# pea's. I've just been outbid again.



## rileytoolworks (7 Feb 2010)

Thought I'd finally bagged a decent tablesaw, but I was outbid at the last hurdle. Again.
I hate E-bay.

pipper.


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## Mattty (7 Feb 2010)

RILEY":2g159k8i said:


> Thought I'd finally bagged a decent tablesaw, but I was outbid at the last hurdle. Again.
> I hate E-bay.
> 
> pipper.


do you use a bid snipping software such as http://www.justsnipe.com/
?
Very effective and free
HTH


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## andycktm (7 Feb 2010)

Its ok ,proberbly the sellers,brothers uncles sisters daughter putting a late bid in :lol:


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## Jake (7 Feb 2010)

That or one of the online sniping services is the only way to go. There's only one sensible way to buy on ebay auctions and that's to bid once, absolutely as late as possible, and at the top price you are really willing to pay (ebay's bid incrementing process will ensure you don't overpay if your own top price is way above anyone else's). 

Any other method of bidding only does the seller a favour.


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## matt (7 Feb 2010)

Jake":1iqb4ga4 said:


> That or one of the online sniping services is the only way to go. There's only one sensible way to buy on ebay auctions and that's to bid once, absolutely as late as possible, and at the top price you are really willing to pay (ebay's bid incrementing process will ensure you don't overpay if your own top price is way above anyone else's).
> 
> Any other method of bidding only does the seller a favour.



Absolutely spot-on. I've no idea why anyone would bid any other way, but they do...


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## wobblycogs (7 Feb 2010)

What I really have no idea about is why people don't complain to ebay and ask for a fairer bidding system. It tries to mimic a regular auction but it fails terribly. There is a really simple fix for the problem so sniping: if anyone bids in the last 15 minutes the auction is extended by upto 15 minutes. This would benefit both the sellers and the buyers as the sellers will tend to get a slightly higher price and fewer buyers will feel cheated.


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## Jake (7 Feb 2010)

It doesn't try to mimic a regular auction at all, and it doesn't fail at anything.
You just need to adjust your mindset away from the conventional auction mode.

If you are prepared to pay more than anyone else you will win the item, whenever you bid. There is no unfairness if you haven't properly thought through the items value to you, and you subsequently get outbid. Should have got it right first time. Bidding late doesn't change that either.


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## Harbo (7 Feb 2010)

Bid at the last possible second but also put a maximum bid that you are prepared to pay.

Rod


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## big soft moose (7 Feb 2010)

RILEY":1tfeom1d said:


> Thought I'd finally bagged a decent tablesaw, but I was outbid at the last hurdle. Again.
> I hate E-bay.
> 
> pipper.



tell me about it - ive had exactly the same problem 3 times this week. There is a very nice wadkin single phase sliding table on their with about a day to run - but its just gone through 400 notes and acending.

i'm loosing faith in ebay - think i'll just wind up going to a dealer , where at least everything has a marked price and everyone knows where they stand.

the other thing that annoys me is when you get a bidding war between too other bidders that pushes the price to stupid levels - for example i was watching a sip scms on there which rrps new at 180 notes - and these two muppets pushed it to 250 bidding against each other with a clear "i will not be beaten" mindset


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## rileytoolworks (7 Feb 2010)

Hey guys. I was just having a rant! (and I had to do it on here because SWMBO LOML isn't aware I was even bidding!!!!) I'm not berating E-bay, or late bidders, and the saw went for more than it was worth to me. I just got excited because up until the last seconds it looked like I was going to get it, then 7 bids came out of nowhere! 
As I say, it went for more than it's worth to me (taking into account it was 200 miles away), and I myself usually bid towards the end of an auction, with a maximum I'll pay. This time however I had to bid early as I thought I'd be working away from home at auction end.
Thanks for the replies though.

Adam.


