Crazy bidders on eBay

[Anonymous]

Maybe I didn't say it right. I meant the Ebay bidders.

QUOTE: Originally posted by davekelly

QUOTE: Originally posted by BigRedneckRob

I know. Ebay has really pissed me off. I tried to sell my Powerstroke truck because my wife is sick, and will be out of work for a while...possibly for good. It's an '04 F250 4x4 with 23,000 miles on it and the auction ended at under 11,000 bucks.......without meeting my reserve, of course. This truck still holds a NADA trade in value of more then 31000 bucks. Go figure.

Rob,

I can understand your frustration, but I hardly think it's ebay's fault.

[cnw4001]

eBay is not the only place where stuff sells for inflated prices. Auctions in general are places where "I've got to have it" overrides any consideration of value. Have seen this time and time again at live auctions.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Darth Santa Fe

QUOTE: Originally posted by EMT49

snipe bidding is for ******** thay should all be banned from ebay

Ahem. Does that mean I should be banned also? Sniping has helped me win a few auctions.[:D] I'm not trying to start an argument, but there are people on this website who use Auction Sniper, like me.[:)] Some may be
offended by your response.

the post was not ment to offend i'm sorry . it's was ment more for the off ebay web pages that hack into ebay. if you want somethin you should sit in front of your computer just like the rest of us.

[Rotorranch]

I love eBay! [^][;)][:D]

Rotor

[jfugate]

Ban snipers?

High bid wins, if it's made in the last 5 seconds or was made 5 days ago ... and if you lose the bid because the other guy outbid you, so be it -- regardless of how recently he placed his bid.

It's a part of the strategy of the auction process, and there are lots of losers for every winner, so get used to it. [;)]

Losing is not the end of the world -- and many things matter more than winning or losing some ebay auction.

[1shado1]

QUOTE: Originally posted by EMT49

QUOTE: Originally posted by Darth Santa Fe

QUOTE: Originally posted by EMT49

snipe bidding is for ******** thay should all be banned from ebay

Ahem. Does that mean I should be banned also? Sniping has helped me win a few auctions.[:D] I'm not trying to start an argument, but there are people on this website who use Auction Sniper, like me.[:)] Some may be
offended by your response.

the post was not ment to offend i'm sorry . it's was ment more for the off ebay web pages that hack into ebay. if you want somethin you should sit in front of your computer just like the rest of us.

Maybe some of us don't have as much time to sit in front of the computer as you do. And just who is "the rest of us"? The remaining minority that DON'T snipe to win items?

[Anonymous]

Here's the way I see it, and I've bee on Ebay about five years now. I consider a sniper someone who has software that enables them to outbid another bidder literally two seconds before an auction's end. I think that's wrong. Here's what I do: I look for things I want on Ebay. When I find something, I save it to my favorites and keep watching it. If it stays in my price range, I still keep watching it. I won't bid until literally less then one minute away from auction close. I don't use any sniper programs, though, and will not. It's not fair. Maybe some people do have more time to sit in front of the computer. If you really want something, you need to make it a priority. I have lost maybe three bids in five years. I've gotten hate mail. Maybe I deserved it. The fact is, until Ebay makes last minute bidding illegal by their standards, all's fair.

[1shado1]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BigRedneckRob

Here's the way I see it, and I've bee on Ebay about five years now. I consider a sniper someone who has software that enables them to outbid another bidder literally two seconds before an auction's end. I think that's wrong. Here's what I do: I look for things I want on Ebay. When I find something, I save it to my favorites and keep watching it. If it stays in my price range, I still keep watching it. I won't bid until literally less then one minute away from auction close. I don't use any sniper programs, though, and will not. It's not fair. Maybe some people do have more time to sit in front of the computer. If you really want something, you need to make it a priority. I have lost maybe three bids in five years. I've gotten hate mail. Maybe I deserved it. The fact is, until Ebay makes last minute bidding illegal by their standards, all's fair.

Hey Rob,
I understand your point, but sometimes it's difficult to make something I want on Ebay a priority. I don't think my boss would appreciate me calling in to work saying I was either going to be late, or not coming in at all because I need to bid on an Ebay item. And I don't see where using sniper software is unfair. The fact that free sniper software is available for ANYONE to use DOES make it fair. If it was only available for use by a select few, then it would be unfair. Of course, this is only MY opinion.

[Anonymous]

I understand. Maybe I should open up an Ebay bidding business. Charge maybe a percentage of the winning bid?

