Ebay sniping software

[brianmoooore]

Absolutely mothing to do with electrics, but was wondering if anyone on here knows anything about this kind of thing.
Bought a mini tractor with several attachments off of ebay last night. I placed a single bid 4 seconds from the end of the auction, and was surprised to see my bid accepted at just 65p short of my maximum, at £4465.00. Then was then a strange bit of numbers flashing on my screen, followed not by the usual green "you won this auction" or the red "you didn't win this auction", but by an ebay message saying "we are trying to determine who won this auction". Refreshed the page a few times, and after a minute or so, I got the green "you won" as normal.
Looking at the bid history, the last bid before mine was an automatic one at £4365.00, placed about 35 seconds before mine.
£4465.00 is not an outrageous price for what I've bought, but neither is it the bargain I was hoping for.
The question is, does 'sniping' software exist for seller to use? Something that can somehow probe my maximum bid, then place a bid almost exactly £100 below it, so forcing my bid to my maximum. Software that bids up until it's winning, then retracts the last bid, although no retractions are shown in the bidding history?
Or am I just being paranoid?

 

[Dartlec]

Absolutely mothing to do with electrics, but was wondering if anyone on here knows anything about this kind of thing.
Bought a mini tractor with several attachments off of ebay last night. I placed a single bid 4 seconds from the end of the auction, and was surprised to see my bid accepted at just 65p short of my maximum, at £4465.00. Then was then a strange bit of numbers flashing on my screen, followed not by the usual green "you won this auction" or the red "you didn't win this auction", but by an ebay message saying "we are trying to determine who won this auction". Refreshed the page a few times, and after a minute or so, I got the green "you won" as normal.
Looking at the bid history, the last bid before mine was an automatic one at £4365.00, placed about 35 seconds before mine.
£4465.00 is not an outrageous price for what I've bought, but neither is it the bargain I was hoping for.
The question is, does 'sniping' software exist for seller to use? Something that can somehow probe my maximum bid, then place a bid almost exactly £100 below it, so forcing my bid to my maximum. Software that bids up until it's winning, then retracts the last bid, although no retractions are shown in the bidding history?
Or am I just being paranoid?

There absolutely is 'sniping' software out there for buyers that will aim to put in a bid as late as possible. I am not sure if eBay did anything to stamp them out as they were rife in the early days of eBay.

In theory, the seller could have another buyer account set up to up the bids on his auction - and then he could perhaps cancel that last bid, though I'd guess that might show in the bid history?

Whether that buying software has the facility to retract a bid, I don't know - it would seem an unusual feature for software that is normally aimed for buyers.

 

[nicebutdim]

Never heard tell sniping software for sellers, but the message you saw appears immediately after every auction ends and has done for a while. Sometimes refreshing after a couple of seconds will tell if you've won or lost, but sometimes it can take a bit longer and several page refreshes.

 

[mainline]

Absolutely mothing to do with electrics, but was wondering if anyone on here knows anything about this kind of thing.
Bought a mini tractor with several attachments off of ebay last night. I placed a single bid 4 seconds from the end of the auction, and was surprised to see my bid accepted at just 65p short of my maximum, at £4465.00. Then was then a strange bit of numbers flashing on my screen, followed not by the usual green "you won this auction" or the red "you didn't win this auction", but by an ebay message saying "we are trying to determine who won this auction". Refreshed the page a few times, and after a minute or so, I got the green "you won" as normal.
Looking at the bid history, the last bid before mine was an automatic one at £4365.00, placed about 35 seconds before mine.
£4465.00 is not an outrageous price for what I've bought, but neither is it the bargain I was hoping for.
The question is, does 'sniping' software exist for seller to use? Something that can somehow probe my maximum bid, then place a bid almost exactly £100 below it, so forcing my bid to my maximum. Software that bids up until it's winning, then retracts the last bid, although no retractions are shown in the bidding history?
Or am I just being paranoid?

You're being paranoid.

