[time-nuts] OT: eBay bidding question

[Neon John]

On Thu, 26 Apr 2007 10:35:48 -0500, "Jason Rabel"
<jason at extremeoverclocking.com> wrote:

>Some people put the maximum amount they are willing to pay and let it ride.
>Others like to bid in smaller amounts (and maybe more impulse bidders).

And then there are people like me who either manually snipe or use
automatic snipping agents.  Sniping is the process of bidding at
literally the last second, timed so that no one else can come back and
out-bid you.  Snipping agents, third parties who do the snipping for
you either for free or for a small fee, are generally the best way to
go.  You don't have to remember to monitor the end of auction and they
usually have a fatter pipe to the net than you do,  though 10MB
dsl/cable pipes have mostly wiped out that advantage.

I use an agent that gets my bid in from 1 to 5 seconds before the
auction closes and only charges the modest fee if the snipe wins.  I
very seldom do sleazebay anymore but my overall history shows about an
80% win rate.

For the kind of stuff I'm interested in (couldn't imagine putting 4
Large on an as-is instrument), bidding ahead of the end time simply
runs up the ultimate price.  I would frequently get things for the
starting bid.  I've observed that many time, nothing happens until
someone finally puts in that starting bid.  It's like a red flag in
front of the bull.  If that flag manages to not get waved early then
the price usually stays reasonable.

John
---
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
Cleveland, Occupied TN
All great things are simple and many can be expressed in single words:
Freedom, Justice, Honor, Duty, Mercy, Hope.  -Churchill