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## Mike.C (7 Feb 2010)

wobblycogs":1mfh4p4c said:


> What I really have no idea about is why people don't complain to ebay and ask for a fairer bidding system. It tries to mimic a regular auction but it fails terribly. There is a really simple fix for the problem so sniping: if anyone bids in the last 15 minutes the auction is extended by upto 15 minutes. This would benefit both the sellers and the buyers as the sellers will tend to get a slightly higher price and fewer buyers will feel cheated.


 
I think that it is perfect the way it is. As others have said the best way to bid is to put the maximum you are willing to pay in as late as possible. This way you will either lose the item, win it but not pay more then you would want to, or win it and get it for an absolute bargain price (I have had some brilliant buys by nicking it from right under the other bidders nose at the last second:lol: and I certainly do not apologize for it:lol: What do they say "Its all fair in love and auctions":lol: Its all about keeping your nerve, and everyone including you can do the same thing, so what is wrong or unfair. 

If you extend it by 15 minutes every time someone bids in the last 15 minutes, the only winner is the seller. Forget that and leave it the way it is.

On the other hand you guys are forum members so I would hate to find out I nicked it from under one of your noses. 

Cheers 

Mike


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## wizer (7 Feb 2010)

even tho I've been playing the eBay game since it's conception and been that last second sniper on more times than I care to remember, my heart still races when that bid goes in and I still get angry as hell when someone beats me. Even tho I firmly agree with deciding your highest bid and sticking with it. It just takes an hour or two after the auction to remind myself.


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## misterfish (8 Feb 2010)

I also do the last minute sniping and have got a few things that way. Something else I always do is always put a 'slightly over the amount I decide I want to bid' - in the case of my dust extractor and lathe I was successfull by only a matter of pence. I don't understand why somebody would bid £99.99, unles they're trying to bid up the amount hoping that somebody else will will go to £100.

Misterfish


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## wizer (8 Feb 2010)

misterfish":23d7j4vf said:


> I also do the last minute sniping and have got a few things that way. Something else I always do is always put a 'slightly over the amount I decide I want to bid' - in the case of my dust extractor and lathe I was successfull by only a matter of pence. I don't understand why somebody would bid £99.99, unles they're trying to bid up the amount hoping that somebody else will will go to £100.
> 
> Misterfish




indeed. I if my bid is £400 I always bid something like £412.33 I don't understand why, but it's very effective. er just don't copy me


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## Dibs-h (8 Feb 2010)

Mattty":1g5b5owl said:


> RILEY":1g5b5owl said:
> 
> 
> > Thought I'd finally bagged a decent tablesaw, but I was outbid at the last hurdle. Again.
> ...



www.goofbay.com is good as well & free, not to mention finds misspelt stuff as well.


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## OPJ (8 Feb 2010)

How is using this sniping software different to placing a maximum bid and watching the bids increase gradually that way?


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## Jake (8 Feb 2010)

Primarily because so many ebay users do not understand how an ebay auction works and don't put in their real maximum bid. They just put in enough to make them the current highest bidder and maybe some margin.

If you wait to the last second, those people don't get a chance to say "doh, that's still less than I am prepared to pay" and put in another bid.

If everyone understood the system they would put in their real maximum bid first time, and timing of bids would be irrelevant.

You can see the effect in any of the stupid bidding wars that go on - in which two bidders fight each other to get the price up. Daft. Both would be better keeping their hands to themselves, and shoving in their real maximum at the end, to see who values it more absent the competitive urge just to 'beat' the other person.


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## Dibs-h (8 Feb 2010)

I always bid relatively late and almost always bid the true maximum of what the item is worth to me or what I'm willing to pay.

I don't like bidding early as I have seen what I believe to be shill bidding in some instances - to raise the amount the item goes for, and as bidders identities are now masked it makes it even easier for folk to shill bid and fleece the punters. With late bidding - in the last 5-30 secs, it's a lot harder for sellers to do it.

As for against rules - Fleebay wouldn't\don't give a poop. Higher bid - higher fees.


