# How fucking pathetic are people going to get on this planet? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 3, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735 "2009-01-03T20:53:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/41 "2009-01-04T04:17:11Z")
Sniping software? Pansy. Half the fun of sniping is doing it like a man, with two windows open, one all set to pull the trigger, and refreshing the other every two seconds so you can watch the clock and drop the hammer with ten seconds to spare. Now that’s sniping. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/42 "2009-01-04T04:18:40Z")
Ha! What kind of pussy has two windows open? Refresh, refresh, refresh, baby, then GRAB IT!!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/43 "2009-01-04T04:41:36Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > He’d have a point if eBay required manual bidding, but isn’t the whole point of proxy bidding so that people can’t undercut you at the last second? Either your maximum bid is less than you think the item is worth, in which case it’s almost inevitable that someone else will come along who is willing to accept a slightly lower discount, or it isn’t, which just means they were willing to pay more than you think it’s worth. Bingo. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/44 "2009-01-04T04:56:50Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Half the fun of sniping is doing it like a man, with two windows open, one all set to pull the trigger, and refreshing the other every two seconds so you can watch the clock and drop the hammer with ten seconds to spare. Ten seconds? Anything over two is not truly living on the edge. I got sniped a couple days ago on Ebay on a $1.10 bid on a package of flower seeds. You sniped me for a goddamn lousy pack of seeds, so you could get it for $1.35. You PATHETIC LOSER! I didn’t really want it anyway. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/45 "2009-01-04T05:00:58Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Ten seconds? Anything over two is not truly living on the edge. > > I got sniped a couple days ago on Ebay on a $1.10 bid on a package of flower seeds. > > You sniped me for a goddamn lousy pack of seeds, so you could get it for $1.35. You PATHETIC LOSER! > > I didn’t really want it anyway. ☹ Was it the _good_ clematis? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/46 "2009-01-04T05:23:11Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] Was it the _good_ clematis? [/QUOTE] Nah, amaranthus. Nobody better get in my way the next time, or I’ll just send out nasty e-mails at random. :mad: > [@Heffalump and Roo](#): > > 5 year-olds really shouldn’t feel that much entitlement unless they have a Ph.D. too! In some ways, Ebay does operate at a kindergarten level. Actual message received from the management: “Look at you! You’re off and running on eBay with five positive feedback comments. In fact you’re halfway to your Yellow Star!” Maybe if I work really hard at it, eventually they’ll let me go to the bathroom _all by myself!_ ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/47 "2009-01-04T05:31:37Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Maybe if I work really hard at it, eventually they’ll let me go to the bathroom _all by myself!_ …and sell the results on eBay. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/48 "2009-01-04T09:08:12Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > Xeno’s paradox, though. > > And more work for all the buyers. When I get sniped, it’s not because I raise my bid five seconds before the end and someone else sneaks in at three. It’s because I can’t be bothered to monitor the exact second an auction ends and then race to see who has the fastest fingers (or software). I have no what a “Xeno’s Paradox” is and a quick google searched failed to inform me how it might apply to this. Please enlighten me. And it’s only more work for the buyers if they really want that product–they now have the choice of not proceeding further instead of being forced not to. I still don’t see the downside. ---
**Author:** ![SomeUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@SomeUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SomeUserName)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/49 "2009-01-04T10:06:47Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > Ha! What kind of pussy has two windows open? Refresh, refresh, refresh, baby, then GRAB IT!!! > > 😃 Word! Oh the good ole days when I used to buy stuff on ebay. That was some fun shit right there. Several years ago I won a wool coat sniping on ebay. The seller then sent me an email stating that she was going to sell me the coat and abide by the auction rules _but_ she had someone else that had also bid and they had sent her an email stating that they would pay her more if she would renege on the auction and sell it to her instead. Of course I told her no that I wanted the coat. The seller did as she promised and I got the coat a week later. I still have it too and wear it every winter. Fuck those whiny assholes. Either bid your highest bid and shut up or snipe like the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![bathsheba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@bathsheba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bathsheba)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/50 "2009-01-04T10:23:38Z")
I used to have a website where I published all the crezzy emails I got from buyers. Have it on good authority that ebay staffers thought it was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/51 "2009-01-04T10:29:23Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > I snipe for my own protection. I have been known to get “auction fever” and wind up paying more than an item is worth to me. With my sniping software I decide well ahead of time how much I’m willing to pay and that’s that. Why would you need sniping software for this? I haven’t used eBay in ages, but surely they still have the “maximum bid” function? