Auction "Sniping" Does Anyone Really Care?

booger

Regarding gunbroker auctions, but I guess it applies to all, but do sellers really care? They've decided the opening bid, reserve(if any), etc., and as long as they get the money does it really matter? It's inevitably a higher bid, so mo money, right?

At one time there seemed to be greater emphasis on this as bad manners but it would appear to be S.O.P. (standard operating procedure).

I've done it a few times and it seems to be a good "poker" stratedgy (not showing your hand) for the me the buyer but I don't want to be a #1 A-hole.

Them ducks is wary.

n/a

Here on Gunbroker you cant "SNIPE" because of the 15 minute rule, that eliminates the practice..

I bid in the last 2 minutes of an auction here, the auction was extended by fifteen minutes, another person outbid me, and it was extended for another 15 minutes, it went on for over 2 hours that way.. I finally gave up...as I could buy the item new for what was being bid..


"It is hard to soar with Eagles when your surrounded by Turkeys"

"I dont care how thin you make a pancake, it still has two sides"

"A wise man is a man that realizes just how little he knows.

select-fire

Look at the money Fleabay is losing by not having a 15 min rule.

D@D

Depends on if I'm the seller or buyer. If I'm selling I say go for it, if I'm buying you better not[8D]. Just kidding it don't bother me.

offeror

It's not bad manners, it just ticks some people off. It works better over on eBay where the deadline is hard; here it just extends the auction another 15 minutes. It is now a routine part of the online auction experience, like it or not -- just as mass marketers with Hong Kong distributors are. Nobody enjoys being sniped, and even snipers get sniped quite often, but all it means is that the item wasn't going as cheap as you all thought it was. If you are comfortable with your maximum bid, whether you snipe or not, you can take satisfaction, as I do, that the sniper paid too much.

T. Jefferson: "[When doing Constitutional interpretation], let us [go] back to the time when [it] was adopted. [Rather than] invent a meaning [let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."

NRA Life Member

mudge

Yeah, the way GB handles it is, in my opinion, the best way to do it.
I buy very few things on e-bay because of their lack of the 15 minute rule. I'll usually only buy things on e-bay that are "buy it now" if I'm willing to pay their price.

Mudge the bidder

I can't come to work today. The voices said, STAY HOME AND CLEAN THE GUNS!<BR>

Rebel_James

As a buyer I don't like the 15 minute rule on GB. I sell a few items on GB, and it doesn't really matter to me one way or the other. I start my auctions at my bottom dollar anyway.

On fleabay I've 'sniped' quite a few parts/accessories for my Harley. The best sniping deal I got there was a gas tank for $270.00, including shipping. The best deal I'd found elsewhere for the same gas tank was $325.00, plus shipping. My local dealer wanted $425.00, plus tax. So, on that one deal alone I saved at least $55.00.

Being a 'fleabay sniper' is not being a #1 A-Hole. It's my money. JMHO.





"The Greatest Battle Implement Ever Devised!"
-- Gen. George S. Patton
referring to the M1 Garand

reb8600

Selling or buying it dont bother me. When I bid, I bid my highest and if someone snipes it with a higher bid then so be it. Sniping dont work any better than bidding your mas right at the start. If someones sniping bid isnt higher than yours they dont get it anyway.

Guncontrol-The ability to hit what your aiming at.

Bert H.

I completely agree with both offeror and reb8600...

If you are really interested in the item, simply place a single proxy bid for the maximum you feel it is worth, and let it ride. Many of those "snipers" trying to bid it out from under me in the last 30 seconds of the auction run out of time trying to find my proxy bid amount, or if they are using a program like eSnipe, they either max out their bid, or end up getting the item for a premium.

Bert H.

Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!

Henry0Reilly

Doesn't bother me a bit, in fact, snipers welcome at either of these:

http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=17951418

http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=17986103

and especially this one:

http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=17730836

(hint, it will take $59.96 to outbid me on the Winchester)



Semper Fi

Remember Ruby Ridge.

Experience is the best teacher and usually charges accordingly.

deerhntr

I bid the Maximum the gun is worth to me and thats it, Most of these
"snipers" get caught up in the emotional/competive part of bidding
and wind up going way past thier price cap, I have seen MANY of these snipers Bidding up to store retail just to "win" and thats just stupid IMO.
Unless of coures i am the seller[;)]

---

"NOW GO HOME AND GET YOUR BLANKIN SHINE BOX!"
(Billy Batts in Goodfellas)

p3skyking

I enjoy the sniping. I use (sometimes) a stopwatch, a radio controlled clock, and my wife's computer if it's something I REALLY want.

I bid my max that I would pay. At 10 seconds before the auction ends, I launch. As long as I have high bid and the phone lines don't drop off the pole, the item is mine. Doesn't work here though. Love to sell here though. Just put some goodies on tonight!

Men have passed on...knowledge...yet in politcs, statecraft, and social relationships we continue to repeat old mistakes.
It is a thing I must remember, that men must always remember, that civilization is a flimsy cloak, and just outside are hunger, thirst, and cold.....waiting. L'Amour

interstatepawnllc

SNIPING is "The Breakfast of Champions"[:D]






JC

Ted Kennedy's breath has killed more people than my car.

