Darn it, sniped again

[Normspeed]

Don, we have great folks on the forum, as I've witnessed many times. I know some of our finest are also snipers. They're still great folks. Sniping just takes a lot of the enjoyment out of ebay bidding for me. Like I said, there was no personal insult intended. Just stating my opinion. If you're winning and you feel good about how you're winning, go for it. Makes the world go round.

[eric wissing]

Ebay isn't really like a live auction. It ends at a specific time, not when the bidding ends. I have gone to live auctions everyweekend almost for 10 years.

There are plenty of sneaky low-lifes at the live auctions. The auctioneers and bidders are not real honest. I have had people ask me not to bid on something they wanted and they would reciprocate. They then have someone else bid on it for them. The word gets out on people like that. The auctioneers will pull bids out of thin air. The same rules apply to live auctions and to EBAY. Nowhere you will stop.

I know people who sell things on EBAY and have asked me if we would like them to bid an item of ours up. I say definitely not unless they want to own it. I know sellers who will throw fragile items in a box knowingly poorly pack it because they insured it. Things catch up with them. We have 3500+ all positive in 8 years. That isn't easy because of a few nuts you run into.

I haven't really bought many car items, nor do I sell any. I don't know enough about it!!

[Guest jtw3749c]

I was bidding on an item, the ebay way, but on another auction, not Ebay related. Tried to snipe and all it did was extend the auction another 10 minutes. Blew my mind. But then I understand why.

[Arthur1947]

Welcome to the internet.

[Ed Griffin]

I was bidding on an item, the ebay way, but on another auction, not Ebay related. Tried to snipe and all it did was extend the auction another 10 minutes. Blew my mind. But then I understand why.

Now that sounds like a way to make ebay get back in the swing of things and bring back the fun of bidding there. Unless it's more profitable I doubt they would go for it though.

[Norm's Coupe]

In theory a real auction could go forever because each time someone bids the auctioneer will ask for more bids. That doesn't help the guy looking for a deal. The last auction I attended was at a company going out of business several years ago. I knew the owner of the company and knew that the air compressor was only a year or two old and hardly used. (that was before I bought my new compressor). He would have sold it to me direct, but had already included it in items for the auction company so couldn't by the time I ask him. At any rate, that compressor went for more than you could buy a new one for at auction. So......no deal to be had on that, even at auction.

Probably my biggest problem with the internet auction is the fact I can't pick up the item and look at it in person. Sure, you have pictures but pictures don't show everything. New items are usually ok, but when it's used you never know what you are really getting until you've already bought it. Then it's too late.

[knuckleharley]

Now that sounds like a way to make ebay get back in the swing of things and bring back the fun of bidding there. Unless it's more profitable I doubt they would go for it though.

OK,now explain to me why extending a auction makes it "more fun". I don't bid on items for fun. I bid on items because I need or want them,and I do NOT consider being jerked around with extended auctions as a fun way to spend my day. That's why I quit bidding at U-Bid. I want to know a day and time for the damn auction to end so I know if I won what I bid on or not so I know if I need to keep looking or to start expecting it in the mail.

Look,this is pretty simple. You go to ebay and you bid what you are willing to pay. You either win it,or you don't. Don't complain about somebody "sniping" you at the last minute and "stealing" "your" auction. It ain't YOUR auction and it ain't YOUR item unless you bid high enough to win it. The TIMING of your bid is irrelevant. If you wanted it so badly you get upset over not winning it,maybe you should have bid higher?

If you were looking to lowball the seller and buy something for far less than it's actual value,what right do YOU have to complain about somebody stepping up to the plate who wants and needs that item,and bidding more for it? Seems hypocritical as hell to me.

While we are on the subject,what's with slamming sellers? If it weren't for sellers,we couldn't be buyers. I recently bought a repop parts manual for my 42 coupe and had to pay $59 + shipping for it. Trust me,I was less than thrilled to pay that kind of money for a manual I will rarely use,but I AM glad the damn thing is even available,and nobody forced me to buy it. If the seller made $5 or $50 profit is none of my business or my concern.

BTW,Ed,the first paragraph is the only one directed towards you. The rest is a general comment to the whole board.

