I was going to ask if it was one of those experiences where you get outbid...only to feel slightly relieved.   I know I have had a few of those.

I had had one auction where I did nto read it well and bid much higher then the stuff was worth. However I got lucky nd a last moment sniper jumped the auction by $30 to win the auction at just over three times what you could buy the stuff new for. I was very relieved and greatful for his silly over bid to snip the auction.  

Daniel

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"Every Man is a But Spark in the Darkness"
              - Cities of Death, page 59

Come fight me, if you dare...... http://dd-janks.mybrute.com

I'm watching an Epic item on eBay ... 1st bid was $7.50, 2nd - $10, 3rd - some moron inbread trailer trash kicks it up to $30 !?!?!    Idiot !!!  Then another bids to $35 ... now idiot, the same moron who did bid 3 for $30 now bid to $36.50 ...  Did I miss something !?!?!  Why did that inbread window licker take the bid from $10 to $30 with 4 days or so left ?!?!?     At worse case the last bid should have made it up to $30 !!   I'm tempted to wait until the last few mins and out bid the Frakk'n toad sucker !!       Unfrakk'n believable !!  

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Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

heh I've seen that a couple of times, One model I waited until it was 3 minutes left and put in a bit 2x the current just to pad in case of snipers, apparently the guy though that $60 was a good price for the model because thats what I pushed it up to out of curiosity... he won

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-Vaaish

Chances are if the idiot would have waited or bid a buck or two, until the very end he could have gotten it at a much cheaper price ...     But less then 1 day left so we'll see ...  

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Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

A lot of ebayers have a second or third account to jump their own prices up themselves.  Not uncommon at all.  You are all correct about waiting until the last day or even the last hour if you have the time.  Be the sniper.

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"I think that's how that works, wait get the rule book..."

Yes and ebay has software that looks for unusual bidding patterns like an account that bids more then 90% of the time with the same seller. Yes, Big Brother is watching.

I am not saying it does not happen, but I think the natural market pushes the prices up enough on it's own. Most sellers do not have to shill bid.

But I agree with your overall point. I have no guilt waiting until the last moment to snip an auction if it is something I really want.  

Daniel

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"Every Man is a But Spark in the Darkness"
              - Cities of Death, page 59

Come fight me, if you dare...... http://dd-janks.mybrute.com

Ebay's system positively encourages the last minute snipe....if you want to win stuff that's generally what you need to do most of the time.

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Fire bad, tree pretty - Buffy

Why wouldn't you just put the maximum amount you'd be willing to pay for an item up immediately?  eBay only bids up the minimum amount needed to beat the next lowest bid, if it's under your maximum willing bid, and never reveals what that actual maximum is unless it's reached. That's why the "Damn, they only beat me by a dollar!" frustration is misdirected... they may have outbid you by *fifty* dollars, but eBay only required a $1 difference at that level, so that's all that was automatically bid by the system.

Then, if someone does happen to snipe, or just bid, for more, you weren't willing to pay that amount anyway, so you shouldn't feel sore about "losing" as it's gone over your limit.

Sniping works because, chances are, most people *don't* initially bid the maximum they'd be willing to pay for something, they bid what they *hope* it'll go for and they'll get it for "cheap".  If more people started placing "maximum bid", sniping would rapidly diminish as the snipers would have to really risk over-bidding to win... and that's something they really don't want to do.

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"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

Not quite as simple. Some people get so affronted that someone dared out bid them, that they are willing to bid more than what they wanted to originally pay. This leads to those infamous bidding war where one plastic rhino ends up going for a tenner.

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More of a current misconception which seems to be that every army in Rogue Trader consisted of 2 squats with toughness 15 force fields and homing autodestructive 50" blast vortex missiles on jetboards...

My (rarely) updated hobby blog

That's why you should just place your maximum bid as soon as you decide you want the item, and don't touch it again until it's done... watching the auction as it goes is like watching a kettle waiting to boil... someone is gonna get steamed!

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"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

That's why you should just place your maximum bid as soon as you decide you want the item, and don't touch it again until it's done... watching the auction as it goes is like watching a kettle waiting to boil... someone is gonna get steamed!

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My head is full of War...

[img]http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk120/Warhead40k/Tyranid%20Swarm/DSC02262.jpg[/img]

All valid points, tactics & techniques ... But the Ferengi in me says, getting what I want at a great price (ie. low cost), makes it just the sweeter.  And like  said, jumping from $10 to $30 to scare off other bidders is a technique ... but very "plebenian" ... He's a cretin, I tell you !!!!!     FRoA #3 Never pay more for an acquisition than you have to.  The man just does not have the lobes !  

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Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

As a seller, I tend to start my auctions at a very low price, with no reserve. For a painted army that should go for $100 or more, I'm happy if a bunch of people haggle their way from $0.99 to $5 in the first day or so (even if it makes me a bit nervous) -- in general it seems that such an auction generates more watchers, which means more 'super snipers' jumping in at the end.

As a buyer, I tend to bid high early -- to roughly my willingness to pay.  I might realize that I've underestimated my interest later on, but generally this means an extra 4-5 of bidding.

I hesitate to say this, because I'm looking forward to selling a good amount of stuff, but I don't find that many deals on e-bay: especially for well-known items like GW stuff.  And what deals there are often look far less impressive when I add in the $4-5 shipping -- better to go to chaos orc or the warstore with a shopping list.

Far better yet to trade with fellow TacComm members for the items you need. I have great respect for the members here and how they conduct themselves. While I regard eBay as having more of an every man for himself mentality when it comes to bidding.
Most sellers on eBay have been very good too. I've only had one run in with one person and I got the stuff I had paid for by threatening to contact every bidder on every one of his future sale. (It was a few years ago and you could still do this.) The guy was pond scum and wasn't playing fair so I gave him a wee gentle nudge.

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My head is full of War...

[img]http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk120/Warhead40k/Tyranid%20Swarm/DSC02262.jpg[/img]