I've Been Sniped!

It is the 8th deadly scourge of the modern world: Ebay Auction Sniping.

Picture this: you are sitting there, happily bidding on an item. You think you are getting a good price but to make sure you don't get outbid you watch the final minutes click down and all is quiet. For the past four days your bid has stood unchallenged.

Then, with three seconds left, you are no longer the high bidder. You, my friend, have been sniped.

When outbid with only three seconds left you are unlikely to have a chance to counter-bid. The effect is to lock you out just over your last offer, whether or not you were willing to offer more. Even if you had bid low and would have gone higher you are out of luck and you are left with the feeling of lost opportunity.

To avoid being sniped, here are some suggestions:

1) If you really want it, make sure you bid your maximum early on. Snipers typically only want deals and won't overbid an item.

2) Look for multiple auctions of the same thing and see what price the earlier ones go for to see what you can expect to pay.

I was sniped last night but I'm not too upset about it. I followed suggestion number one above and I was unlikely to bid more even if I had the time to do so. It still pisses me off though. With five seconds left I had gotten my hopes up that I had won the auction and was planning how to enjoy my purchase. Foolish me.