[Allan Faust]

I'm a sniper, and a seller that starts things off at 0.99 no matter what the value.... up here I can't get anything nor sell things off (no population interested) so when I buy something, I first look for the buy it now at reasonable prices, then resort to bidding or sniping when I can't find what I want..... as for the buy it now, as Pat can confirm.... you can get some great deals (how're the pistons Pat??? )... I bought over $1000 worth of engine parts for my rebuild via the Buy it now, with a couple of snipes for a total of about $150.....

As for selling, if someone wants to snipe or start a bidding war on a 0.99 item, go for it.... if it ends at $1, so be it.... I couldn't have got more for it here anyways...... when a bidding war starts and a magazine back issue goes for $40... that is great... but not my problem....and what I hate, I don't do... ie try and use shipping costs to make my money.... actual shipping costs, or as close to it as possible..... (I've just seen something like that recently, eh Greg??? )

Allan

[Norm's Coupe]

Allan brought up another problem with ebay when he mentioned shipping cost. I've heard a lot of people say they got a deal on whatever on the bay because they only paid $5 bucks for the part. However, they left out the part that they had to pay $15 or $20 to get the thing delivered. It's like the person who goes to the gambling casino, comes home and is real proud of the fact he won $100. However, if you ask that person how much he had to invest to win the $100 he doesn't know. That's probably because it cost him $200 to win the $100.

That's why I think it's cheaper to hit the swap meets. Of course, I know that's not practical in a lot of areas. $5 or $6 bucks gets you in the gate. Go with 2 or 3 other people, split the gas and parking fees. Then you can buy tons of weight in parts and pay no shipping. You get it now and can see what you are buying before you buy. Price is usually a little better too. Plus you have a great day out bumming around with other car guys.

[Young Ed]

Mopar parts can be hard to find at swaps. At back to the 50s swap I did find 1 guy selling a bunch of p15 stuff. He had a couple boxes of trim and a few radios. Didn't see any good pass door handles so I didn't buy anything. However he also had sitting on the ground a tranny marked 49-50 chev 3spd boat anchor. As soon as we asked about it he said "if you want it take it" So when we were done walking the swap into the car it went. Probably a good thing we took it too because when we tow dolly'd the 50 home the tranny was howling loudly!!!!!

[Norm's Coupe]

Mopar parts can be hard to find at swaps. At back to the 50s swap I did find 1 guy selling a bunch of p15 stuff. He had a couple boxes of trim and a few radios. Didn't see any good pass door handles so I didn't buy anything. However he also had sitting on the ground a tranny marked 49-50 chev 3spd boat anchor. As soon as we asked about it he said "if you want it take it" So when we were done walking the swap into the car it went. Probably a good thing we took it too because when we tow dolly'd the 50 home the tranny was howling loudly!!!!!

Ed, that's what I was talking about. Your tranny is like the 350 turbo tranny I picked up at a swap meet a couple of years ago. Didn't get mine free, had to pay $10 for it. Guy said it was good, but who knows. Really doesn't matter because core charge alone is more than $10 so couldn't go wrong. I've also picked up some small P15 items for a buck or two that you see a starting price of $10, plus shipping on ebay. Have a brand new voltage regulator in the original box that was only $10 that I picked up at a swap a few years ago for my P15. Granted Mopar parts are harder to find, but they are there if you can be patient and wait for them to pop up. Plus there is a lot more plain old neat stuff cheap at the meets.

[Ed Griffin]

Ebay isn't really like a live auction. It ends at a specific time, not when the bidding ends. I have gone to live auctions everyweekend almost for 10 years.

There are plenty of sneaky low-lifes at the live auctions. The auctioneers and bidders are not real honest. I have had people ask me not to bid on something they wanted and they would reciprocate. They then have someone else bid on it for them. The word gets out on people like that. The auctioneers will pull bids out of thin air. The same rules apply to live auctions and to EBAY. Nowhere you will stop.

I know people who sell things on EBAY and have asked me if we would like them to bid an item of ours up. I say definitely not unless they want to own it. I know sellers who will throw fragile items in a box knowingly poorly pack it because they insured it. Things catch up with them. We have 3500+ all positive in 8 years. That isn't easy because of a few nuts you run into.

I haven't really bought many car items, nor do I sell any. I don't know enough about it!!

