Autobidding (at least the built-into-eBay kind) will always award the auction to the highest bidder regardless of the lateness of timing of sniped bids - sniping prevents people repeatedly ‘pecking’ at your bid until they beat it by a small increment.
If somebody beats my bid, by definition that means they’re paying more than I judged I was willing to. At that price, I want them to take it.
So why not try sniping as well? If it’s something you really want and you’re willing to pay the higher price, it’s a good strategy.
No, there’s no point in sniping, ever. That means you’re allowing your reckoning of the thing’s worth to you be driven by the impression that other people want it. Good for sellers, sure, but never for smart buyers.
Sniping (the manual kind) is the bomb. I’ve gotten stuff against other bidders for little of nothing (and back when anyone could message you, sometimes you’d hear from people you beat out who were none too happy about it) and haven’t really lost out all that much. Sure, it happens some, but I’ve been on there since '99 and that infrequency has certainly been worth the money I’ve saved. Win-win.
Sniping sometimes saves sellers who risk setting their prices too low. I never understood the .99 cent auctions. They are hoping bids will drive the price up to something reasonable. Like $7 for a music cd. It can’t be fun having to wrap up and ship an item that actually sold for .99 cents.
This, exactly. aceplace57’s rant only makes sense if you see ebay as a way for buyers to pay far less than market value to a naive seller. In which case, why would sellers bother?
Are you missing a “not” someplace? Your second sentence is the very antithesis of your first.
Open outcry incremental bidding is how people overpay based on competing with the other guy. Sniping is how someone decides in private what they’re willing to pay with zero knowledge of anyone else’s secret to-be-sniped bids.
Bottom line: eBay with sniping is sealed-bid auctioning. Decide in private, bid in private, win or lose at the gavel.
This makes no sense in the context of your complaint. If the bidding had been extended like in onsale dot com, it still would have gone up, maybe even higher to where you didn’t win.
On the other hand, if you had though to snipe, your $60 bid wouldn’t have been there, attracting attention. Maybe the hypothetical a-hole would only have bid $60, and you could have sniped him for $65.
Sniping makes sense as it helps avoid shill bids,
Why is it not useful in the following type of situation?
Auction item is a Widget for which you’d be willing to pay $100. It has attracted one bid, of $40 (the listed minimum). That bidder is willing to pay $110, but isn’t savvy and hasn’t recorded that fact, so there will be no autobidding. Your bid is sniped in at the last second, first bidder is unable to react in time, and you get the item for $45. Had you not sniped, first bidder would have had time to outbid you.
Why else would I go to garage sells and spend time searching ebay listings? Getting a good deal is the reason to use these services.
I won’t take advantage of anyone. For example, I’ve pointed out collectable items at garage sales and told the people its true value. I have to sleep at night, and getting a $75 vase for $10 wouldn’t be right. Ebay is different because its an auction. The vase that is listed at $10 may attract a lot of bidders. I can bid with a clear conscience.
I’ve done that before. I have to because of the way Ebay is setup. It’s the only way to actually get a good deal on Ebay. For example, if that $45 bid had been posted a few hours earlier. A bidding war would have erupted. Ebays rules basically created sniping.
I’d still prefer that anyone in front of their computer and monitoring the auction should have a couple minutes to counter bid. (that bidder might easily be me. 
) Ebay chose not to allow it. I’ve always wondered why.
I guess I can’t argue with success. Ebay is the 20ft tall giant in online auctions.
I guess it depends what you think the purpose of an auction is for the buyer. To save money? That seems to be a concept that’s popped up with those penny auction sites, but it’s probably older.
I see your concerns. It’s the age old argument. Is Ebay the worlds biggest flea market or a retailers market? Right now its a bit of both. I’ve found that Buy It Now prices are close to retail. Auction prices vary. The retailers selling under ebay accounts start their listings just under retail. Someone selling off a deceased relatives possessions will often list at garage sell prices and hope for lots of bidding.
Ebay has gotten so big that music retailers like Sweetwater will sell stock on Ebay Buy It Now for the same price as their own web site. Basically doubling their market presence. Ebay is morphing into Amazon. 
most experienced bidders wait until the last 2 minutes to bid to avoid bidding wars.
Yeah, that would be the way to do it, and bid max at that point, but I ain’t got time for that shit, and, for me personally, there’s never anything I want on eBay that badly that I can’t just wait for the next auction and do without it. So I’ll enter an eBay auction whenever I happen to see it, put in my highest bid, and just return when I remember to and see if I’ve won anything. It’s worked fine for me, and I don’t have to deal with the stress and time-consumption of having to keep track of one or several auctions.
The thing I find irritating is that ebay allows items to be re-listed very quickly. This has created companies that will work with a seller to guarantee a minimum bid price. You’ll be bidding against a group of bots or fake accounts who are contracted to drive the price over a hidden minimum threshold on items that have officially have no minimum price.
If they end up being the highest bidder, lo and behold the item re-appears on ebay within a few days by either the original or an affiliated seller. It’s deceptive, hell it’s really just straight up fraud. Either set a minimum bid / reserve price or do not, but do not expect me to play a rigged game where I am being pushed to bid higher against someone who does not exist or is an employee of the “seller”.
Officially ebay doesn’t condone this. But they do absolutely nothing to stop it either. Granted, this doesn’t apply to every item, but to higher ticket items, it’s a real PITA.
With jewelry and higher end watches and the like, things which have serial numbers, they have the ability to cut the game off at it’s knees by mandating that Patek Phillipe Calatrava Number xyz can’t be re-listed for six months. Or Rolex Presidential Date Just number zyx. But they don’t. At all. The know the auction fraud/rigging is occurring and they do absolutely nothing.
It’s basically impossible to find a legitimate deal on any of these types of items.
Regards,
-Bouncer-
PS: Yes, I am a watch freak. No, I don’t own a Patek Phillipe (yet, but I will damn it! 
)
But that’d hurt people who arbitrage and buy and sell on eBay at the same time. Not everyone is necessarily a scammer. (Although it is really hard to make a profit what with eBay fees and all, it’s not impossible).
eBayers are weird, is what I’ve determined in my 2 months as a seller.
I’ve recently been selling some old WW2 War Bonds posters. I started all but one of them in the $30-$40 range and they all sold for between $150 and $300.
One of them was in absolutely pristine condition so I set the starting price at $99. Not one bid, it’s on it’s third relisting.
So, collectors will happily pay more than $100 for a WW2 poster, but they won’t pay more than $100 if it starts that high. 