Looe isn't far from where I am, btw

 

[Jim_e_Jib]

Was there a bid immediately before the one for £4365 that was 35 seconds before yours? It could be that someone had entered that as their maximum and previous bid prompted an automatic bid of their maximum.

 

[JBW175]

There is sniping software out there that people use, although I’ve never used it myself.

I also know that some sellers will continue to bid on their item to try and get the highest amount possible for it.

One of my old army mates came into work one day and he was absolutely fuming, when I asked what was up? He goes “I was selling some stuff on eBay, the mrs and her sister tried bidding it up to get maximum price and won the auction. Now I’ve got to pay fees for an item I already own and want rid of… I wouldn’t mind but it’s the 2nd time she’s done it!”

 

[Intoelectrics]

There is sniping software out there that people use, although I’ve never used it myself.

I also know that some sellers will continue to bid on their item to try and get the highest amount possible for it.

One of my old army mates came into work one day and he was absolutely fuming, when I asked what was up? He goes “I was selling some stuff on eBay, the mrs and her sister tried bidding it up to get maximum price and won the auction. Now I’ve got to pay fees for an item I already own and want rid of… I wouldn’t mind but it’s the 2nd time she’s done it!”

I was interested in an item once that was up for auction on eBay with a buy it now price of £60, make an offer, or starting bid @ £30

I watched it for a few days and on the last day no one had bid on it so I figured its probably worth around £50 (not the £60 that they wanted). So I offered £45, this was instantly rejected with no counter offer so I offered my max at £50. This was instantly rejected, so quite grumbled I waited out for the auction to see if anyone bid. At the last few seconds I bid the starting bid £30 and won the item!
Winner for me, loser for the greedy ------- seller!

 

[mainline]

I was interested in an item once that was up for auction on eBay with a buy it now price of £60, make an offer, or starting bid @ £30

I watched it for a few days and on the last day no one had bid on it so I figured its probably worth around £50 (not the £60 that they wanted). So I offered £45, this was instantly rejected with no counter offer so I offered my max at £50. This was instantly rejected, so quite grumbled I waited out for the auction to see if anyone bid. At the last few seconds I bid the starting bid £30 and won the item!
Winner for me, loser for the greedy ------- seller!

Sniping software is as nicebutdim said it's only for buyers, it's also pointless as there is no real need to leave your bid until the last second the only thing it does is take away the time another bidder has to ponder on going that little bit more.

Getting someone to knock the bids up is also somewhat pointless and risky as you would have no idea of the bidders max, a program that would do the same would also have its risks both in the way it would need to use proxy ip addresses and the risk of losing the accounts being used.

The seller above had obviously auto refused offers, but had the £30 starting bid.

 

[Intoelectrics]

The seller above had obviously auto refused offers, but had the £30 starting bid.

Yep, a risk the seller was willing to take in an attempt to get more than what the item was really worth. I could buy the item (with discount) @£60 brand new. The item was second hand, granted in great condition, but not worth the full retail value that was expected. My offer of £50 was more than generous on consideration and I might have kicked myself paying that when I could buy new for £60. But winning it for £30 was a real bargain.

 

[JBW175]

I was interested in an item once that was up for auction on eBay with a buy it now price of £60, make an offer, or starting bid @ £30

I watched it for a few days and on the last day no one had bid on it so I figured its probably worth around £50 (not the £60 that they wanted). So I offered £45, this was instantly rejected with no counter offer so I offered my max at £50. This was instantly rejected, so quite grumbled I waited out for the auction to see if anyone bid. At the last few seconds I bid the starting bid £30 and won the item!
Winner for me, loser for the greedy ------- seller!

It’s the little wins like this that I like to hear about.

 

[nicebutdim]

There is sniping software out there that people use, although I’ve never used it myself.

I also know that some sellers will continue to bid on their item to try and get the highest amount possible for it.