QUOTE: Originally posted by 1shado1

QUOTE: Originally posted by BigRedneckRob

Here's the way I see it, and I've bee on Ebay about five years now. I consider a sniper someone who has software that enables them to outbid another bidder literally two seconds before an auction's end. I think that's wrong. Here's what I do: I look for things I want on Ebay. When I find something, I save it to my favorites and keep watching it. If it stays in my price range, I still keep watching it. I won't bid until literally less then one minute away from auction close. I don't use any sniper programs, though, and will not. It's not fair. Maybe some people do have more time to sit in front of the computer. If you really want something, you need to make it a priority. I have lost maybe three bids in five years. I've gotten hate mail. Maybe I deserved it. The fact is, until Ebay makes last minute bidding illegal by their standards, all's fair.

Hey Rob,
I understand your point, but sometimes it's difficult to make something I want on Ebay a priority. I don't think my boss would appreciate me calling in to work saying I was either going to be late, or not coming in at all because I need to bid on an Ebay item. And I don't see where using sniper software is unfair. The fact that free sniper software is available for ANYONE to use DOES make it fair. If it was only available for use by a select few, then it would be unfair. Of course, this is only MY opinion.

[Anonymous]

Ive only purchased on ebay twice the first item was shipped but ended up at my parents house( my fault, I hadn't looked at ebay since I moved out) and I also ordered a P2K NYC S-1 Switcher, still hasn't gotten here and I don't really know whats going on, do ebay sellers have to notify you when it's shipped or can they just ship it? the first order came with a message from paypal when it was shipped, I haven't gotten a message for the second item yet.

[sebamat]

Snipping is only as good as long you outbid the others. I won more than once against snipers just because my max bid was more that what they were ready to pay.
If you see the item's last bid at 25$ does not mean you will get it for 26! (I allways had more than one competitor).
But clearly I am speaking as a collector that JUST WANT THIS ITEM!!! and it is about stuff it would not show up again so easily .
I am still kicking myself for failing to get a custom painted IC GP7 modified as passenger engine with torpedo air tanks for 1$ at 55$ (a lousy amount..now I would offer 80-90). Never seen again. And really proud of my Bev bel IC cars I overpaid if compared at the 'old time selling price' (and again never shoved up again).

I find ebay a beautiful way to find things I did not even know they existed. For normal 'plain jane' engines and cars I just bid as long as they are a lot cheaper than Trainworld selling price (taking acount of S&H, that are mostly cheaper from privates as from professional sellers).

But is is as allways: know your market and discriminate what is a 'once in your life' occasion and what will show up next wek again.

Sebastiano

an IC fan against all odds!

[BRAKIE]

Guys,I have seen "Buy It Now" prices at full MSRPs.I seen common and available cars and engines go for prices higher then MSRP and higher then some local discount hobby shops or on line discount hobby shops...Naw,some folks is so wrap up in e bay they think they're getting a good deal when in all truth they are paying more or near MSRP when you add the shipping costs in..
Don't believe me? Check for yourself.

[Anonymous]

I just killed my e-Bay account - although I bought 30+ locos and cars thru e-Bay when I was starting out, I haven't bought anything in over a year. My few remaining locos and rolling stock I will either pre-order thru MTS or get at my LHS.

Future threads I can now avoid: e-Bay, MTH and bash UP.

I assume that there are others .......

[1shado1]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jadormdrache

Ive only purchased on ebay twice the first item was shipped but ended up at my parents house( my fault, I hadn't looked at ebay since I moved out) and I also ordered a P2K NYC S-1 Switcher, still hasn't gotten here and I don't really know whats going on, do ebay sellers have to notify you when it's shipped or can they just ship it? the first order came with a message from paypal when it was shipped, I haven't gotten a message for the second item yet.

Sellers and buyers are not REQUIRED to communicate at all, actually. I have purchased things off of ebay from folks with a 25,000 positive feedback rating, and these people are obviously selling on ebay for a living, not to just unload some junk from the garage. I figure people like this are busy enough without needlessly having to read or respond to unneccesary emails. When I win an item, I'll immediately pay via Paypal, which provides the seller my shipping address. No need for me to bother the seller otherwise. My item usually arrives within 2 weeks of payment. I post feedback, and the seller posts feedback. A painless transaction for both, without needless (and time consuming)conversation.
How did you pay for the item that you are waiting for? How long ago did you pay for it?

[Anonymous]

You are so right.