Eric, I've never been to a live auction in my life but I have used ebay and yahoo auctions since 1999 but i'm not a power seller and have only around 160 feedbacks which are all positive. Actually over 190 sales or wins but the others left no feedback at all on ebay. Yahoo isnt even worth mentioning since I rarely use it anymore and have only a handful of feedbacks.

Your correct that ebay isnt really a true auction because of the time limit but it's still an auction. Those people you mentioned that ask if you want them to bid an item up for you are the same as those called shillers on ebay. Luckily you'll find the forum pick over these type auctions if it is of Mopar interest. Many times being reported and having the auction pulled. This was one of the features that ebay took away that will eventually be it's downfall. Taking away the availablity to see past sales further than 30 days makes it hard for a buyer to look at the names used in each auction. Without this old feature you cannot see if someone has had the same names bid up/shill previous auctions in the past, etc.

So far I've sold a 1947 COE Dodge 1 1/2 ton firetruck, a model T ford, a 1936 Rolls Royce limo, a 1946/8 Plymouth business coupe and two MG's. More have been listed but did not sell. All were for friends because they didnt own computers. So far I have purchased a 1949 FS Dodge sedan and a 1950 Chevy 1/2ton pickup, both from MO, through ebay. Over time I have purchased many vehicle related items with very few problems. I did have one fellow in North Dakota who never delivered a horn ring but I was able to locate his cell phone number and tell him how I felt about the deal. Another seller who had a black powder 6 shooter pulled from ebay was going to sell me this pistol anyhow and so we used paypal to make the transaction. The kickback of using paypal is that they will cover an item if they decide the transaction was legit but since the fellow took all the money from his account I was awarded the total of $2.50 out of $110.00 and no pistol. He was from Acme PA and I am still looking for him with good results. I wont go into the ordeal with the Dodge COE because it started out sour through a past forum member.

I can say there has been a item here or there that wasnt as described but it worked out or I just ate it. When I first started I did make a purchase of a set of NOS fender gaurds which I payed way too much for but that was from lack of knowledge on the value and rarety of parts. All in all my past experiance with ebay has been a good one but with the way ebay has changed along with the knowledge of where to locate parts I rarely use it now.

As I mentioned I've never been to a live auction but it sounds as if you have the same problems as you do on ebay. I have watched as many auctions as I could find on tv and have noticed there are the type buyers who do not bid until the auction has just about peeked and the gavel has almost dropped. That is when they begin to bid and from what I've seen there that is how to bid if you are willing to pay more than the almost closed bid. One thing this does is weed out the non serious bidders. It is also what I would refer to as a live auction sniper or as some refer to as a last minute bidder. Ed

[Plymouthy Adams]

it all boils down to one thing...money...E-bay makes it money for the initial list and percentage of sale..so it only benefits them to extend the auction time...so again, E-bay does not have any regard for the buyer and could care less if an extension ruined his deal...and the allowing of the sniper bid is supported by them but for this reason and now with the extension of time they are again juggling the auction field to max profit for them...so to get the part it is "pay to play"..to get the part for resale as many do...it can be limiting your profit margin and at times a risk for resale..to bid for the fun...you need serious help....to run up a bid for a friend and this is still prevelant on e-bay is just dishonest. E-bay can be a good avenue of parts..and given the time and distance and the "unknown if available" of swap meets..sometimes the higher price is well within reason after all. As for making up for the price in shipping cost...I hope they break a frigging leg getting to the postoffice, I do bids that list the flat rate and have the calculator for cost included..these guys are on the up and up and as such will get the most attention on bids.

[knuckleharley]

Guys,if you have someth8ng to sell,why not give Craigs List a shot? I have almost quit trying to sell anything on ebay because of their outrageous fees,but have had good luck selling junker parts cars through Craig's List,and it's free.

I still have parts cars I am selling for between 100 bucks and 450 bucks,and it just doesn't make sense to try and sell them on ebay. The last parts car I sold there for $250 cost me $80 in ebay fees. It just doesn't make sense. Because of this I pretty much only use ebay to buy stuff. I just bought a rebuilt NORS fuel pump for my 42 from ebay for $14.95 plus $10 for shipping by using Buy It Now. Also bought 10 brand new dual post 6v taillight and turn signal bulbs for $10,plus $3 for shipping.

