded of it was a lot I just lost out on. There wasn't just one sniper, but two. The both bid at the exact same time, 2 seconds before the auction ended... As I said, it doesn't mater that I lost the lot. It went for more than I was willing to pay, so I wouldn't have rebid even if I could. Possibly someone can explain what is gained by bidding like this instead of just bidding what you think it's worth and letting it go for that... I'd really like to see ebay eliminate this foolery. It'd be pretty simple. Any bids that occur within one minute of the closing time of the auction automatically resets the end time by 10 minutes, or 30 minutes. The snipers games are eliminated and the dealers (and ebay) gets more profits because the auction remains open for the bidding to continue to higher levels. Just like in a real live auction. Thanks -- Richard Kowalski Full Moon Photography IMCA #1081 __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
