[78-L] Snipes and snails...

[Michael Biel]

One of the advantages of the autosnipe services is that it operates
automatically whether or not you are awake or asleep, on-line or
off-line, or even if you have a very slow internet connection.  A couple
of weeks ago I put in a snipe on something and then drove off to a
convention.  Three days later, while I was still on the road, I won the
item, and only found out about it after arriving in Brooklyn. 

Trying to fight off fast ending bids cannot be done by hand because you
can't refresh the screen fast enough to see what you would need to bid. 
Of course you can put in a high bid early on, but every time someone
else puts in a bid, so would "you".  By putting in the high bid on a
snipe program instead of a standard bid, you won't be encouraging others
to keep on putting in more and more bids that will be topped repeatedly
by "you".  

Under the old rules when bidder's identities were shown, during the time
I was trying to build up my Peter and the Wolf holdings there were two
others doing the same.  We got to know whether or not is was something
that was going to be coveted by one of the others -- until I found the
snipe service and they would never know I was going to bid until it was
practically too late.  

Steve's idea that two of these programs might be competing against each
other shows a misunderstanding of how they work.  They put in ONE BID,
and do it a few seconds before the ending time.  You select the number
of seconds.  Some do it one second, some back off a bit.  If you do it
close to the ending time, sure, nobody can react fast enough, but tie
bids will go to the earlier bidder.  

I hate to reveal my "secret" but anyway, I am very rarely bidding
anymore.    

Mike Biel   mbiel at mbiel.com  



From: "Taylor Bowie" <bowiebks at isomedia.com>
> In fact, one can now buy "autosniping" applications, which makes it
> impossible
> for mere humans to win anything on eWotsit!! I'm not sure what happens if
> two instances of these programs wind up competing against each other...?!
>
> ...stevenc


Not at all...I often get sniped, but if my bid was higher than the
snipe, 
I still win the record. It's the matter of being willing to bid with
some 
sense of the current market, and not what one wishes the market were.

BTW the sniping programs are not a new thing...they've been around for
at 
least six or seven years. If two bidders put in the same amount for a 
snipe, the earlier snipe of the two gets the edge, just like if any two 
bids come in of the same amount at the same time.

Taylor 

_______________________________________________
78-L mailing list
78-L at klickitat.78online.com
http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinfo/78-l