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## big soft moose (8 Feb 2010)

OPJ":l095ds17 said:


> How is using this sniping software different to placing a maximum bid and watching the bids increase gradually that way?



because if you place a high maximum bid early, it will be apparent to those bidding against you and risks them starting a bidding war with your auotomated bids (for example if you maximum bid is £50 current bid £10, when joe blogs bids £12 he will automatically be bid 14 , so he bids 16, automatically 18 etc all the waym up to the point where he bids 51 and beats you )

sniping software puts the bid in at the last few seconds of the auction and thus avoids the competitive urge to bid more from other bidders (so with the example above joe blogs bids £14 and thinks hes winning, then in the last three seconds your snipe of 50 lands, and he doesnt have time to react so you win.)

I understand the system but my problem is with working out how much old machinery in particular is worth, so where to place the snipe.


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## 9fingers (8 Feb 2010)

Sniping is definitely the way to use ebay -even though it frustrates other sellers when you beat them.

Setting the snipe level is easy if you are totally objective about it. Bring in emotion and you are sunk!

Ask "What is the max price I am prepared to pay such that i won't regret bidding that much if I win". That is the snipe level.

It does not matter what you are buying - if you pay too much you regret it and if you don't offer enough you kick yourself.

An unsuccessful snipe costs you nothing and a successful is about 1% of the sale price - max 10$/ min 0.25$. Well worth it in my book.

The sniper will bid when you are away from the computer at work or in bed and will even snipe on multiple auctions only stopping when it has won you as many items as you specifiy. These are called bid groups.

Bob


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## jlawrence (8 Feb 2010)

big soft moose":3anjmzu7 said:


> I understand the system but my problem is with working out how much old machinery in particular is worth, so where to place the snipe.



It might sound silly saying this, but any piece of machinery (old or new) is only worth what you are willing to pay for it.
What it's worth (ie to anyone else) is irrelevant when it comes to deciding your own highest bid.

When it comes to ebay, most of the sounds of me flying off the handle is because I tried to do something clever, rather than just sniping with my max bid.


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## Boatfixer (8 Feb 2010)

For a free sniper service I regularly use gixen.com - it has always worked for me, provided I have the highest bid of course, and being a skinflint it costing nothing is a great advantage over other services!


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## big soft moose (8 Feb 2010)

jlawrence":iwu5rv5u said:


> big soft moose":iwu5rv5u said:
> 
> 
> > I understand the system but my problem is with working out how much old machinery in particular is worth, so where to place the snipe.
> ...



i know what you mean but what i'm willing to pay would be dictated by how much something is worth.

for example there is an old wadkin single phase tablesaw on there at the moment which has just gone through 400 notes - now if it is actually worth say 600 notes, then i'd be happy to put a snipe at 550 and hope for the best, but if its actually only worth about 400 then i'm not going to pay over the odds - but if i dont know what its worth how do i decide ?


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## 9fingers (8 Feb 2010)

Pete, As with every purchase surely you have to decide what it is worth to *you*
If purchasers of any goods or services link their concept of an acceptable price to the market asking price then we get inflation fuelled by market greed.


Bob


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## Boatfixer (8 Feb 2010)

You really have to decide what its worth to you - if you think 550 then snipe 550 - if no one else bids you will get it for just over 400. If lots of people bid you may end up being outbid but you won't have gone beyond what it is worth to you.

Graham


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## wizer (8 Feb 2010)

yes how much something is worth to yourself has to include considerations like the logistics of getting that item to you, how much you will use it, how much it might cost you to restore or commission, what extras you need to buy additional to that purchase and what your personal budget allows for.

All those things may differ from person to person.


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## cambournepete (8 Feb 2010)

Boatfixer":3kxc7i3l said:


> You really have to decide what its worth to you


Yeah but what it's worth to me is in part governed by the usual selling price for something.
I don't want to end up paying over the odds even if it's worth the money to me.