One of my old army mates came into work one day and he was absolutely fuming, when I asked what was up? He goes “I was selling some stuff on eBay, the mrs and her sister tried bidding it up to get maximum price and won the auction. Now I’ve got to pay fees for an item I already own and want rid of… I wouldn’t mind but it’s the 2nd time she’s done it!”

It still happens, but is quite a risky business for those involved.

They'll get away with it as an occasional occurrence, but doing so regularly means they either pay the fees or all involved risk a blanket ban of associated IP addresses.

Always look at sales history to see if the same 'one off' item has been sold repeatedly - once can be explained by a bidder not paying, but walk away if they've sold the same item time and again.

 

[nicebutdim]

I remember a local business started using ebay around 10 or 12 years ago to clear older stock. It was fairly specialist stuff, with prices running from tens to thousands of pounds.

They opted to auction everything and the majority of goods were bought by staff members and continually re-listed. At first they cancelled those sales to save paying fees, but that quickly brought them to ebay's attention and also had caused sales to dwindle (as buyers aren't all stupid). Subsequently they paid sales fees and re-listed, before eventually being banned from the site (along with several staff members and their entire families).

No idea why they didn't simply price goods on 'buy now' listings as they'd still be able to clear stock on the site today.

 

[UNG]

There have been some strange things with Ebay over the last 12 months that I struggle to understand yes I've had the please wait while work out who has won a few times, is it that a number of buyers have bid the same amount in the same second I don't think so as I never bid in round numbers and always add a few pence and have won auctions by as little as a penny as the under bidders bid maxed out at a round number and my bid a second earlier maxed out at a penny more
The one that really confused me was when it looked like my bid had landed fractions of a second after the auction closed yet I still won and I only realised some time later when I got a pay now email and when I checked I wasn't the only bidder

Will we ever understand the workings of ebay

 

[nicebutdim]

Will we ever understand the workings of ebay

No.

This, along with death and taxes, are absolute certainties.

 

[brianmoooore]

yes I've had the please wait while work out who has won a few times, is it that a number of buyers have bid the same amount in the same second I don't think so as I never bid in round numbers and always add a few pence and have won auctions by as little as a penny as the under bidders bid maxed out at a round number

I buy quite a bit via ebay, but it's the first time I've seen a message like this, and yes, I always set my max at a non round number, and only ever place a single bid in the last couple of seconds. If you've seen this message a few times, then that allays my suspicions a bit.
Sniping software for buyers definitely exists, but I don't think it's fool proof, and I'm sure I've been able to beat it manually on occasions.
I always check whether an item has been listed before. This one had, and I was watching it, but was distracted near the end of the auction and failed to get a bid in. I cheekily contacted the seller, and offered to match the winning bid outside of ebay if the buyer pulled out, which, come the following day, he had, but the seller declined my offer {which was just over a £1000 less than my winning bid now, and would have been a bargain).
I always try to build up some kind of profile of a seller as well, by checking feedback, the kinds of things they've been buying, and what they've been selling. This character doesn't raise any suspicions, and doesn't come over as someone particularly versed in things like specialised 'cheating' software, but you never now.
Anyway, thanks for all the responses. I think the general conclusion is that the software I feared doesn't exist, I am being paranoid, and in this case, I was just unlucky to come up against another idiot who really wanted to win the auction.

 

[mainline]

I buy quite a bit via ebay, but it's the first time I've seen a message like this, and yes, I always set my max at a non round number, and only ever place a single bid in the last couple of seconds. If you've seen this message a few times, then that allays my suspicions a bit.
Sniping software for buyers definitely exists, but I don't think it's fool proof, and I'm sure I've been able to beat it manually on occasions.
I always check whether an item has been listed before. This one had, and I was watching it, but was distracted near the end of the auction and failed to get a bid in. I cheekily contacted the seller, and offered to match the winning bid outside of ebay if the buyer pulled out, which, come the following day, he had, but the seller declined my offer {which was just over a £1000 less than my winning bid now, and would have been a bargain).
I always try to build up some kind of profile of a seller as well, by checking feedback, the kinds of things they've been buying, and what they've been selling. This character doesn't raise any suspicions, and doesn't come over as someone particularly versed in things like specialised 'cheating' software, but you never now.
Anyway, thanks for all the responses. I think the general conclusion is that the software I feared doesn't exist, I am being paranoid, and in this case, I was just unlucky to come up against another idiot who really wanted to win the auction.