Right now I have a 48 Dodge 5-window parts pu with a clear title on the HAMB,the Pilot House board,and on Craigs list for $250. If it doesn't sell by Mondy it goes on ebay. If it doesn't sell on ebay it goes to the crusher. Hate to do that but I have to clean the yard up.

BTW,I've had better luck selling stuff on Craig's List than I have had on ebay,but never seem to find anything there I'm interested in buying. Seems like it has to be at least 1,000 miles away before I'm interested in it.

[Young Ed]

I've bought and sold a few things through craigslist. Lately I've had some dodge dakota parts on there. Been getting a ton of interest but no one shows up to buy. I didn't think any of the stuff was expensive. I had 45each on the doors and the radiator, 50 for the 4 wheels(aluminum), and 75 for the tailgate. Lots of calls no sales.

[knuckleharley]

Tim Adams wrote: >>it all boils down to one thing...money...E-bay makes it money for the initial list and percentage of sale..so it only benefits them to extend the auction time...so again, E-bay does not have any regard for the buyer and could care less if an extension ruined his deal...<<

Nice rant. Irrelevant since ebay doesn't extend auctions,but still a nice rant.

You will have to ask the poster who originally posted that info,but I believe he was talking about U-Bid,not EBay.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Rant or not all I can say is that I have watched my e-bay bids live..2 seconds to go...still does not end...60 second later..still not ended...about 3-5 minutes later the bid will end...and in that time you will see a winner with a bid time past closing..so to me this is an extension..intentional or not..seems very flaky to me...still has all the earmarking of an extension to me....so if someone can better explain this I am all ears so to speak.. There are people on there selling more in a week than I have cared to purchase over the last 4 years or so and thus it is not a major media for parts. Don't get me wrong..if I can snipe it or buy it for a real good price..I will..who wouldn't?

[knuckleharley]

Rant or not all I can say is that I have watched my e-bay bids live..2 seconds to go...still does not end...60 second later..still not ended...about 3-5 minutes later the bid will end...and in that time you will see a winner with a bid time past closing..so to me this is an extension..intentional or not.....

I've never seen that happen. What I have seen happen that gets me steamed is auctions ending early with no reason given,and having ebay not accept my last minute bid for some unknown reason. I place the bid with a few seconds left,it SEEMS to take the bid,and then I see that soembody else won the item even though I bid higher. This has happened to me several times on hard to find parts that I really needed.

[Norm's Coupe]

I never thought much of Craigs List until recently.

My son has been trying to sell his 93 year old neighbors 66 Chrysler Imperial 4 door hardtop for a couple of years. Never put it on Ebay because all of those listed either didn't sell or sold for less than $800. Only ones that went higher were the 2 door hardtops. About a month or so ago he put the car on Craigs list for $3,000 and it did not sell. He then relisted the car for $2,000 and by the next night he had 4 buyers come to his house to look. Sold it to the first buyer for the $2,000. So.......guess there may be something good about Craigs list after all.

[Young Ed]

Norm it seems ashame that a nice old car like that doesn't bring more then 2k. Hope the new owner takes care of it.

[Ed Griffin]

At one time you could sell a car/truck for reasonable fee's by listing it under parts cars which was much cheaper than posting in the other section. Now ebay has gotton smart to that idea and changed that process as well with you paying a much higher intial fee.

Another problem that is brought up is the fact that many sellers hike the postage and shipping fee's. Some are so high I dont even bother to read once I've seen this and like you Tim hope they break a leg on their way to the post office. I guess these people think they are a part of the $19.95 plus shipping and handling snafoo miracle items they have commercials for on tv. Ever notice how they never show what the actual shipping and handling fee's are?

I imagine if we had swap meets like many seem to have in their area I would check some out depending on how crowded it is and how close it was. All you'll find around here are flea markets and garage sales and these flea markets are mostly crafty items, antiques and coin or ball collector items.

Craigs list is another option but it too has it's problems. Mostly due to scammers.

Tim, when did ebay start extending their auction time? From what I read in JTW's post it was'nt an ebay auction that they extended. Knuckleharley, yes I forgot your name again, sorry, Andrew? Anyhow, you posted :

"OK,now explain to me why extending a auction makes it "more fun". I don't bid on items for fun. I bid on items because I need or want them,and I do NOT consider being jerked around with extended auctions as a fun way to spend my day. That's why I quit bidding at U-Bid. I want to know a day and time for the damn auction to end so I know if I won what I bid on or not so I know if I need to keep looking or to start expecting it in the mail."

