Gunbroker Snipers?

[Radjxf]

OK, before I give up on Gunbroker altogether, do users have some sort of "sniper application" they run to beat out my bids by $1 at the last second?
I've lost at least 4 auctions on guns that (gasp!) were actually priced right on GB due to sniping at the last second. We're talking auctions that ended at midnight, etc.
I know sniper software use is rampant on Ebay, but curious if it exists for GB as well?

 

[98C5]

Could be shill bidding. If they are shill bidding, that item will be back up within 24 hours.

 

[R.W.Dale]

This doesn't sound right because you cannot "snipe" on gunbroker due to the 15 minute rule they employ.

 

[distra]

Yep, 15 minute rule keeps this from happening. You have to sit and watch the auction and cannot just expect your bid to win. The 15 minute rule will give you a chance to bid higher. I can say I've never been sniped on GB, unlike Ebay.

 

[ridata]

I like ebay because I can snipe auctions, and get the lowest price. Gunbroker doesn't allow that. The person willing to pay the maximum gets it.

 

[ants]

Like the others above, the first thing that came to mind upon reading the thread title was the 15-Minute Rule.

You gotta do your job and watch the bidding, my friend.

 

[deadin]

There are several ways to fight "snipers".
One is to bid only on auctions that have the "15 minute rule" in force.
Another is to simply bid what you are willing to pay and not be upset if someone else is willing to pay more.
If you want revenge, bid what you are willing to pay (or think it's worth) and then add 10%. Then if you are beat out, you will have the satisfaction of knowing the other guy got screwed.

Finally, become a sniper yourself.

 

[R.W.Dale]

as an e-bay seller I firmly believe that snipers should be treated as the partisans they are and be summarily shot on site.

I don't understand why e-bay doesn't have a 15 minute rule, It would make them MORE mony in final value fees and paypal fees

 

[jackstinson]

I don't see how sniping is possible on gunbroker.com. Unless; there was a buy-now price on the auction and someone used it while you were waiting? I've done that a couple of times on guns where the buy-now price was good for me. Here is gunbroker.com's policy to prevent sniping:

15 Minute Rule - What is it?
(last updated on 5/31/2005 1:51:36 PM)

All of our auctions use something known as the '15 minute rule'.

In a typical auction setting, there is always a called out counting that happens to allow buyers time to decide to place higher bids. This 'final call' is reset each time someone places a bid. "Going Once, Going Twice, Going Three times" - someone places a bid - "Going Once, Going twice" - another bid placed - "Going once, going twice".. and on and on until the auctioneer completes the entire phrase "Going Once, Going Twice, Going Three times, SOLD to the highest bidder"

So this rule is no different, but because of delay caused by the internet and other possible technological speed bumps, we have a 15 minute final call time.

When the seller lists an item, he specifies the number of days the auction will run. The auction listings display the scheduled closing time for the auction. If there is bidding activity on the auction within fifteen (15) minutes of when the auction is scheduled to close, the auction automatically switches into a special mode analogous to the 'going, going, gone' period of a live auction. In this mode, the auction is automatically extended until there have been no bids placed within fifteen (15) minutes. When fifteen (15) minutes have passed with no bidding activity, the auction closes.

The 15 minute rule makes auctions more fair, by allowing all bidders an equal opportunity to place their best bid. In other online auctions where an auction ends exactly at a given time, some bidders will hold their bids until the last minute or so, in the hope of winning an item on the cheap. This is referred to as 'sniping'. The 15 minute rule gives all bidders an equal opportunity to place their best bid on an item before the item closes. This way, no bidder loses an item to sniping, and the seller can be assured that he has gotten maximum value for the item.

Our auctions are more like a live auction. In a live auction, bidding continues until no one wishes to place another bid. The auctioneer does the 'going once, going twice' routine, and if someone places a bid the bidding resumes. Since all persons bidding on an auction are connected by the Internet which can be slow and cranky at times, we picked 15 minutes as a reasonable amount of time to overcome any slowness or technical problems.

In a 'live' auction, the person who is willing to pay the most wins the item. Why should it be different on the Web? We certainly don't hide the fact we do this - you will find the 15 minute rule described in our Help Center, User Agreement, etc. It is also why our auction listings say "Ends On or After".