I wrote a sidekick program for eBay years ago, I’ll have to find the time to revamp it.

 

[littlespark]

I’ve just started selling on eBay, so looking at anything that might boost what the buyer pays.

Couple of hundred quid so far on spare Lego….. with more to go.

 

[nicebutdim]

I’ve just started selling on eBay, so looking at anything that might boost what the buyer pays.

Couple of hundred quid so far on spare Lego….. with more to go.

If listing as an auction, the most basic requirement is a 2nd buyer who's prepared to pay as much as (or more than) the first.

 

[Julie.]

I use one called snip on ebay as a buyer.

I find it useful as I am an idiot!

I like to leave it towards the end of an auction to bid because often if you bid early it gives time for others to outbid you (and they often get carried away bidding 150% on something that is on buy-it-now @100%).

Unfortunately in doing this I remember just too late, and find it closed 2mins before I remembered!

Using snip (snip.pl) I can set my max bid at the time I see the item, yet bid on ebay within a few seconds of the closure. If I am outbid before time, there is no charge, I think it's around 15 pence a snip(e).

I don't think it makes sense to snipe with last minute bids as a seller , it's far better to start low, and as the bids come in early perhaps ghost bid to increase the price whilst people have time to increase their bids. Of course this could end up with you buying your own item, or getting caught and banned from ebay.

 

[mainline]

No.

This, along with death and taxes, are absolute certainties.

One of the things that they should sort out which is of real concern is allowing 0 rated accounts to list high valued items such as motor homes in the last few days I have reported 5 motor homes that have been listed by scammers who copy pictures etc from auto trader or gumtree and then list them as classified ads at well below their real worth and then collect deposits there was one not so long ago where 5 people turned up at an industrial unit to pick up their motor home each had paid a £1000 deposit.

One of the other things scammers do is say that the item is being sold because the owner has moved abroad, but they will deliver the item and PayPal will hold the money until you are satisfied with the purchase they then send you a false PayPal or other link explaining everything about how the money will be held etc, but it's all false and the money when paid is gone.


eBay now when trying to bid on high value items want proof of who you are with credit card details etc before they allow you to bid, it really doesn't make sense it should be the other way around.


This one here is a scam and still hasn't been taken down even though the real owner has reported it to the police and eBay


eBay item number: 403756789538

 

[DPG]

If you try and push the price of your items by getting friends or family to bid on them the the ebay 'shill bidding' algorithm will detect it and you will get a temporary ban.

 

[DPG]

One of the things that they should sort out which is of real concern is allowing 0 rated accounts to list high valued items such as motor homes in the last few days I have reported 5 motor homes that have been listed by scammers who copy pictures etc from auto trader or gumtree and then list them as classified ads at well below their real worth and then collect deposits there was one not so long ago where 5 people turned up at an industrial unit to pick up their motor home each had paid a £1000 deposit.

One of the other things scammers do is say that the item is being sold because the owner has moved abroad, but they will deliver the item and PayPal will hold the money until you are satisfied with the purchase they then send you a false PayPal or other link explaining everything about how the money will be held etc, but it's all false and the money when paid is gone.


eBay now when trying to bid on high value items want proof of who you are with credit card details etc before they allow you to bid, it really doesn't make sense it should be the other way around.


This one here is a scam and still hasn't been taken down even though the real owner has reported it to the police and eBay


eBay item number: 403756789538

Fully agree on the dodgy sellers. You can generally spot them if they have multiple vehicles listed - every one will have a different house in the background because they've just robbed the pictures from other people!

