# Thanks for the great app, ebay (assholes) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 1, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201 "2010-09-01T00:11:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/21 "2010-09-01T06:35:42Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > > Yes, I do, as I’ve indicated, perhaps most visibly, by starting this thread to bemoan that fact. > > Jesus Christ! Earlier I said : > > _My point was that you were specifically complaining about not winning the Opal CD and then you mentioned that you were outbid by someone using a bot. Even if you had received the message, you never would have had time to bid again. Complaining that the app is useless against those that outbid you in the last few seconds (bot or not) makes no sense as you knew that already and the app doesn’t claim to be useful in that situation._ > > Your response?: > > _Thanks for telling me what I know. I always find it helpful for others to tell me what I know, rather tham just know what I know myself. :rolleyes:_ > > Now you’re saying that’s not something you know. Explain. Sure. My initial reply to you, which you quoted there, was mocking you for being an ass and trying to tell me what I know, not an actual admission that your baseless declaration of the contents of my brain includes whatever you think it includes. > [@x-ray vision](#): > > If a bot bids in the last few seconds (you even used the word “nanoseconds”) how could you have possibly received and read the message and placed the bid in time in time to beat a bot that is designed to beat humans? The bots aren’t there to “beat” humans like it’s a sport competition. They exist so that people can win without having to do the job in person. It’s the auto- part that caused them to be created, not the winning part. I see now that I’m not the only one who has won auctions on eBay before. How ya doin’, Maggie? > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Astounding. I’m pretty sure I said almost that exact same thing about knowing the difference between “want” and “need” when I said: > > > > Times are tight, so I prioritize, and while this is something I would like to have, it’s not even close to the “must have over all else” category > > Which has nothing to do with being able to pay less for things by using a simple program. If you’re going to buy a CD regardless of your situation, a program that helps you to pay less makes sense. Which, again, isn’t at all what I was bitching about. Are you this much of a dick all the time? You come in, tell people what they think, what they should have done, and what they really ought to be bitching about, and then berate them when they don’t agree with your “wisdom”, even after they’ve bid you a pleasant _adieu_? Thanks again for all your help. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/22 "2010-09-01T06:37:40Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > It’s a thrill, though I’m a bit overly cautious - I send my bid in at 20-30 seconds till. I know people who (manually) snipe and don’t send their bid till 10 seconds till. If someone was sitting at their computer, they could still see my bid and outbid me (or drive my price up) at 30 seconds. At 10 seconds - no way. When I (manually) snipe, I’m pretty sure I always do it under 10 seconds. It’s been awhile, but I’m pretty sure I used to do it under 5 seconds. I thought that’s what everyone did, unless your computer was slow or something. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/23 "2010-09-01T06:48:39Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The bots aren’t there to “beat” humans like it’s a sport competition. They exist so that people can win without having to do the job in person. It’s the auto- part that caused them to be created, not the winning part. That doesn’t answer my question. I’ll ask again: If a bot bids in the last few seconds (you even used the word “nanoseconds”) how could you have possibly received and read the message and placed the bid in time in time to beat a bot that is designed to beat humans? > [@](#): > > I see now that I’m not the only one who has won auctions on eBay before. Man, you’re clueless. > [@](#): > > Are you this much of a dick all the time? You come in, tell people what they think Show me where I did that. > [@](#): > > what they should have done What you could have done that would have been advantageous to you. > [@](#): > > and what they really ought to be bitching about Didn’t do that. > [@](#): > > and then berate them when they don’t agree with your “wisdom”, even after they’ve bid you a pleasant _adieu_? Didn’t do that either. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/24 "2010-09-01T08:51:28Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > and then berate them when they don’t agree with your “wisdom”, even after they’ve bid you a pleasant _adieu_? > > Didn’t do that either. Dude, you’re still doing it. Thanks again for all your considered, thoughtful input. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@Captain\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/25 "2010-09-01T10:41:43Z")
(Since this is the Pit) Is “App” going to be a word now? The word is application. It’s a nice word to say. Gives the tongue exercise it needs. Is our World going to be dumbed down to the point where all words will be minimized to one syllable words? Are we that lazy? Idiocacy! Idiocracy! Run for the hills! ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/26 "2010-09-01T10:57:16Z")
> [@Captain\_Midnight](#): > > (Since this is the Pit) > > Is “App” going to be a word now? The word is application. It’s a nice word to say. Gives the tongue exercise it needs. > > Is our World going to be dumbed down to the point where all words will be minimized to one syllable words? Are we that lazy? > > Idiocacy! Idiocracy! Run for the hills! Man, you must have some strong hands from all the wringing they do all day. ---
**Author:** ![elninost0rm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ed655f/32.png) [@elninost0rm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elninost0rm)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/27 "2010-09-01T12:15:01Z")
This is why you set the highest price you are willing to pay at the outset. Proxy bidding is there for a reason. It works. If the starting bid is set at $10 and you set a max bid of $30, your opponents have no way of knowing this. They DO know that anything below that will be outbid instantly (once they start trying, of course). If you aren’t willing to pay more than $30, then you don’t deserve the item. Proxy bidding has largely made sniping obsolete. ---