I often search prices of completed items on Ebay to see what thngs have typically sold for in the hope and expectation they'll sell for that again...


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## Harbo (8 Feb 2010)

If you are after a particular type of item, you generally get some idea of what they go for, from previous bids.
Then you have to decide if that price is OK for you. Bid at that and if you are prepared to pay more add a bit in reserve.

You can be lucky - last year or so I was looking for a Record 405 - there were two up for grabs and as I was going away put in some very low bids on both of them. When I got back I had bought them both!  

I have often watched items with no bids and you think you stand a chance of picking up a real bargain - then in the last few minutes, several bids. If you haven't already put in a higher figure, then bang it's too late, you haven't enough time to up your bid and it's gone! The number of people watching is generally a give away?

Rod


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## big soft moose (8 Feb 2010)

"_heres hoping she doesnt notice that i'm also bidding on a startrite 352 BS_ "

ah well i didnt get it - I did the sensible thing and asked bob for advice (always a good move i feel) - he said it was probably worth 450 or so but to snipe at 500.

being a tight ass i sniped at 450 - but it made no difference in the end as it went for a whopping £800.99 in the last minuite - I'm sure the seller's delighted (particularly as hes selling up due to a buisness closure) but thats way more than a second hand 3ph 352 is worth (as assessed by both bobs advice and looking ast second hand dealers) so i can only put it down to the ebay effect of people with more money than sense.

next time G&M or whoever have a 352 or a 351 for circa 350 notes i'm buying the damn thing - as although they are reputed not to be the cheapest in this instance they are a heck of a site cheaper than ebay.


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## OPJ (8 Feb 2010)

big soft moose":dozoi4vl said:


> but when it comes to old machinery which is no longer for sale new or worse antique / old furniture that doesnt have a rrp - it is much harder to decide what to bid.



That's very difficult. Although, some sellers seem to think it's right to price old (green) Startrite machines based on their modern (white) equivalents. :x I've also noticed this with Metabo/Elektra Beckum and a few other brands. The trouble with some of the bigger Wadkin and Robinson machines is that the seller (who's relied on it for years) may value you it much higher than yourself.

Thanks for explaining the whole sniping thing.


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## matt (8 Feb 2010)

The simplest way to establish the prevailing price of something is to search the completed listings on Ebay. Give some consideration to the day and time the listing ended too as that can influence the bidding. Some of the best bargains are to be had when a listing is due to end when a significant sporting event is being televised or on Friday night (before closing time...)


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## yo_chuci (9 Feb 2010)

i too use Goofbay for the sniping... 
but also to check feedback of seller. what they have and haven't sold in the last 90 odd days and what they have bid on in the last however many days..

been a few times where that has shown up that they have just bought the item the week before and are selling it on. so then they get asked about it or i bid less than they paid after checking to find out what sorta faults can be with the item.
the past selling part will show you if the item you are looking at was up before that listing, and how much it got to etc. that might give you an idea of what its worth or what the seller wants for it.

also i use local bargain finder
punch in postcode and area your will to travel and it brings up all the stuff that is collection only etc and under £100 (i think). had a good few 99p bargains off there... postage was 30odd quid but it was 2miles away... the look on their faces when you tell em to keep the change from your pound...


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## RogerS (9 Feb 2010)

That's a useful link, y_c. Thanks for that.


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## big soft moose (9 Feb 2010)

well hurrah i finally won one - i'm now the pround owner of a axminster spindle sander for the princely sum of 46 nicker (well i will be when i go pick it up)

Its blue not white so i would guess its fairly old but so long as it works as advertised i'll be happy with that - the equivalent new one goes for over 300 after all


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## OPJ (9 Feb 2010)

Sounds like a real bargain, Pete! :shock: Hope you manage to give it plenty of use. When I bought mine (the Jet - it is essentially the same) I didn't think I'd give it much use but I seem to be using it more and more for shaping templates, more than anything else.

