The Tolkien Coming of Age Club - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

***Mithadan*** · 01-08-2003, 08:19 AM

Mark 12_30, sniping is a tactic that people use on eBay to give them a better chance at winning an auction. It works this way. Let's say you found your mint condition red box Ballantine set listed at $7.50 in an auction which will close on Friday at 6:30 pm, Pacific time. There are three bids and the high is $10.50 right now. You are willing to pay up to $25.00. Do not bid now. Bookmark the listing and make your bid (for the whole $25.00, not a lesser amount) at 6:29pm on Friday. By the time the other bidders get the "you've been outbidded" e-mail, it will be too late to make a new bid or maybe they'll come in and make a new bid which is still lower than yours (on eBay, the high bid, depending on the item price is set at $0.50 or $1.00 more, for lower price items, than the next highest bid, so even if you bid $25, if the next highest bid is $19, your new high bid will be set at $19.50 or so though you would still beat any bid up to $25).

Another trick is to bid $0.51 cents higher than your planned amount. So if someone else bids $25.01 you still win.

01-08-2003, 08:19 AM	#11
*Mithadan* Spirit of Mist Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Tol Eressea Posts: 3,399	Mark 12_30, sniping is a tactic that people use on eBay to give them a better chance at winning an auction. It works this way. Let's say you found your mint condition red box Ballantine set listed at $7.50 in an auction which will close on Friday at 6:30 pm, Pacific time. There are three bids and the high is $10.50 right now. You are willing to pay up to $25.00. Do not bid now. Bookmark the listing and make your bid (for the whole $25.00, not a lesser amount) at 6:29pm on Friday. By the time the other bidders get the "you've been outbidded" e-mail, it will be too late to make a new bid or maybe they'll come in and make a new bid which is still lower than yours (on eBay, the high bid, depending on the item price is set at $0.50 or $1.00 more, for lower price items, than the next highest bid, so even if you bid $25, if the next highest bid is $19, your new high bid will be set at $19.50 or so though you would still beat any bid up to $25). Another trick is to bid $0.51 cents higher than your planned amount. So if someone else bids $25.01 you still win. __________________ Beleriand, Beleriand, the borders of the Elven-land.