 

[nicebutdim]

If you try and push the price of your items by getting friends or family to bid on them the the ebay 'shill bidding' algorithm will detect it and you will get a temporary ban.

That scams's been running for years. Quite a few get removed, but ultimately ebay's enforcement of their own policies is woefully inadequate. It's a great place to buy or sell but, after almost 30 years, I don't think any amount of re-branding or advertising will ever shake off their 2nd rate image.

Where they do deserve credit is the protection offered to buyers. Provided they heed ebay's advice about payments for online sales, it's very rare that anyone will be left out of pocket by scammers and that's why scams are now mainly found on the classified section in which less protection is available.

 

[nicebutdim]

Managed to forget about two items that finished this evening, which I'd meant to bid on. Thankfully they both sold for more than I would have paid.

 

[naylorpd]

I used to use sniping software all the time, but the company went under and the alternative deals didn't suit my buying pattern.

At the end of the day, if you decide what is the maximum price you will pay, and submit a regular eBay bid for that amount, you either win (happy, you got it for the price you wanted to pay) or lose (happy, you didn't pay more than you wanted). Admittedly in some auctions I do try to bid in the closing seconds to minimise the risk of another online bidder squeezing another one in, but even doing that you can be whupped by someone who set their maximum bid higher than yours days before.

 

[nicebutdim]

Been amazed to discover that sniping software costs money! Last time I used it was about 20 years ago and they were all free.

 

[LukeD]

Bid once only, max you will pay and do it 6-8 seconds before the auction ends .Check internet connection speeds ! "never ever show your hand" on a high value item with lots of people bidding . I tend to win most things this way .The ones I dont , i just crack on with another auction

 

[brianmoooore]

Bid once only, max you will pay and do it 6-8 seconds before the auction ends .Check internet connection speeds ! "never ever show your hand" on a high value item with lots of people bidding . I tend to win most things this way .The ones I dont , i just crack on with another auction

This is exactly what I do, but more like 3 - 4 seconds from the end, since I've had a reliable and fast (FTP) internet connection for a few years.
I attended many a farm auction in my younger days, and I remember my grandfather telling me "all you need is two idiots for a good sale". Seems, on this occasion, I was one of the two idiots.

 

[LukeD]

Ive seen so many SH items sell for more than you can buy new including delivery.Some people really are dumb

 

[DPG]

Ive seen so many SH items sell for more than you can buy new including delivery.Some people really are dumb

The red mist of auction buyers is amazing sometimes. I've sold over 2000 things on ebay and I still get surprised sometimes!

Mind you, it can work the other way sometimes as well. I've had things which have gone for less than they should have. That's auctions for you.

 

[UNG]

I remember my grandfather telling me "all you need is two idiots for a good sale".

Back in the 80's and 90's me & my business partner at the time went to a lot of auctions, tender and private treaty sales around the country and quite often a lot of what we bought we already had a customer for it, over a few years we built up a good relationship with some of the auction houses and did some good deals where the cost of running an auction or tender sale would not be cost effective although moving the entire stock of 2 electrical wholesalers does take some moving

One I always remember was an auction in Stockport there was about 10 bundles of 15mm copper pipe listed in separate lots and two bidders took the price well above the trade price that the plumbers merchants next door were selling it for, add in the 10% buyers premium and they paid well over the trade price and rather than take the stand on offer on some extra lots they bid on each one and bid well over again

The thing with any auction is not being drawn in by that common auction disease Bidditis I've seen it quite often that a few people get it into their head that they must have the lot at any price and a bidding war starts

 

[LukeD]

Or as a client of mine says .."Always have something sold before you buy it " .He is ranked in the top 3 experts in The world his part of the of the Antiques Business .Now retired and consulting .The money he earned in the 80'90 etc was ridiculous . He never ever liked "holding stock" .

 

[mainline]

Been amazed to discover that sniping software costs money! Last time I used it was about 20 years ago and they were all free.