Apparently, if you put a fence on one side of the bobbin, you can "thickness" thin stuff that's too small or 'fragile' to go through your thicknesser... It's not something I've tried yet as I think the standard bobbin sleeves may be a bit too fine.


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## big soft moose (9 Feb 2010)

OPJ":3uqwftc9 said:


> Sounds like a real bargain, Pete! :shock: Hope you manage to give it plenty of use. When I bought mine (the Jet - it is essentially the same) I didn't think I'd give it much use but I seem to be using it more and more for shaping templates, more than anything else.
> 
> Apparently, if you put a fence on one side of the bobbin, you can "thickness" thin stuff that's too small or 'fragile' to go through your thicknesser... It's not something I've tried yet as I think the standard bobbin sleeves may be a bit too fine.



first on the agenda is making some maskery type push sticks - ive got some crude ones already but it would be good to be able to round the handles over for comfort.


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## Mike.C (9 Feb 2010)

big soft moose":3lv8uyh2 said:


> well hurrah i finally won one - i'm now the pround owner of a axminster spindle sander for the princely sum of 46 nicker (well i will be when i go pick it up)
> 
> Its blue not white so i would guess its fairly old but so long as it works as advertised i'll be happy with that - the equivalent new one goes for over 300 after all



Do you mean the oscillating/bobbin sander? If so you have a terrific buy. I have the white Jet/Axminster version and it was worth every penny.

Cheers

Mike


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## big soft moose (9 Feb 2010)

Mike.C":57scgd74 said:


> big soft moose":57scgd74 said:
> 
> 
> > well hurrah i finally won one - i'm now the pround owner of a axminster spindle sander for the princely sum of 46 nicker (well i will be when i go pick it up)
> ...



thats the baby - tho i'm not 100% sure if it oscilates or if its just a staight bobbin, but at that price i'm not complaining - i'm picking it up on friday so we shall see


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## Jake (9 Feb 2010)

big soft moose":2cxmb5zp said:


> thats the baby - tho i'm not 100% sure if it oscilates or if its just a staight bobbin, but at that price i'm not complaining - i'm picking it up on friday so we shall see



So was that the first snipe? Or a bid that survived?

Next trick to learn is to ask the seller for clarification where you think there might be holes in the description. Hopefully he will tell you and not publish the answer (information advantage!). Otherwise, oh well, you're no worse off considering that plenty of punters will assume it is.


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## big soft moose (10 Feb 2010)

that was a surviving bid - i knew i wasnt going to arround to snipe it because the auction finished while i was at work so i put a max bid of 75 in (it was standing at 30 at the time) and wound up getting it at 46

it was described simply as a bobbin sander and i'm not to bothered whether it ocsilates or not - if it does bonus , but if it doesnt i'm still happy with the price.


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## yo_chuci (10 Feb 2010)

big soft moose":rrtsz71c said:


> i knew i wasnt going to arround to snipe it because the auction finished while i was at work so i put a max bid of 75 in (it was standing at 30 at the time) and wound up getting it at 46



thats what the sniping software is for... put in you max snipe. it does it automatically for you with 5 or less secs to go... you don't have to be anywhere near a comp at the time...


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## big soft moose (10 Feb 2010)

yo_chuci":30mg3ob1 said:


> big soft moose":30mg3ob1 said:
> 
> 
> > i knew i wasnt going to arround to snipe it because the auction finished while i was at work so i put a max bid of 75 in (it was standing at 30 at the time) and wound up getting it at 46
> ...



yeah i realise that but i havent got round to setting that up yet and as i would have been sniping at 75 anyway i reckoned i might as well just maxbid this one - and it worked .

i'll be using the sniper software on my hunt for a tablesaw though.


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## Jake (10 Feb 2010)

It worked in the sense that you won the item, but you may have paid more than you would have done if you had sniped. No disaster as it was still less than you were willing to pay, but still.