Iconoclast

Don't much care for snipers or reservists, but they come with the territory, so I try not to let them bother me. Every so often, I have the opportunity as a seller to make life a little uncomfortable for a sniper and I do enjoy it when I do (e.g., ending an auction early if there have been no bids and then re-listing the item at a higher price will sometimes flush the bottom fishers out [}:)]). Almost never bid on any item with a reserve, just as I won't ask about a price at a show if the seller doesn't mark his stuff . . . WAY too many use this as a technique to ascertain the market and after a few times through the cycle, they list a price slightly above the highest bid made previously. I also know one guy who lists his stuff only in a reserve format, with a reserve 50% to 200% over the normal sales point (this is collector ammo) and then takes great amusement in watching people chasing the reserve. As others have said, I'll place my max bid and forget about it.

"There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain) ". . . And liberals / DemoWipes" (me)

bluegoose11

I snipe I find auctions that have 5 or 6 days left put in my snipe bid and go to work driving my truck when I get home I check to see if I'v won or not seem if I put in a proxy bid someone just has to prove they can outbid me

wizard78

I hate an auction where the person I'm bidding against, has time to think if they want to re-bid a higher amount. I like bidding at the last moment. I bid my max amount, and if it's mine, great. If the person I'm bidding against has a higher limit, then it's his. Done. With GB, I put in my highest amount, and the person I'm bidding against has 15 minutes to decide if they want to go higher! That sucks! If they wanted it, they should just bid their highest amount! I've had to change my bidding style here on GB. (Except for the benefit auctions, where I went back and forth bidding) I wait for the last 15 minutes, put in my highest amount, and walk away until the auction is done. I'm not tempted to rebid, done! [8D]

[img][/img]
Fight Crime, Shoot First

n/a

Doesn't matter to me. Bid what you will pay. If someone comes in at the last minute and outbids you, so be it. If you set your max and it gets exceeded oh well.

"We become what we habitually do. If we act rightly, we become upright men. If we habitually act wrongly, or weakly, we become weak and corrupt" - *ARISTOTLE*

**Like Grandad used to say--"It'll feel better when it quits hurtin"

Cyberdyne systems

I always wait until the last 5 minutes or less to bid to prevent a bidding war..

one time I bid on a video and got into a bidding war on ebay and the other guy ended up paying a lot more than the video was worth. Thats why people snipe or wait until the end to bid. Sniping works best during the non peak hours when most people are asleep, if an auction ends at 2:00 am you have less competition comapred to 6 or 8 pm when more people are watching it.

"TALK TO THE HAND"

steeltoe1978

If people would simply bid the MAX they are willing to pay, it wouldn't matter. Bid what you are willing to pay for an item and that's all you can do. If you lose by a buck, well you lose because you weren't willing to spend that dollar in the first place. It's that simple. There is no reason to get upset over a bid sniper. The only good thing about bid sniping is that it helps the buyer be certain that one of the seller's buddies isn't on the other end jacking up the price of the auction. For example. I see a gun on gunbroker with an opening bid of $100 that I want but nobody else is interested in. It has 0 bids and 5 minutes left. I put in a bid for $200 which is the max I am willing to spend on it, and the time remaining is raised to 15 mins. Meanwhile the seller's buddy sees this and bids against me for no reason but to raise my bid. Now I am auto-bid up, possibly to my max of $200. As long as the seller's buddy doesn't auto bid me over $200, I am stuck paying more for the item that I could have gotten for less. If I were able to bid snipe the item, I would be able to throw my bid in for the $100 at the last few seconds and hope that I get it for that price. In a way, bid sniping protects buyers from having to deal with bidding against the seller's buddies who are just trying to jack up the price. My .02

tapwater

Cripes, it's an AUCTION, not a "for sale" sign...I don't believe in sniping, it's called bidding...No different than a live auction...

The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

vafranko

Sniping does not bother me and I have been through many eBay auctions. My method may not work for some but I put a limit on how much I want to spend. Put that in and forget about it. Another something like it will be around again sooner or later. On rare occassions do I get in bidding war.

nunn

Personally, I think the "15 minute rule" on Gunbroker makes the auctions more like live auctions. It can keep going and going as long as bids keep coming in.

But then, I am mostly a seller, so have a different perspective than some of you who are buyers only.

SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net

mateomasfeo

quote:Auction "Sniping" Does Anyone Really Care?

No





Mateomasfeo

"I am what I am!" - Popeye

beachmaster73

CMP uses the 15 minute rule ontheir auctions...gets to be pretty fun watching the last gun go on a sunday. Personally I usually wait until the bitter end of the auction and launch the highest bid I think I would want to pay.....if its high enough I get the item if not then someoneelse wanted it more...it's that simple. I learned this from initially bidding to get the bargain and seeing someone else get it for $5 more than my "greatt bargain bid"...After a few "darn I wish I had bid $20 more!!" thoughts I changed my bidding style. I missed out on a Nikonos Vcamera and underwater flash recently because I went for the cheap out....The Nikonos I bid on next had a lot of extra reserve bid into it and I still got it at a bargain. Beach

bambihunter

I almost always just bid what I'm going to bid, then walk away and not look at it until it's over. My wife gets drawn into the bidding frenzy and she's been known to spend too much in the heat of "battle".
I don't care if people auction snipe, I won't be watching anyway...