In a recent survey, a feature similar to our '15 minute rule' was the #1 most-requested feature addition that eBay (R) users would like to see added to the eBay (R) site.

 

[Eightball]

Given their 15 minute rule, the only way I can see "sniping" happening on Gunbroker is as jackstinson suggested with the BIN option.

 

[deadin]

I just went out and read the GB "Buy It Now" description......

If you set a Reserve Price on an auction, and the bidding exceeds the Reserve Price, the BuyNow! option will be disabled at that time. If you do not set a Reserve Price, then the BuyNow! will only be disabled when the current bid has exceeded the BuyNow! price. Most other auction sites typically disable the "instant buy" feature instantly once any bid has been placed - so as a compromise we allow the BuyNow! to continue until the Reserve is met.

Would someone explain to me how a "non-Reserve" auction would ever exceed the Buy-It-Now price? It says that "Most other auctions sites disable the BIN once a bid has been placed. GB lets theirs continue.
If there is a BIN price in force, wouldn't the auction automatically end as soon as someone hit it?

 

[Hawk]

No such thing as snipers per se on Gunbroker.

Although, as you've noted, some auctions end at midnight and it can be a pain to monitor. The solution is to bid what you're willing to pay and let "AutoBid" act like a schoolyard bully and slap anyone that comes in to snag the article.

Obviously, if you were beat by $1 and are complaining, you were willing to pay $2 more than your max bid which means it wasn't really your max bid. The winning bidder will only win by the minimum required to beat #2.

Entering a maximum bid that really is your maximum bid will have Gunbroker's AutoBid duplicating the functionality of separate sniper software and it's free. It will only bid enough to beat your competition up till the maximum you've authorized - just like most standalone sniper software except for the "waiting to the bitter end" part which doesn't work on Gunbroker anyway.

 

[ridata]

deadin: I think the reserve price is different than the BIN price.
I'll give an example. I was looking at an AR on GB this morning. The starting bid was $0, the reserve was $1300 something and the BIN was $1500.
If I placed a bid for $1, the BIN would be there. If I placed a bid for $1301, the BIN would be gone. On ebay the BIN would be gone as soon as I bid that $1.

 

[deadin]

ridata,
The way I read their definition the BIN only disappears on a Reserve type auction if and when the reserve is met. On a non-reserve type the BIN will disappear when the BIN has been exceeded. This doesn't make sense. How can the BIN price be "exceeded" if it is still active? If the BIN is met, shouldn't the item be considered sold? Or are they treating the BIN as a starting bid and letting the auction continue on. That's just the same as disabling the BIN once there is any kind of bid.
I know I would be pretty hacked if I bid $110 on an auction that had an active $100 BIN and didn't win because someone else bid exactly $100 and got it because of the BIN rules.
I think the way the rules are written leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[Rmart30]

simply bid what you are willing to pay and not be upset if someone else is willing to pay more

I agree with that completely...... If you find something youd pay $10 for but only bid $1 on it then someone bids $2 in the last few minutes you have no one to blame but yourself for bidding low and not winning it.
Ebay has whats called Proxy bidding and its not automatically taken to your highest bid unless you are bid against...... ie: if you bid $10 on something with a opening bid of $1 it stays at $1 unless someone bids $2, then it automatically raises your bid to $3 and so on.

I got a nasty message from someone on Ebay a cpl of years ago on a boat I won. I bid $1 more than him 5 minutes before it ended and won it.
He said he woulda bid $500 more if he knew I coulda done that. I politely told him well ya shoulda done that to start with.

 

[mgregg85]

Doesn't gunbroker have proxy bidding?

 

[dogtown tom]

I've never understood those who complain about "sniping".

Auctions (with or without 15 min rule) go to the HIGHEST bidder. Period.
Sniping only means you successfully outbid everyone else with little time remaining for others to counter. Don't want to get sniped? BID BIG !!!!

Example: I bid on a handgun at an online auction. I estimated the value of the gun at about $350. The five day auction had a penny start with no reserve. I was the first bidder and bid my max----$350.

Day one- gun was mine! As long as no one else bid it was mine for .01 !!!