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/28 "2010-09-01T12:35:11Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Yes, I do, as I’ve indicated, perhaps most visibly, by starting this thread to bemoan that fact. If you would answer **x-ray vision** ’s question, I’d be better able to understand why you would bemoan that fact and what the point of the OP is. In the OP, you acknowledge that the app will be useless against those that use bots, but here you’re saying it would have been useful had you received the notification. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/29 "2010-09-01T12:49:47Z")
I don’t get this sniping business or wanting to increase your bid later. When you first bid you should bid the maximum you’re willing to pay. If you do this then you will never need to increase your bid because your bid is already the maximum you are willing to pay. Edit: The OP is definitely correct in saying he was beaten by a bot, the eBay bot, it bids on behalf of everyone. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/30 "2010-09-01T12:53:12Z")
> [@Fantome](#): > > > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > > Yes, I do, as I’ve indicated, perhaps most visibly, by starting this thread to bemoan that fact. > > If you would answer **x-ray vision** ’s question, I’d be better able to understand why you would bemoan that fact and what the point of the OP is. In the OP, you acknowledge that the app will be useless against those that use bots, but here you’re saying it would have been useful had you received the notification. I don’t get it either, and I went to an undergraduate university for six years. ---
**Author:** ![cards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cards)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/31 "2010-09-01T13:05:47Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > > _Happy Nightmare Baby_ by Opal. > > I’m a big fan of the _Buckeye_ ep Just had to aknowledge this as it made me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/32 "2010-09-01T15:13:40Z")
> [@elninost0rm](#): > > Proxy bidding has largely made sniping obsolete. > [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > I don’t get this sniping business or wanting to increase your bid later. When you first bid you should bid the maximum you’re willing to pay. If you do this then you will never need to increase your bid because your bid is already the maximum you are willing to pay. If everyone just bid the max they wanted to pay and left it at that, then sniping would be obsolete and there would be no use for it. But as you can see from the OP, not everyone does this. You can see back and forth bidding with regularity on eBay. If the OP was outbid by someone that sniped, that bidder was able to avoid the OP getting the notification and outbidding him. By bidding at the last moment, that bidder avoided the back and forth bidding and outbidding and was able to help insure not only winning the item, but winning it at a better price. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/33 "2010-09-01T15:50:39Z")
Thread That Didn’t Go the Way the OP Envisioned #358,746. Sorry, **Bo**. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/34 "2010-09-01T15:56:22Z")
> [@Captain\_Midnight](#): > > (Since this is the Pit) > > Is “App” going to be a word now? The word is application. It’s a nice word to say. Gives the tongue exercise it needs. > > Is our World going to be dumbed down to the point where all words will be minimized to one syllable words? Are we that lazy? > > Idiocacy! Idiocracy! Run for the hills! [You’re at least 20 years too late.](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/killer+app) ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/35 "2010-09-01T16:02:21Z")
I just downloaded and deleted it 4 times. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/36 "2010-09-01T16:07:09Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > If the OP was outbid by someone that sniped, that bidder was able to avoid the OP getting the notification and outbidding him. By bidding at the last moment, that bidder avoided the back and forth bidding and outbidding and was able to help insure not only winning the item, but winning it at a better price. Yep. I’ve bought many (hundreds?) of items from EBay. Other than those items where I was the only bidder, all of my purchases were made with snipe bids placed in the closing few seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/37 "2010-09-01T16:12:55Z")
> [@Fantome](#): > > > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > > Yes, I do, as I’ve indicated, perhaps most visibly, by starting this thread to bemoan that fact. > > If you would answer **x-ray vision** ’s question, I’d be better able to understand why you would bemoan that fact and what the point of the OP is. In the OP, you acknowledge that the app will be useless against those that use bots, but here you’re saying it would have been useful had you received the notification. No, I didn’t say that in the OP. I was quite clear in the OP what I was pitting; it’s even in the thread title: I am pitting an app because it did not work as advertised. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/38 "2010-09-01T16:26:44Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > I don’t get this sniping business or wanting to increase your bid later. When you first bid you should bid the maximum you’re willing to pay. If you do this then you will never need to increase your bid because your bid is already the maximum you are willing to pay. > > Edit: The OP is definitely correct in saying he was beaten by a bot, the eBay bot, it bids on behalf of everyone. I’m confused also, and opened a [GQ thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=576680) ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/39 "2010-09-01T16:39:13Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I was quite clear in the OP what I was pitting; it’s even in the thread title: I am pitting an app because it did not work as advertised. You said: > [@](#): > > It’s sure gonna be a big help against all the people who use bots, like the asshole who won my CD. You have yet to give any sort of coherent answer as to how an app is going to effectively notify you in time to defeat a bot that puts in a bid seconds before the end of the auction. ---
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/40 "2010-09-01T17:02:55Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > [@Fantome](#): > > > > In the OP, you acknowledge that the app will be useless against those that use bots > > No, I didn’t say that in the OP. I said you acknowledged that the app will be useless against those that use bots. That’s what you did via sarcasm in the OP: > [@](#): > > It’s sure gonna be a big help against all the people who use bots, like the asshole who won my CD. :rolleyes: If that meant something else, what was it? Can you tell us how you think the app would have been useful in winning the CD when you were outbid by someone in the very last seconds of bidding? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201.md?page=3)