My assumption of the extended auction was in minutes and not days. Like you, I would like to know when it was over as well. As for extending it for a few more minutes this would eliminate the need to snipe because you cant use the last minute bell to stop the auction and use a sniper bid. Before snipping was a problem you could bid and not have to worry about getting sniped at the last second. The part that was fun for me was the whole deal. Placing a bid and watching it to see if I won. Most of the time these were non related items to vehicles. When it came to parts, manuals etc then it was serious business if it were an item I really needed as you mentioned. Even then I dont take it that serious if i lose. I do take it very serious when someone rips me off or tries to.

[Norm's Coupe]

I know what you mean Ed. I would have bought it for that price and I don't like 4 doors that much. Don't have room for a boat like that though so couldn't.

The engine only had about 4,000 miles on the rebuild. The car was just a nice looking driver though. It did need new seat cushions on the drivers side and some other small things. Plus, years ago the AC went out. Instead of the old guy having it fixed he took it out. Then he threw out the parts. The guy stopped driving a couple of years ago, however my son use to take it out about once a month to keep it running for him. The car ran and drove great.

Evidently the 60's Chrysler doesn't have a good resale value on them. The same model years listed on ebay just wasn't selling, even those that sounded in better condition than this one. To be honest, after helping set a price I was shocked that he even got the $2,000 for it. If someone new on a tight budget wanted an old car, just look for a 60's Chrysler and they'll get it cheap.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Ed..I have seen the above mention of the "extension for any other way to describe it" a few times...I did write it down and I did make a complaint to the sniper site I use...no explaination was given and they said it was not due to their software either..SO BE IT..I did not save this report for the future as there seemed no point, would be nice today for you folks to see...there are no guarantees anywhere. For those who do not snipe by software and snipe by watching and enter last second bids..well that is a risk and time involved action on your part...as for the software..I set it as much as 7 days out and let it run..AND this software is fee related based on the purchase price of item. It is reasonable enough for me not to have to monitor my bids, but keep in mind it is just another way I pay to play...granted there is a better chance of winning by watching the last few minutes...most of the time the price well exceeds my snipe price early in the auction...just let it ride, no bid entered or if I happen to be on the site I just delete the bid..I am still in some control..and the only real complaint is the run on after posted closing times I have seen here and there. I have been plenty times out sniped..

[knuckleharley]

....About a month or so ago he put the car on Craigs list for $3' date='000 and it did not sell. He then relisted the car for $2,000 and by the next night he had 4 buyers come to his house to look. Sold it to the first buyer for the $2,000. So.......guess there may be something good about Craigs list after all.[/quote']

IMHO,the best things about Craig's List is the ads are free,and the fact that it is local to each area. If I don't sell the $250 48 Dodge pu I have listed there,I don't have to pay a fee anyhow. Also,local buyers are more likely to pay more because they don't have huge trucking expenses,and because they can personally come by and see the car you are selling.

I live in eastern NC,and it seems like 99% of the cars and trucks I see on ebay that I want are in Idaho or Washington state. You just can't justify spending $2,000+ to have a $500 parts car hauled across the country. When I see one on Craig's List,I know it is easy driving distance for me to go see and get it myself.

[knuckleharley]

... To be honest' date=' after helping set a price I was shocked that he even got the $2,000 for it. If someone new on a tight budget wanted an old car, just look for a 60's Chrysler and they'll get it cheap.[/quote']

What a lot of people are overlooking is what GREAT trailer-towing cars these old big 4drs really are. People today mostly own down-sized cars,and unless you own a full-sized pickup,you really don't have "enough" vehicle to pull your boat or travel trailer. Two grand for one of these babies with the 440 in it makes it a super buy for somebody that wants to pull his boat to the water a few times a year,or somebody who wants to pull his travel trailer someplace once or twice a year. You can hook mostly anything you want to hook to something like a 60's NY'er or Electra 225,and pull it over the Rockies at 70 MPH if you want. Not only that,but you can do it in comfort and haul 5 people and luggage with you while you are doing it. They are torque monsters.