Re: Subject: [Harp-L] Sniping on Ebay

[Joel Fritz <jfritz666@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

M. Erickson wrote:

> Tell you what, the next couple of auctions you're on, watch for snipe
> software. If it's there, you tell me if you can get that last bid in. If
> you can, I'll buy you a beer (maybe a case of beer).
>
>  
I'm beginning to hear the groans of a dead horse.  I think we're not 
communicating.  The way to win an auction is to have the highest bid, 
not the last bid.  If I place a bid conventionally with a maximum of 
$100 a minute or an hour before the close of the auction and no one else 
who places a bid after mine bids more than $100, I win.  The high bid 
shown on the item screen may be much lower.  The point of proxy bidding 
is that no one knows how much you're willing to bid.  If people exceed 
your current active bid, Ebay will increase it to enough to take the 
lead if you have enough in "reserve."

I'm sure I can't tell the difference between manual bidding and 
automated bidding.  There really are people who wait till five seconds 
or less before the end of an auction and bid manually.  They have the 
amount typed in and click fast.  They're better coordinated than I am.  
I'm sure I've lost auctions to them.  The reason I lost to them is that 
their max bid was higher than mine.

What I'd like to do is reassure you that sniping software doesn't give 
people an unfair advantage except in the sense that they don't have to 
be at the computer to bid.  I think it's a nice management tool.  You 
can keep track of all your watched items and know the auction results 
without firing up your browser.  It can give you an edge over people who 
never bid using the proxy system, but that's all it can do.  Well...when 
you win an auction by sniping you can get the warm fuzzy feeling that 
you can only get from doing something underhanded.  <g>

At worst, we can agree to disagree. 

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