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## 9fingers (10 Feb 2010)

Jake":1wta496y said:


> It worked in the sense that you won the item, but you may have paid more than you would have done if you had sniped. No disaster as it was still less than you were willing to pay, but still.



Indeed! Looking at the bid history Pete exposed his intentions far too may times. The beauty of using a sniper is that you don't need to make an overt bid at all. The only time you need to be careful is when an item you want has had no bids whatsoever. Under these conditions the seller can withdraw the item up until 24 hrs before the published end time.
Once there is any sort of bid, the seller can only withdraw with good reason.

Bob


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## big soft moose (10 Feb 2010)

9fingers":2v4n58h4 said:


> Jake":2v4n58h4 said:
> 
> 
> > It worked in the sense that you won the item, but you may have paid more than you would have done if you had sniped. No disaster as it was still less than you were willing to pay, but still.
> ...



Okay fair points - i'm not as experienced as you guys at this - that said i'm fairly sure it was you, bob, who said an items was worth what i was willing to pay - so i was willing to pay 75 but got this for 46 - which in my book is a result.

okay so maybe i could have got it for 30 - but i'm not going to loose sleep over 16 notes.

edit : ive now set up goofbay and set a couple of snipes in motion so we shall see.


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## matt (10 Feb 2010)

Jake":5ecm7t2u said:


> Next trick to learn is to ask the seller for clarification where you think there might be holes in the description. Hopefully he will tell you and not publish the answer (information advantage!). Otherwise, oh well, you're no worse off considering that plenty of punters will assume it is.



Or ask the seller a question to which the answer does reveal whether it is a good thing or bad and hope he/she DOES publish the answer on the listing. If your feeling really sneaky ask whether it has a feature that you know it doesn't... Even something as innocent as "does it have the rubber bung on the lower tube". When published as "no" is easily perceived by other bidders as to it's detriment even though they've no idea what your asking.


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## matt (10 Feb 2010)

Jake":11g0vzfi said:


> Next trick to learn is to ask the seller for clarification where you think there might be holes in the description. Hopefully he will tell you and not publish the answer (information advantage!). Otherwise, oh well, you're no worse off considering that plenty of punters will assume it is.



Or ask the seller a question to which the answer does reveal whether it is a good thing or bad and hope he/she DOES publish the answer on the listing. If your feeling really sneaky ask whether it has a feature that you know it doesn't... Even something as innocent as "does it have the rubber bung on the lower tube". When published as "no" is easily perceived by other bidders as to it's detriment even though they've no idea what your asking.


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## Jake (10 Feb 2010)

Oooh, devious.


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## OPJ (10 Feb 2010)

Is this sniping software really "safe"? I admit I haven't looked in to it but, surely, you're handing your account details and access over to a program designed by... Well, anyone?!? :?


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## Anonymous (10 Feb 2010)

Pete,

I think your worst enemies on ebay may be closer than you think. I was watching that bandsaw as well. I'm sure plenty of people on the forum were. Same with many other machines on ebay. I'm well aware of what many of the machines are worth and what they're worth to me. Because of that my limit was fairly close to yours. Yep, we'd have been bidding against each other. 800 quid was insance considering you can buy a new one for 816 quid.

I'm not going to tell you my ebay tactics (trust me, they're different to yours) but I don't feel outdone by anybody except for wallys.

I love ebay because I write software for ebay sellers. Keep bidding guys!

Dave


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## wizer (10 Feb 2010)

The minute someone posts an eBay 'bargain' on here. It instantly becomes the watched by many and consequently end being an over priced item. Fact


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## jlawrence (11 Feb 2010)

True wizer.
The last thing I'd ever want to do is post on a forum about something I think is a bargain - I want to get it for the least amount possible and the fewer people who know about it the better.
Different if there's multiples of them available on a BIN - as was the case with the T11 routers (thankyou to whoever it was that posted about them).