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/52 "2009-01-04T11:26:09Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > **pkbites** , do you mind if I ask what the item was? An old closed caption decoder box from the early 80’s. I’m using it to run cable through an old television set that wasn’t hooked up to cable. This isn’t the first time I’ve bought one of these for this purpose. They work great and provide a remote control to change channels and even adjust volume on an old set that otherwise did not have that capability. They also, of course, provide closed captioning. Although it’s been several years, IIRC the last time I bought one of these I got a nasty email about it. What the fuck? Is there a hearing impaired mafia out there or what? ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/53 "2009-01-04T11:43:26Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Although it’s been several years, IIRC the last time I bought one of these I got a nasty email about it. What the fuck? Is there a hearing impaired mafia out there or what? Just to be clear I have never even visited eBay let alone bought or sold anything off it so I know nothing but maybe you just hit the reason. The deaf/hearing impaired community is VERY staunch. Oh that makes it sound like I’m deaf, I’m not. I just have a teensy insight into the deaf community. ---
**Author:** ![Hogwash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e57/32.png) [@Hogwash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogwash)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/54 "2009-01-04T12:07:20Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > Why would you need sniping software for this? I haven’t used eBay in ages, but surely they still have the “maximum bid” function? I haven’t used it for ages or ever used sniping software, so I could be wrong, but I believe that the difference is the timing of the bids. With sniping, you don’t record your bid until the closing femtoseconds of the auction. So someone could have the winning bid of $1 for almost the entire time, and you, or the software you use from [www.OMGsnipeEbayNowAndSATISFYher.com](http://www.OMGsnipeEbayNowAndSATISFYher.com), swoop in at the last moment and get it for $1.05. It’s like pretending you don’t want the last cookie on the table and then, as someone else reaches for it, you snatch it from under their fingertips. Yeah, yeah, you wanted to pay a higher price, so you deserve the item, just as you deserve the cookie because you’re not breaking any ‘rules’. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/55 "2009-01-04T14:48:18Z")
> [@Justin\_Credible](#): > > About 10 years ago, when Yahoo auctions was still alive, they used to have that very feature. They still do. (Yahoo auctions is the dominant auction site here) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/56 "2009-01-04T15:19:13Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > The thing that most impresses me about E-bay is how they have got people to talk about **winning** a fucking auction as though it’s an achievement. One day I realized - about eBay in particular, but all auctions in general - that “winning” an auction means you’ve paid more for an item than anyone else thinks it’s worth. Seems kinda loserish, actually! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/57 "2009-01-04T15:58:43Z")
Anyone who goes to an _auction_ and then takes a moral high ground when he doesn’t win is an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/58 "2009-01-04T16:23:49Z")
> [@Hogwash](#): > > With sniping, you don’t record your bid until the closing femtoseconds of the auction. So someone could have the winning bid of $1 for almost the entire time, and you, or the software you use from [www.OMGsnipeEbayNowAndSATISFYher.com](http://www.OMGsnipeEbayNowAndSATISFYher.com), swoop in at the last moment and get it for $1.05. That is indeed what sniping is, and if someone has entered a maximum bid higher than $1.05, they win anyway. Right? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/59 "2009-01-04T17:36:00Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > One day I realized - about eBay in particular, but all auctions in general - that “winning” an auction means you’ve paid more for an item than anyone else thinks it’s worth So what? All that means is the item was worth more to you than it was to the other bidders, and you were willing to pay for it. If winning an auction makes me a “loser” to you, well, whatthefuckever. More for me. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/60 "2009-01-04T17:41:09Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > So what? All that means is the item was worth more to you than it was to the other bidders, and you were willing to pay for it. If winning an auction makes me a “loser” to you, well, whatthefuckever. More for me. Touchy today, aren’t we? No, I don’t think you’re A Loser, I think paying more that anyone else is willing to is more in line with what we think of as losing than winning. It was an amusing observation on the nature of language, nothing else. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735.md?page=4)