That Ebay Addiction

[Crazycoonass]

Okay, so you get home from work and tell yourself you're not going to do it, that u wont click on that link in your favorites go to Ebay. You tell yourself that your just gonna check your Email and get right off... but... the little icon is just to much to resist...

"So" you say to yourself. "It wont hurt just to look, will it?" So you go ahead and double click that shiny little icon and enter the biggest flea market on the planet.

You click on the link under your saved searches, after all a few minutes wont hurt... right?

You start to browse, just looking, yeah... thats all your doing, just a little window shopping. . . Then... you see it! It doesnt have a big fancy name on it. Its not a Dunhill or a Stanwell, it doesnt have a name at all, besides you know all those top brands are out of your price range anyway...

But this one, the grain on the bowl is glistening in the light, not a char, chip, or fill to be found on her sexy, smooth curves... shes like a cheap whore, one wearing Fredricks of Hollywood instead of Victoria's Secret, but still, theres something about her... You just have to have her...

So you look and see theres only a few short hours left in the auction, the price is only 9.99 with no bidders, you say to yourself, "Yeah, I can afford that, mabey even 15.00 or so..." So you do it, you make your bid knowing the risk, knowing that 15.00 is your limit, you make your choice and sign your contract...

Now the hard part starts, you try to distract yourself by doing housework or watching tv... but you cant help checking, feverishly looking over and over every few minutes as the time ticks by.

Its almost over now, you cant belive that your the only bidder, you're gonna have this peice of art, its been the only thing on your mind...

You watch the screen... 5min... 3min... 1min!!! Tick, tock, tick, tock... 30sec... Its yours, you know it... you're drooling at the thought of haveing this sexy beast in your collection, at your beck and call...!

20sec... 15... 10... 5... WAIT! NOOOOOOOOO! You scream in anguish! Pounding your fist apon the desk in uncontrollable, impotent rage! There, at the bottom of the screen in big red letters, silently mocking you... the horrible reality of the situation... you got outbid by 50 lousey cents... You know now why they dont let you know the identity of the other bidders, for you would shurely enact some sort of horrible revenge apon them...

But its over, you hang your head in shame... defeated by an opponent you will never know...

You sigh, turn off your PC and get ready for bed... "Not

again" you tell yourself for the hundredth time in a row,

"Tommorrow, I will just check my Email and get off..."

[basko]

Originally Posted by Crazycoonass

20sec... 15... 10... 5... WAIT! NOOOOOOOOO! You scream in anguish! Pounding your fist apon the desk in uncontrollable, impotent rage! There, at the bottom of the screen in big red letters, silently mocking you... the horrible reality of the situation... you got outbid by 50 lousey cents... You know now why they dont let you know the identity of the other bidders, for you would shurely enact some sort of horrible revenge apon them...

"

LOL!!! How true!

[mrsmitty]

For me its more of... 30sec, 20, 10, 5... Hit confirm bid (internet freezes) screaming every curse word in the book. Then to add injury to insult the item sold for well below what your highest bid was for.

[Jack Straw]

Originally Posted by mrsmitty

For me its more of... 30sec, 20, 10, 5... Hit confirm bid (internet freezes) screaming every curse word in the book. Then to add injury to insult the item sold for well below what your highest bid was for.

eBay Auction Sniper at Powersnipe.com

Edit - nvm, I think that site used to be free. I'm sure there's another free one out there now.

[gjcab09]

Originally Posted by Jack Straw

eBay Auction Sniper at Powersnipe.com

Edit - nvm, I think that site used to be free. I'm sure there's another free one out there now.

Now that's just plain cheatin', if you're gonna snipe, you oughta be looking through the scope when you pull the trigger!

Just my

[mrsmitty]

I think eBay should put a stop to that crap to be honest with you. Someone shouldn't be able to out bid someone with only 1 second remaining because they have software the will auto bid for you, takes the competition out of the eBay experience. You can't go to a real auction and do that lol. For instance I bid on a digital camera it got outbid literally with a second to go, and it was someone with over 2,000 ratings so I suspect they had auto bidding software. Makes me sick.

[Lefty]

This has happened to me twice. Except in reverse.

I bid early and low thinking I wouldn't win, no way no how. Low and behold as soon as I've forgot about it and moved on...BLAMO! I won.

I did lose out on a nice Pete once. And it came down to the wire.

[Jack Straw]

See here's the thing for me. If you are willing to pay more than $15 for something, than bid more than $15. If someone else wants it, and happens to bid more money at the last second, that's up to them. Personally I just bid like a normal person, and if someone else wants it more, they get it. Ebay is not supposed to work like a normal auction - you are not supposed to have to keep raising your max bid - it is supposed to be exactly that, your max bid, which it autobids up to.

[mrsmitty]

Originally Posted by Jack Straw

See here's the thing for me. If you are willing to pay more than $15 for something, than bid more than $15. If someone else wants it, and happens to bid more money at the last second, that's up to them. Personally I just bid like a normal person, and if someone else wants it more, they get it.

I totally agree. But only if they are bidding like most of us, without auto bidding programs.

[basko]

Originally Posted by mrsmitty

I think eBay should put a stop to that crap to be honest with you.

Gunbroker (an online gun auction) uses a 15 minute rule. Meaning the last bid has to be uncontested for 15 minutes before the auction will end. In my opinion that's a fair way to do it.

[gjcab09]

Originally Posted by basko

Gunbroker (an online gun auction) uses a 15 minute rule. Meaning the last bid has to be uncontested for 15 minutes before the auction will end. In my opinion that's a fair way to do it.

That's a cool idea, I like that.

[MarkC]

As long as everyone knows the rules going in, I don't see the problem. An auction that ends at a set time seems fair to me if everyone knows this is the way it is. Of course, I like making my bid with ten seconds left as well; enough time for the other bidders to see what happened but not enough to react...

[gjcab09]

Originally Posted by MarkC

As long as everyone knows the rules going in, I don't see the problem. An auction that ends at a set time seems fair to me if everyone knows this is the way it is. Of course, I like making my bid with ten seconds left as well; enough time for the other bidders to see what happened but not enough to react...

I don't have a problem with "snipe" bidding per se, I just think it's wrong to use a program, or a service to do it.

[bfox]

I enjoy being the Sniper not the Snipee !

Bill

[Jack Straw]

I simply do not get this hangup.

What does it matter when someone bids? Why is it "cheating?"

The fact that someone uses a sniper should have no bearing on whether or not you win the auction. The dollar amount of their max bid will, but not the timing of it.