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My box lot of patches surprise and how ebay has affected the local auctions


Manchu Warrior
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And then you have your "last second snipers" with thier sneaky computer programs that bid seconds before the items closes,how fair is this to anyone just trying to collect

 

You know, I used to think the same way. I would repeatedly lose out on items because someone will see that you are bidding on it and run you up to rediculous amounts and then in the end, they win it as the last bidder. Folks here have recommended the "sniper" programs and my wins have gone up dramatically and for much less than I was being driven up to before. It's eBay's fault with timed sales. If they had a 15 minute rule that the auction will run for 15 minutes after each successive bid, then the sniping business would go away and items would sell best for the seller.... not going to happen.

I will admit that I sometimes find a "pick" for way less than it is worth and I buy soley for the prospect of selling it for a profit. That is how I keep my hobby funded and staying afloat. The wife tolerates me as long as she doesn't have to pay for my hobby. All I can say about all this, it's free market baby, once we lose that spirit, we are all done for and you will end up with Obamabay.

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You know, I used to think the same way. I would repeatedly lose out on items because someone will see that you are bidding on it and run you up to rediculous amounts and then in the end, they win it as the last bidder. Folks here have recommended the "sniper" programs and my wins have gone up dramatically and for much less than I was being driven up to before. It's eBay's fault with timed sales. If they had a 15 minute rule that the auction will run for 15 minutes after each successive bid, then the sniping business would go away and items would sell best for the seller.... not going to happen.

 

I agree, sites like Gunbroker that have the 15 minute rule are great for both buyer and seller. Ebay doesn't so I am a big time sniperthere, I admit. It would be nice if everyone would just enter thier highest or best bid and walk away but that doesn't happen and without a 5, 10 or 15 minute rule on ebay, sniping auctions is the only way to win an item at a decent price anymore it seems.

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If they had a 15 minute rule that the auction will run for 15 minutes after each successive bid, then the sniping business would go away and items would sell best for the seller.... not going to happen.

 

Slightly off topic, but bare with me...has anyone tried Quibids? A friend of mine showed it to me...basically, they're one cent bids that you pay 60 cents to enter. The service has become quite famous for people buying cars (brand new) for less than $2000 and so on. The point of this little sidestory is that their bidding policy is anti-snipe...in other words, once you bid, the clock resets for another 20 seconds. Then, as time goes on and price increases, the incriments become lower and lower...10 seconds...5 seconds...etc.

 

What I found frustrating is this: I see an item, I bid on it. Even though there's 15 seconds left in the auction, it might go on for 15, 20, even 30 minutes more before the auction finishes. And of course, you might do 5, 10, 15...40 bids before the auction is over. I finally got frustrated and stopped playing. A great idea in theory, but also a great way to waste a lot of time and money.

 

Soooo....with that said....after messing with Quibids, I was SO thankful for being able to snipe on eBay. A single end date/time and bam...I can snipe to my heart's content.

 

Chances are, if their auctions kept going after snipes, they'd lose a lot more business...not really a way that everyone wants to play.

 

Now back on topic...

 

Dave

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Manchu Warrior

Just so I don't give everyone the wrong impression I don't hate ebay. Because in all honesty I have done well on there. And I have also gotten some good deals at local auction because of ebay, and I will explain. I was at local auction a few years ago and there were two trays of military items in the jewelry show case. There were nothing special on the trays. It was a mixture of very common modern medals and ribbons and broken pieces etc. However there was one item I did want off the tray. And after the smoke settled and the ebay sellers went nuts by running the price of the trays through the roof I ask one of the buyers if he would sell me one item off of the tray. He picked the item up and said he would take $1.00 for the 1st design WWII Amphibious Forces patch he was holding. Should have felt bad that I just purchased the only real valuable item on a tray that he just paid way to much for? To be honest I never lost any sleep over it.

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