QUOTE: Originally posted by BRAKIE

Guys,I have seen "Buy It Now" prices at full MSRPs.I seen common and available cars and engines go for prices higher then MSRP and higher then some local discount hobby shops or on line discount hobby shops...Naw,some folks is so wrap up in e bay they think they're getting a good deal when in all truth they are paying more or near MSRP when you add the shipping costs in..
Don't believe me? Check for yourself.

[Berk-fan284]

Crazy bidders- I am guilty of it on a couple of occassions I got into a couple of bidding wars when competition overode common sense.? Snipers - fact of life get used to it, I'm one of those "fools" that uses proxy bidding because I work nights so 95% of the auctions end while I'm at work and nowadays I have a better idea of how much I am willing to pay and a rough idea on how "rare" it really is or isn't. I have only ever seen 1 Rivarossi HO scale DM&IR YELLOWSTONE on ebay and I was fortunate enough to win it. Pretty well everthing else has shown up eventually on ebay again and often in better shape for a better price.

[Anonymous]

I think the most sane approach to bidding on EBay is by proxy. You simply bid the maximum you're be willing to pay and forget it. If someone else is willing to pay more, so be it.

If someone "snipes" my bid, the fact that it's at the last second is irrelevant. It could have been two days earlier for all I care. I'm not going to pay more than what I think it's worth. Today, next week, or 2 seconds before an auction ends.

Mike Tennent

[palallin]

As a seller, I always post feedback when the payment hits. As a buyer, I refuse to post feedback till after the buyer has. Feedback on the buyer should be dependent soley on the arrival of the payment, not held hostage by the seller in order to garner positive feedback from the buyer.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by EMT49

QUOTE: Originally posted by EMT49

QUOTE: Originally posted by jfugate

With over 100 million bidders on ebay, you can expect a few of them to be irrational.

It's the irrational bidders that blow the proxy bidding model out of the water on ebay. That's why its best NOT to bid on an item until the last possible moment. Otherwise you run the risk of irrational bidders seeing your interest, and then repeatedly incremental bidding on the item, driving the price up to unreasonable levels.

If you snipe bid (as last minute bidding is affectionately called by seasoned ebayers) then you run the best chance of getting the item at a more reasonable price, in the price range you were willing to pay. http://auctionsniper.com enables you to snipe bid automatically so you don't have to physically babysit the item to place your last minute bid.

snipe bidding is for a@$holes thay should all be banned from ebay

I for one enjoy sniping. I don't use any snipe bidding software, I just wait until 30 seconds and bid. It's how I win all my items from stupid people who think they can bid and walk away and win it.[:p] Hey, it's a tough world out there......

[Anonymous]

Mike is right.

If you set a max proxy bid, no sniper in the world can beat you - unless they out bid your max amount.

And if that is the case, then you really didn't want it for any higher price, did you ????

Worked for me in over 30 buys.

But as I said, I don't need e-Bay anymore - too little remaining to get, so will just order those items direct from ModelTrainStuff or buy at my LHS !

Just got the "account being deleted" e-mail from e-Bay.

[AntonioFP45]

Common sense that this will happen occasionally with harder to find items.I've been a sniper and have been sniped. So if you are sniped.....you're sniped! Move on! Unless it's an ultra rare item.......another item will show up sooner or later.

I waited til the last minute to bid on an Atlas SCL U36C. Being that it was 2:a.m, I thought that "It was in the bag!" [;)] Not so. I was sniped and the winner beat me by .50 cents! [:0] Total price with shipping was $55. I sighed and thought "I hope he enjoys it."

But then......about 2 weeks later there was another one up for bid. I got it for $47 dollars! Wala! Wala! [:D][8D] Not bad for a locomotive that retails for $90+ at local hobby shops. So this was a case where "being sniped" benefited me! [:)]

Still though, I firmly stand on that if the LHS has that item for a few more dollars; please.....by all means support that LHS. I purchase my items at Happy Hobo Trains as often as possible. I one day discovered that a P2K unit that I happily paid $60 for on ebay, Happy Hobo Trains had an identical locomotive on sale for $51! I wanted to slap myself silly. [D)] Top it off, some of these ebay sellers' shipping charges for small items have gotten ridiculous! $10, $12, $14, etc for shipping USPS?! Someone's padding their pockets. I've found that in many cases with Ebay bids, when the cost of shipping is added in, the difference between Ebay and the hobby shop has been usually under 10 bucks! I'd rather give Kevin a reason to stay in business as his shop is one of the finest here in Florida.

Peace!

