The Official "I didn't win it on Ebay" Moral Support Thread

[Iggy]

Before eBay I used a site called uBid.  They used to extend the auction end time by 60 seconds whenever someone bit to allow time for a counter-offer.  They said it was the equivalent of a real auction's "Going for $x...  Going...  Going...  Gone!" which made sense to me.  In my opinion eBay should do the same.

That said, eBay does allow you to put in the maximum you're willing to pay, so if you're honest about that about then snipers shouldn't bother you.

That might work to the sellers advantage, but in the long run its just going to elevate prices. The best deals I've gotten on Ebay (like the Quicksilver I'm typing this on) have been relatively uncontested.

BTW - On the Mac, it was listed as non-functional so I thought I'd only get a case out of it. When I got it all I had to do was reseat the CPU card, add memory and a hard drive. The power supply, motherboard, CPU all in perfect working order - $19.95.

The problem with Amiga hardware is its too sought after and the prices get stupid. On Amiga hardware, I'd rather buy directly from the last owner.

[Iggy]

yeah I honestly am the same way.  I was never trying to suggest that I was morally in the right :lol:  Just that it sucks when it happens to you.  I did set what I thought was a more than generous price, but evidently there was someone else out there who felt that it was worth more.

EDIT:  Plus with the community as small as it is, it would be silly of me to come on here and rant about that *@&% person who sniped me - it could have been any of you!  This thread was more about a pity party than condemning the dude who got it from under me.  It does get tiring tho - ebay has ruined the buyers market.  Everyone thinks their widget is worth its weight in gold, and thanks to the web, the odds are there is one guy out there with more money than sense that will pay it.

Having snuck in to grab an item a few times myself I've got to admit its a lousy trick, but since others are doing it and I've had items I lost because of it I'm not sure morals have anything to do with it.
Its not against the rules, and I've had items that looked like they weren't going to sell for a decent price shoot up in the last minutes.
Remember, just because you bid on it, it doesn't mean you're entitled to it. Its a competitive system.

[Iggy]

It's not so much sniping as trying to get the best deal. I've sniped and I have been sniped. The main reason I get sniped is when I am on the fence on something. When I know I have to have it I put a damn big number down and not even watch the auction. If that was my limit that's my limit. Putting a smaller bid down just means you were less committed to buying the item. Can it suck? Oh heck yeah and I think this thread is a great idea because I know I always want to vent when I get sniped.

Has anyone else had the opposite experience? I have on at least three or four occasions bid on something and then realized I bid further than I should have and was praying up to the last minute for a snipe. Those were moments I was happy sniping existed

The other thing I have been noticing recently is the bidding wars to be the "biggest loser". It's when an item has a reserve that is way to high and people are trying to be the largest bid but still under the reserve. The hope is to get a second chance offer at the last bid you did. I have won three auctions in this way. This last one was like an insane snipefest so it seems we were all trying to be the last highest bid. Anyone else ever experience this?

Yeah, I don't even usually bid on items with a reserve. Its a complete guessing game and even if you bid high there has to be enough people bidding against you to drive the bids over the reserve.
I've managed to get some good deals on ebay, but not a one of them had a reserve price.