That gives me an incentive to write a free sniping program but have a backdoor where I can tell it to bid on my items remotely

 

[nicebutdim]

One I always remember was an auction in Stockport there was about 10 bundles of 15mm copper pipe listed in separate lots and two bidders took the price well above the trade price that the plumbers merchants next door were selling it for, add in the 10% buyers premium and they paid well over the trade price and rather than take the stand on offer on some extra lots they bid on each one and bid well over again

There's something very satisfying about watching people do this and, when they're finished, winning the next lot for a pittance and standing on for the rest.

 

[freddo]

Bidding at the last minute reminds me of an ebay listing from some years ago. It was a pre war TV. I remember the seller getting very angry because there were over 100 users watching the listing but only 1 or 2 bids. IIRC The TV sold very cheaply as the seller ended the listing days before the finish time. By doing that it must have lost him thousands of pounds. Total madness. I thought it was common knowledge that most of the bids land in the last few seconds!

Shill bidding on the other hand is illegal and you you can be fined up to £5000 in the UK.

 

[mainline]

Bidding at the last minute reminds me of an ebay listing from some years ago. It was a pre war TV. I remember the seller getting very angry because there were over 100 users watching the listing but only 1 or 2 bids. IIRC The TV sold very cheaply as the seller ended the listing days before the finish time. By doing that it must have lost him thousands of pounds. Total madness. I thought it was common knowledge that most of the bids land in the last few seconds!

Shill bidding on the other hand is illegal and you you can be fined up to £5000 in the UK.

One of the things that bugs me is when a seller puts a reserve price on an item that you're willing to pay a good price for, but they won't reveal what that reserve price is, so unless there are at least two bidders willing to pay it doesn't sell as the reserve price is never met.

 

[UNG]

One of the things that bugs me is when a seller puts a reserve price on an item that you're willing to pay a good price for, but they won't reveal what that reserve price is, so unless there are at least two bidders willing to pay it doesn't sell as the reserve price is never met.

If you are putting a reserve on something then you may as well make the reserve the auction starting starting price IMO

 

[brianmoooore]

One of the things that bugs me is when a seller puts a reserve price on an item that you're willing to pay a good price for, but they won't reveal what that reserve price is, so unless there are at least two bidders willing to pay it doesn't sell as the reserve price is never met.

If I'm the last or next to last bidder, I contact the seller and try to do a deal outside of ebay.

 

[mainline]

If I'm the last or next to last bidder, I contact the seller and try to do a deal outside of ebay.

I have been recently been trying to buy a camper van to take my mother-in-law for day trips as she is on her last legs.
They are making ridiculous amounts of money.
So after days of weeding out the scammers and the silly overpriced, damaged or bad history ones I see one that suits on flea bay up on bids but had a reserve, i message the seller asking what his reserve was and could he give me the reg.
He sent me the reg number and said, “you will just have to bid you know what it is worth”
I explained to him that because I didn't know what the reserve was, I could be wasting both your and my time, as it maybe more than I want to pay.
The other thing being it's going to rely on another bidder making that reserve as I could bid a million on it, but the next highest bidder may only bid a £1, so it doesn't make the reserve and hence I wasted 3 days having to check.
Anyway, it didn't make his reserve and I can't be bothered to deal with him now anyway.
What he should have done is set his starter bid, it's much better then all around.

I did find one, but missed it by an hour.
A middle-aged friendly couple they dropped £2000 on the price, the guy gave them a deposit of £20 and is now trying to get a loan.
I offered them £500 more if he lets them down.

 

[nicebutdim]

If you need a certain price, then start the auction thereabouts or just stick it up as 'buy now'. The whole appeal of auctions to most people is the possibility of getting a bargain. If I see 'reserve not met' I'll often walk away, unless it happens to be something I want and will bid my max - when it's invariably relisted, I'll bid that max each time it's relisted for no reason other than to annoy the seller.

The really daft part of reserves is the cost - ebay charge 4% of the reserve price up to a maximum of £150.