[Anonymous]

Antonio has a good point - always factor in the shipping price when setting your max proxy bid !!

For example, if the max you want to pay for the item is $60 and the shipping is $10, I would make my max proxy bid $50. If the shipping price is too outrageous, forget the item and bid on another one later !!!

[dwRavenstar]

Imagine for a moment that you're at a live auction. The item you saw before the start of the auction is coming up somewhere in the next three offerings. Your bladder is about to burst but your wife is sitting next to you. Before leaving for the head you ask her to bid on the item if you can't get back; telling her what your ceiling price would be. The actual auction starts at the moment of the initial bid and can close at a moment's notice. When you return and find that your max bid was beaten do you accept the fact you wouldn't have wanted it that badly, berate the wife for doing exactly as you'd said or look for the guy who outbid you by a few dollars and invite him to bring it out to the parking lot?

I've always considered Ebay auctions start with the final five minutes of the offering time. You're either on your toes or out on your backside if you don't play the game well enough. "Sniping" is a bad thing if you leave for the john and let the wife running the show as per your instructions but if you enter your max bid, either days or seconds before the end of the auction you've taken your stand and must accept the consequences, good or bad.

You've gotta "Keep yer HOYA! (head outta yer backside) and after the fact remember that tears contain salt and that could ruin even the most premium beer.

Dave (dwRavenstar)

[jfugate]

Mathematical computer models of ebay auctions show that bidding your maximum moments before close results in winning the item at a lower price.

You want to win the item *AND* pay the lowest price to win -- right?

Early proxy bidding only works if no irrational bidders happen upon the item. Out of 100 million ebayers, irrational bidders abound, and if you've placed an early proxy bid, they will repeatedly incrememtally bid and drive the item price up on you, making you pay more than you would have had to pay if you had waited until the end of the auction to do a snipe bid.

Take NOTE: you may still win the item with an early proxy bid, but if you bid the same exact amount as a snipe bid you usually pay less for the item.

[SpaceMouse]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jfugate

Mathematical computer models of ebay auctions show that bidding your maximum moments before close results in winning the item at a lower price.

You want to win the item *AND* pay the lowest price to win -- right?

Early proxy bidding only works if no irrational bidders happen upon the item. Out of 100 million ebayers, irrational bidders abound, and if you've placed an early proxy bid, they will repeatedly incrememtally bid and drive the item price up on you, making you pay more than you would have had to pay if you had waited until the end of the auction to do a snipe bid.

Take NOTE: you may still win the item with an early proxy bid, but if you bid the same exact amount as a snipe bid you usually pay less for the item.

Dang Joe, I was reading this last page thinking someone aught to say what you just did, then before I could say it you beat me to it--and threw in statistics as well.

Dang.

[Anonymous]

Mellow Mike is getting a pretty good price out of his latest effort.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Custom-Weathered-TTX-Spine-Car-Set-UPS-Trailers_W0QQitemZ5989346251QQcategoryZ19141QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Pretty sweet unit to be sure, but not sure whether I could really go $400 + for it.

But there aren't only crazy bidders on eBay, there are some goofy sellers too. Last year I was high bidder on an auction at $25, but it didn't meet the reserve price. So they relisted it, and the second time I was high bidder at $27, but it still didn't exceed the reserve. Then they listed it a third time without a reserve, and I won it for just $19...felt like I got a bargain on that one![8D]

[Derailedtoosoon]

Watch some of the model train retailers sites on E-Bay. Anyone can buy the same product in their store or on their store's web site for less than the final E-Bay bid, most of the time.

[Todd McWilliam]

I swa an idiot pay 122.00 for an Athearn GP35 RTR Reading straight out of the box, no extra details. First hobby sells them for 57.00.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Mathematical computer models of ebay auctions show that bidding your maximum moments before close results in winning the item at a lower price

Could you post a reference? That sounds interesting and I'd like to read more.

Mike Tennent

[davekelly]

Joe,

I think the a report concerning the computer modeling would be a very interesting read! I would be especially interested to see how the modelers handled the great "unknown" - human nature - what I call the "wow, if I only bid $2.00 more I might win it" factor. I always thought ebay would make for a fantastic socialogy or shrinkology thesis. I love ebay. Not just for what I buy, but from just seeing what's out there and what people are wanting to buy. Ebay proves that "one man's junk is another man's treasure." Every time I start to shake my head at something there - I'm reminded of the Pet Rock mania. Who'd of thunk that? I guess I don't look at it as "what an idiot" but rather proof that the human factor is what makes life fun!