On day two, some clown tried to steal my gun- he bid, no kidding- $5.00 I got an automatic email telling me that my autobid was now $5.00
For the next fifteen minutes this Einstein kept bidding the minimum increment. :banghead:He stopped when the bid went to around $100. Cheaper than playing a slot machine I guess.

Day three- no bids, I'm feeling real good. This bargain baby is mine!

Day four- Two other bidders made one bid each. My autobid bumped to about $240.

Day five- no more bidding until about five minutes before the auction- but what a frenzy! In the last three minutes there were about six bids by the two guys from day four. Each time they only bid by the minimum increment.:banghead::banghead::banghead:

I won with a final price of about $290. I was happy.

This is just an example of human behavior in auctions. Some would like to think they will pay less if they try to snipe at the end. Never. The winner in a "no reserve" auction will ALWAYS be the highest bidder. Whether you place that bid day one or in the last thirty seconds you cannot change that fact.

It is however WAAAAY more fun to bid at the last minute to see if you can win it with just a dollar more than the last bid. This is the same thrill that you get from gambling, because that's what you're doing. You're gambling that no one will outbid you in that last six seconds.

That's the thrill of auctions. The winning. Because no one ever overpays in an auction.

 

[knockonit]

gunbroker

i think all the auction sites have shill bidders, I frequent several and buy a few here and there, its funny when I track a specific item and find that it goes up for sale weeks later with the same vendor, also you can if you pay attention watch those that shill for vendors, take some doing but you can eventuallysee the pattern.
oh well, just have to pay attention to what you buy.
good luck
rj

 

[deadin]

I always bid in the last 15 seconds or so. And then I bid what I'm willing to pay. Why should I tip my hand early and give all of the "nibblers" time to piddle around trying to find my top offer? You would be suprised just how many time I win for a lot less than my bid.
I personally don't care for the "15 minute rule" because I don't feel like sitting around watching the nibblers. On that type of auction I will bid my max and walk away. If somebody wants it more than I do...fine. At least I know that they will have to pay a reasonable price for it. (Or, if there's two or three of them, they may end up paying a lot more than it's worth but have the satisfaction of winning at any cost.)

 

[Rubble]

I sometimes sell things on Gunbroker. If you find that happening it needs to be reported. Gunbroker can search the server logs and find out who is doing it. Most likely it would be the person your buying from because the 15 min. rule cuts out the sniper.

 

[OcelotZ3]

It's obvious that the people who complain about "sniping", whether on GunBroker or eBay, just don't understand how to bid on an auction, and need to educate themselves.

 

[R.W.Dale]

It's obvious that the people who complain about "sniping", whether on GunBroker or eBay, just don't understand how to bid on an auction, and need to educate themselves.

UM how do you come to that conclusion.

Go to a cattle, equipment or real estate auction. The you'll NEVER see an auctioneer end bidding when paddles are still getting raised. As a seller sniping royally SUCKS, I've had items with 30 watchers and get 50 views in the last 30 minutes go for chump change cause every retarded bidder decided to bid in the last second and only a couple of bids got through.

All sniping does is give the item to the other guy for a much lower price than the market would bare.

 

[lonegunman]

I know for a 100% fact that if you ever bid on anything from "Dave's Guns" in Spokane, you got screwed out of a few bucks. The owner and several workers all have shill accounts.

When they post an item, they shill bid it up as much as possible, if they outbid you but you are well over it's actual value, they will contact you as if the mystery bidder backed out.

They sit in the store and laugh about it on occasion. If you bother to go to the store, they have the gun on the shelf with a tag and retail price. If you try and buy the damned gun, they refuse to sell it and tell you to go to Gunbroker and try and outbid them for it.

The whole mess is a sham.

 

[Blacksmoke]

I never sold on GB but have bought a couple of guns. I jsut bid what I am willing to pay and leave the site alone until I am notified. That may be dumb but it is a lot less hassle. If someone wants to pay more than they should own the gun. It seems simple to me. The result is I have missed a couple and bought a couple. The one Colt I really wanted I bid high as it was a special item for me.

 

[RX-178]

I've never bought anything on gunbroker that I HAD to search gunbroker to find. So I generally just look for good Buy it Now deals.

I did use autobid to purchase a rare AKM bayonet variation, and I paid less than what I was willing to pay for it in the end. I don't know, I guess I don't really have much of an opinion after all.