nearchoclatetown Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Is Ebay giving free drugs to buyers? I can't believe the rediculous prices!! Some of these people have to be on crack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwollam Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Anselmo Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 No doubt! Usually bid what it's worth and then let others take it from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_woodwheels Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 You are observing the process of snipe bidding. It is done to increase the bid price of an item that is not going as well as the seller desires. Greed is the driving force. Usually this phenomonin is present in items that might carry a 4 digit,or higher, price like a whole car, but it is not abscent from lower price items. Jim is correct, let it go, because if no one follows the snipe the seller is left holding the be not the new owner. Antique cars and their parts are worth a finite amount that is the buyers responsibility to be informed of. Any buyer that helps an unscruplous seller retire sooner hurts themselves and the hobby participants, as a whole. Bid, bid and bid again, that is what these robbers want. The e-bay police are out there. "King-of-Cars" was one of their most recent catches but most of us would like to see the on line fuzz a bit more involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepstrebeck Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 If I have read the last post (by woodwheels) in this thread correctly, the people that put a bid in on an item in the last five seconds of an auction on eBay are working in conjuction with the seller to do nothing but drive up the price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlK Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 JohnThat is patently not true. Some people take a dim view of sniping. I find nothing wrong with it. I will snipe and I have been sniped, it goes with the territory. I have never worked with a seller to drive up his price. If I want an item I will watch it, mainly just to see if anyone drives the price up to where I would not even bid on at the last minute. If the price at the last minute is something that I think I can top then I go ahead and bid, even at the last second if need be, thereby insuring that unless someone has put out a proxy bid that is over the top, I will get the item by not allowing another bidder the time to outbid me. It just depends on how badly I want the item. Like I said some people take a dim view of that but that is the way the on-line auction is done. There is not and should not be any "ON-LINE POLICE" to stop someone from bidding at the last second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMoneyPit Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I try to "snipe" all the time since what I'm usually looking for has a highly competitive group of bidders. You may not know this, but you can search for items bid on by a specific buyer... So lets say 1909Ford is bidding on the same parts you need - DB script of course - and you know he has been buying things you need you can search the things he bid on and bid against him... I lost a lot of items to a certain collector in New York City until I caught on to this. Now if I find something good I don't bid until the last minute - this also keeps me from throwing money at it and regretting it later. I also changed my bidder ID once I realized the issue.What is being implied above is called "shill bidding" and is illegal for auctioneers in just about every state I've been to an auction in. That is where the seller has a friend "bid-up" his item against the sucker they are trying to scam. It is frowned upon by e-bay for good reason and if there is any proof you should report your suspicions to them thru their complaint center. The dead giveaway is a repeat buyer winning lots of items from one seller and the seller lising the same item a month or so later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepstrebeck Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I agree completly, there is absolutly nothing wrong with being a bidding sniper, I just questioned what I had read. I only bid in the last three seconds myself, if I get it great, if I don't, oh well.I had learned early on with eBay (10 years ago, at least), it doesn't pay to bid your maximum amount early. All that is going to happen is people are going to have time to "think about it", and then they just nickel-and-dime the price up. I have found that most people that "complain" about sniper style bidding, either have lost-out in the end, or are the same people that when at a live auction, they wait for the auctioneer to put the starting price in the basement so they can get the item cheap. They know what the item is worth and what they are willing to pay, so why are they just sitting on their hands when the auctioneer starts the item at a higher price? You will never be able to make everyone happy, no matter what. I have heard many people in the antique car hobby complain that eBay has caused a "crazy" or "insane" inflation in the prices that are being paid for antique car parts. Could it be that it has opened up the hobby to a much larger segment of the population that can't afford to go to swap meet after swap meet looking for parts, and has made them much more accessible to everyone? And in turn, now the parts that others used to get "cheap", they are now having to pay more for them?For me the bottom line for an auction is this, what ever was paid for the item is exactly what it is worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearchoclatetown Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 I think there is a little confusion between hunting snipe and being a sniper, as in a long distance shooter. There is a program available that lets you "snipe" a bid at the last minute, which blocks any other bids. But what I'm outraged about is the prices of some items lately!! Since when is a 4 cylinder DB distributor worth $450? Ot a fatman steering wheel with damage worth $915? I know it takes two to tango, but this is nuts!