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## big soft moose (11 Feb 2010)

well this sniping lark works (sometimes) , I missed out on a startrite 3 phase table saw by being a tight buttocks and bidding too low, but swimbo's happy as ive just got a leksvik 3 door wardrobe for 130 (new price a tad over 200)

2 more saws to snipe on (ive increased the snipes a bit so i dont loose out by being tight again) - if i dont get either of those i'm going to say sack it and buy a ts200 from axi.


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## matt (11 Feb 2010)

All you need to do is ask for opinions about a particular piece of machinery on this forum without including a link to give a fair clue that you've spotted something on eBay. The exception is when the enquiry contains a link to, say, Axminster. 

So, the lesson here... Find a link to to anything you ask about to throw everyone* off the scent.

* except anyone who's seen this post, of course...


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## matt (11 Feb 2010)

And it really annoys the other bidders when you put in your highest bid of, in my case this evening, £71.73 and win for exactly that amount. Can only assume someone thought they were on a winner with their £70 bid with only 2 seconds to go  .


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## wizer (11 Feb 2010)

matt":1y79whk7 said:


> And it really annoys the other bidders when you put in your highest bid of, in my case this evening, £71.73 and win for exactly that amount. Can only assume someone thought they were on a winner with their £70 bid with only 2 seconds to go  .



You stole my tactic!


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## yo_chuci (11 Feb 2010)

9fingers":12rc3yya said:


> Indeed! Looking at the bid history Pete exposed his intentions far too may times. The beauty of using a sniper is that you don't need to make an overt bid at all. The only time you need to be careful is when an item you want has had no bids whatsoever. Under these conditions the seller can withdraw the item up until 24 hrs before the published end time.
> Once there is any sort of bid, the seller can only withdraw with good reason.
> 
> Bob



sadly they still pull them even with bids on... many a time i have seen something that might be cheap so i'll put in a £5 bid. just means it can't be pulled as easily... also then when they relist it you get told..


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## matt (11 Feb 2010)

wizer":1nxosmjj said:


> matt":1nxosmjj said:
> 
> 
> > And it really annoys the other bidders when you put in your highest bid of, in my case this evening, £71.73 and win for exactly that amount. Can only assume someone thought they were on a winner with their £70 bid with only 2 seconds to go  .
> ...



=; Been doing it for years.... It pre-dates eBay.


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## Jake (11 Feb 2010)

yo_chuci":3mgpjkk9 said:


> sadly they still pull them even with bids on... many a time i have seen something that might be cheap so i'll put in a £5 bid. just means it can't be pulled as easily... also then when they relist it you get told..



Same when people list things in auction format with a BIN option which is more than one wants to pay. Small bid to get rid of that temptation for others.


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## big soft moose (17 Mar 2010)

Dibs-h":4c70w2cz said:


> Mattty":4c70w2cz said:
> 
> 
> > RILEY":4c70w2cz said:
> ...



just to let you guys know goofbay appears to be broken at the moment - all my snipes in the last couple of days have either come up as "not meeting the sellers requirements" or "sniper got there too late"

according to the goofbay forums they are aware of the problem and "hope to fix it soon" - however i am going to just snipe instead as the goofbay problem has led to me missing out on several things.


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## Qwibble (20 May 2010)

I just thought I'd have a speculative ebay bid on a 'router table with a Woodpecker LE Router Table fence, a Leigh router vacuum attachment and an Incra Miter V27' as it was only £91 with a seconds to go. Stuck in a £95 bid and then got sniped to death as it rocketed up to £174. 

Hmm...

With the benefit of two minutes hindsight I guess the sniping was not the real issue, it was just my max bid was too optimistic.

Ah well, I was meaning to make a table anyhow.. : )


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## Benchwayze (24 May 2010)

Jake":1fq6qhxz said:


> That or one of the online sniping services is the only way to go. There's only one sensible way to buy on ebay auctions and that's to bid once, absolutely as late as possible, and at the top price you are really willing to pay (ebay's bid incrementing process will ensure you don't overpay if your own top price is way above anyone else's).
> 
> Any other method of bidding only does the seller a favour.




