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That guy must be fast! Only that guy is
asleep in bed, and an eBay sniper running on his computer outbid you for
him. Not fair. The only way to compete is to use the same
advantage of an eBay sniper. Besides, as you'll read later in this
article, it actually makes smart economic sense to use an eBay sniper.
3 types of eBay bidders
There are basically 3 types of bidders.
The first is the minimum bidder. This is the person that bids the next
minimum bid, and when outbid does the same minimum bid. This only drives
up the price of the item as most bidders like this are not serious about
the item.
The second type of bidder is the
emotional bidder. This is the one that keeps outbidding the other person
no matter what, and only cares about winning, no matter how much they
are actually paying for the item. This is great for the seller and
eBay(they get final value fees), but not so great for the buyer, as the
price can be triple what the item is worth. Team this up with the
minimum bidder and the prices really skyrocket.
The third type of bidder is the smart
bidder. They use an eBay sniper. They choose the price they feel is the
most they are willing to pay for the item, put that in, and set it and
forget it. This way, there's no bidding war. If the item goes for too
much, there will be another coming along just like it and probably an
even better deal.
Why an eBay sniper is the best
way to bid
eBay wants you to believe that you
should use their proxy bidding system. While it is true that you can put
in your maximum bid and the program will auto-bid against other bids on
your behalf, you don't want your bid to go in until the final seconds of
the auction. Until your snipe goes in, eBay has no idea you are bidding.
Your competitors have no idea you are bidding. You just swoop in and
snipe the item at the last moment. The only way to lose is if someone
else is willing to pay more. If someone is willing to pay more, no
matter what you'll lose, that's just how eBay works. Most people are
either minimum bidders or emotional bidders, though, and against tho you
will win easily. Also something to keep in mind with the final prices.
The more an item sells for, the more eBay gets as it's cut. This is why
you won't see on any of their pages that an eBay sniper is a way to get
better deals.
There are even more benefits from using
an eBay sniper. For one, an item is more attractive to other buyers once
it has bids. It must be a bargain or no one would be bidding they are
thinking. When an item has no bids, most people are looking for the
reason why nobody is bidding and will likely not bid for that exact
reason. Waiting until the end of the auction to bid means the item is
less likely to gain the attention of other buyers, giving you a chance
at an even better deal.
Another benefit is that you have time
to think over you bid and change your mind if needed. eBay does not look
fondly to retracting bids, and doing it more than once may get your
permanently banned from eBay. You may realize the next day that you
really don't need the item, or that the bid you had in mind is a little
more than you want to pay for it. You can change the bid that will be
put in, or even cancel it altogether. You're not committed to buying the
item until just a few seconds before the end of the auction.
There is more than the type of eBay
sniper that runs on your computer. Some are online ones you sign into on
the web and it snipes for you. For some this is a good move, especially
if you are using dial-up. For others, they don't want a 3rd party to
have all of their eBay information. What if the site gets broken into,
someone could go to town and ruin your eBay account, also making you
responsible for any purchases or sales. For these reasons, many choose
to use an eBay sniper that runs off of their own personal computer, so
all the information is self-contained on their own computer and nobody
else has any of their personal information. Add in that software on your
own computer is a one-time cost, and no monthly costs of $5+ a month,
and it's a winning deal. You get better deals, less work, and a more
enjoyable eBay experience. Just a few dollars for a piece of software
that can do all that for you is an incredible deal and should be had by
everyone even semi-serious about eBay.
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