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[malcolmbebb]

Never heard of "sniping" - is it just putting in a bid in the closing seconds?

That is usually how I bid, never thought of doing it different. It has two advantages:
1) If I want the item bad enough it stops anyone else putting in a revised bid (assuming I beat any automated bid),
but more importantly,
2) It stops ME putting in a revised bid!

It means I have to decide how much I am prepared to pay, queue up the bid ready to go, and then if it goes over I don't get it but I don't overspend.

[HallelujahAl]

Malcolm a snipe is a bit more than just putting in a bid at the last moment. What it means is that you use a snipe provider like auctionsniper.com (there are various others) to put the bid on for you at the time and limit that you set. This means that you can pre-book a snipe to go in at your maximum amount with say only 5 seconds to go on the auction. It's very useful for those auctions that finish at difficult times of the day, or for when you're away on holiday etc. I've found that I win much more frequently if I use a snipe - rather than banging in my maximum bid to early on in the auction.
AL

[malcolmbebb]

...I've found that I win much more frequently if I use a snipe ...

Methinks I see a downside... There are several boxes on my watch list...

But thanks Al (BTW how's the move?)  I will have to look further. I have seen lots of nice boxes on Ebay, but I am forcing myself to define what I really want, what I am prepared to work on or get worked on, and what I just fancy.

I'll let you know if it works

(I have my eye on a box but I'll be driving in the Bristol area when it ends - sniping, hmmm...)

[EeeJay]

If there is something you really fancy contact the seller and ask if they would consider a buy it now and make sure you make it clear that the sale will be through ebay,in 70% of cases they say make me an offer,make a fair offer and you could well end up doing a deal,this only is ok if no one else has bid...

Indeed... and if you're the seller, and have people with a genuine interest coming to view/try something... establish a dialogue, and complete the sale with them - even if it's slightly lower than you might want... it guards against final second sniping by timewasters. From experience, I've suffered an assortment of half baked and just plain horrible/malicious snipe 'buyers' spinning all manner of hogwash...

When folks come to view, agree a reasonable market value... note their eBay user name, wait for their bid to come in, then end the auction early on one (or other) of these 'vetted' bidders. In some cases (in one case, a second relisting due to timewasters), it's the best way... guards against the same wazzocks bidding again...

Ed J

[Clive Williams]

[[[ And I'll keep this one locked too. Behave. -- Clive ]]]