[Coco] [Color Computer] Re: Bid Sniping

[Frederick D Provoncha]

Sorry Glen, I must respectfully disagree with you. I must state up-front
that I do not snipe auctions. The reason is because usually auctions end
at inconvenient times, and I'm usually not that determined to win an
auction to go to that much trouble. I post a bid. If I win, great. If
not, it's no big deal.

However, I don't think sniping is morally wrong, and here's why:

When I bid, I bid the absolute maximum I'm willing to pay for the item.
If I do that, and if everybody else did that, then it wouldn't matter
when the winning bid was placed. The item would still go to the person
willing to pay the most.

For example, if I bid $100 for an item, and no one else is willing to pay
more than that, then I win the item, regardless of when I placed the bid.
If someone else IS willing to pay more, then they will win the auction,
regardless of when he placed the bid! And if I get sniped 10 seconds
before the auction ends, then I'm not mad, because $100 is the most I'm
willing to spend and if the sniper wants to spend more than that then
that's his problem.

People get mad at snipers because they want some time to respond to being
outbid by raising their maximum bid. But if your original maximum bid
already represents the absolute most you're willing to pay...

The problem of sniping would go away if people would just bid the
absolute maximum they're willing to spend the first time around.

And contrary to what has been posted before, the reason for 7-day or
10-day auctions is NOT to give people more time to bid. It's purely for
advertising purposes. The longer the auction runs the more people will
find out about it and want to bid. The main reason is to increase the
number of bidders, NOT to give more time for people to bid.

Fred Provoncha


On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 02:53:19 -0000 "glenvdb" <glenvdb at hotmail.com>
writes:
> 
> 
> --- In ColorComputer at yahoogroups.com, tlindner at i... wrote:
> > 
> > I think the ones who want to have a chance to respond to every bid 
> 
> are
> > gaming the system.
> > 
> Isn't that the whole point of E-Bay?
> 
> We try to teach our kids that cheating is morily and ethicaly wrong, 
> 
> but hiding in the shadows,not leting people know that you are 
> interested in the auction and not giving anybody the chance to out 
> bid you is not cheating? (oh I forgot- THATS FREE ENTERPRISE).
> -Glen
> 
> 
> 
> 
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