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_N Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Oh boys, are we taking our conspiracy pills today? Prices are driven up by bidding long before the auction ends. I mean what's the point? The last few seconds is where it matters. I use Sniping software. There's nothing wrong with that. I decide how much I'm willing to pay and wait till the last second to tell anyone. I win or I lose, but I don't pay more that I'm willing to. If you want a real issue, I've had a race car of mine listed three times in a month by a fake seller trying to get some deposit money. It doesn't hurt me I guess, but I do feel bad for the unsuspecting. Then there's the buy something, wait 2 months, never receive anything, and then get a negative rating from the seller for having the audacity to ask for refund. Sure makes their feedback system viable?Oh well, I have a lot of parts for my cars as a result of eBay. Still, too bad there isn't any competition.And just for the record, I've paid a ton more to junk yards for parts than on eBay. MOPAR stuff is through the roof!Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wenthur Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 I need an eBay 12 step program, up over 1,000 feedback and growing, bought 6 vehicles so far and growing. Only been burnt 3 times and not bad, were else can you find some of the stuff we need like NOS Bosch headlights for "36 Mercedes? Snipping is fun I have an alarm to remind me to bid and a large telegraph clock set to ebay time, with large second hand, sometimes I get great deals and sometimes someone snipes that wants the item more. Selling is almost as fun except the line in the post office. Sold 50 16mm full length movie. I had bought on ebay in bulk, used them then sold individually and made a pretty good profit. Life is fun, Look on the bright side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imouttahere Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Sorry, Mike, but I'm afraid I must disagree with you. The level of fraud on eBay has reached epidemic proportions (why else would eBay be making so much noise about correcting it, to no effect?). Most of the sellers are crooked as hell (at least that has been my experience), and all they want to do is rip off buyers. I can't even TELL you the number of times I have been ripped off. And FORGET trying to get eBay to do anything about it. No more eBay for me. Ever.If eBay is so wonderful, why has the organization been forced to admit of late that there is a lot of fraud, and why is it trying (to no avail) to deal with that fraud?Too many lies by sellers about the condition of their merchandise, and too much totally uncontrolled shill bidding. Haven't you noticed how many items supposedly sell for a high price, and are then re-listed for sale? Not THAT many purchases fall through! The original high "selling" price of the item was a shill bid by the seller's friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_N Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Well, you need to be careful when buying a car, that's for sure.I have a race car for sale on another site. Someone has taken the photos and layout from that site and posted it three times on eBay this year. So, knowing how easy that kind of scam can be undertaken makes me a whole lot more cautious about buying a car there.Ebay is the best place for easily finding old car parts though, and yes, very addictive. And Mike, you might be the poster boy for that addiction!! Only kidding!I will say that the great majority of my experience with eBay has been great. I wish my experiences with Craigs list were as good.Love the connected, digital world. But, it does have its warts, and dangers!Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrpushbutton Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 I have been in the old car hobby for over 25 years and one thing that has happened is that the price of the parts now is keeping track with the price of the cars. I know old-timers who used to go to swap meets and buy 5 or more of the same part "just in case" because back then the parts were cheap, the guy selling them was "just supporting his hobby". All of that came to an end a long time ago. The same old-timers who bought their car in 19-whatever for a three-figure sum know its current (five figure) value to the penny and won't accept less when they sell. The parts have to follow that lead. obvious fraud aside, they are worth what someone is willing to pay. Lately the few Chrysler items I've sold have gone very cheap, a price I would have turned down as a counter-offer at a swap meet. But that's what I signed up to do, so I honor that price and get on with life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearchoclatetown Posted February 29, 2008 Author Share Posted February 29, 2008 $405 for a Motometer, at that rate the whole car would have to be worth $200,000! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Big Mark Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Guys, we are talking about two diferent things.. snyping and shill bidding. snyping takes place at the end of an auction and is OK by me. Shill bidding is when you bid on an item, and a friend of the seller bidds against you knowing full well he will never buy it. JUST TO DRIVE UP THE PRICE !! ang gode you to pay more. thats uncool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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