Absolutely... But you do need to have a rough idea of what an item will fetch. then bid to your maximum above that. 

I recently lost a pro-watercolour paint box that went for twice what I was willing to bid. It's a collectible, so didn't have a clue what it might go for, and I lost. Sniping doesn't ensure you a win every time, but it does reduce the odds against. 

John


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## TrimTheKing (25 May 2010)

Benchwayze":1i311eqv said:


> Absolutely... But you do need to have a rough idea of what an item will fetch. then bid to your maximum above that.


That's irrelevant really John. The whole premise is that you bid the maximum of what YOU are willing to pay. You don't need to know what it's likely to fetch to do that.

Stick in the most you are willing to pay for it, at the last possible moment, then if you get it great, if not then you didn't want to pay that much anyway so no loss.

That's why the bidding goes silly sometimes, because people get caught up in the wanting to win rather than thinking about how much they really want to pay.


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## Benchwayze (25 May 2010)

Ummm... I thought that was what I meant Mark!  

If I believe an item is going to go way above what I am comfortable with, I leave it alone. 

If I believe it will fetch say £100.00, depending on what it is and how much I want it, I am prepared to go £20.00 or so above that. 

So, what you suggest is what I do. Put my maximum bid on the snipe, and then wait to see if I win it. Knowing of course I can't pay more than my max bid. 

Is that what you meant? (It's just that I still think in £sd!) And I don't mean Lysergic Acid Diethylamide :lol: 

The item I referred to went for £285.000. I was prepared to pay £160.00 as a new one is about £220.00. As used boxes of that kind are like Rocking-horse manure, then I understand why it went for such a high price. As woodworkers we know what goes into hand made goods, so the winning bidder still got a bargain! I am buying a new one from source! 

Regards

John


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## Big Fat Pig (29 May 2010)

I am just a little confused, which is good news really as i spend a lot of my life being very confused.
However, todays confusion is to do with sniping.
I have bid on fleabay using their automatic bid thingy whereby you type in the max ammount you want to pay, and the magic in the machine will bid for you up to that figure.
Now, is this sniping or is there some software that you download that snipes for you ? ie, does it make your bid, up to a max figure, but only at the last gasp ?

Thanks in advance. ( up to a maximum of course )

Piggy


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## big soft moose (29 May 2010)

Big Fat Pig":3lglb5kn said:


> I am just a little confused, which is good news really as i spend a lot of my life being very confused.
> However, todays confusion is to do with sniping.
> I have bid on fleabay using their automatic bid thingy whereby you type in the max ammount you want to pay, and the magic in the machine will bid for you up to that figure.
> Now, is this sniping or is there some software that you download that snipes for you ? ie, does it make your bid, up to a max figure, but only at the last gasp ?
> ...



the latter , except that in most cases the sniper is web based so you dont have to download anything - have a look at www.goofbay.com

The sniper will put in the ammount you tell it to as an ebay max bid , generally with 5 seconds to go (tho you can alter the time) - the advantage of sniping rather than your approach is that you dont declare your intentions early so there is no bidding war.

its also often useful to bid a small amount over the round figure you are willing to pay - ie if you are willing to pay £15 set the snipe at for example 15.85 - ive had loads of buys recently where ive been sucessful like this with the next lowest bid on the round figure - and quite often if you are paying cash on collection the buyer will tell you to forget the pennies

one thing to watch out for though is that you need to be higher buy one increment - and increments increase as the value does , so if you are after something at say 500 notes, it is worth sniping at 505 instead


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## TrimTheKing (29 May 2010)

Benchwayze":5wx6n96p said:


> Ummm... I thought that was what I meant Mark!
> 
> John


Haha, sorry mate, I think we _are_ saying the same thing in different words.


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