Want some really bad eBay advice that will literally cost you thousands of dollars a year in profits? It’s right at your fingertips. All you need to do is look.
Open Google in your browser and type in the phrase “how to stop ebay auction sniping”. Here’s what you get. Hundreds of eBay related web sites with basically the same article on them.
When I stumbled across this article a few days ago, the first question that popped into my mind was “why would I want to stop bidders from sniping my auctions?” I couldn’t think of even one viable reason. Snipers put more money into my pocket and I’ll be honest - I like having money in my pocket.
Actually read the article and you come across this tidbit of ebay advice:
“One alternative is to keep an eye on who’s bidding on your auction, and cancel bids from known snipers ….”
This bit of advice brings up two questions.
The first is “how”? Since nearly all snipe bids are actually made within the last five seconds of an auction, it would be next to impossible to cancel them.
The second, and most important, is “why”? Why would any seller in their right mind, want to cancel bids and take less money for what they are selling? It makes absolutely no sense, and is a classic example of really bad ebay advice from people who obviously don’t understand what eBay is about.
Among my auctions that closed last night were six lawn mower sales brochures from the early 1950s that sold for a total of $287.53. Ten minutes before the auctions ended the total bids on them were $114.02.
If I had taken the writer’s advice, and been able to cancel all those last minute bids, I would have given away $173.51 in profits on just those six brochures.
Maybe my brain doesn’t work like most people’s does, but that sure doesn’t sound like good advice to me. Yet there are hundreds of web sites that supposedly provide sellers with advice on how to do business on eBay that have that same article on them.
Many of the eBay related sites and products on the net are filled with bad eBay advice like this. Whenever, you read something that is supposed to make you more successful on eBay, stop and ask yourself - does this make sense, or is it just another example of bad eBay advice from around the net?
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May 1st, 2006 at 6:36 pm
Gary,
I went to the website of the person who wrote the anti-sniping article and guess what? On here website she has another article, this one promoting sniping, here it is:
“If you type ‘ebay sniping’ into your favourite search engine, you’ll come up with plenty of online services that will snipe on your behalf for a small fee. They usually let you have a free trial, so give it a go.
If you don’t want to pay each time for an online service, then you might be better off getting a piece of software like iSnipeIt (www.isnipeit.com) or SnipeRight (www.sniperight.com). You can pay for these once and use them for as long as you want. Once you’ve installed the software on your computer, you tell it which auctions you want sniped and the maximum amount you’re willing to pay. The software will then place the bid with only a few seconds left. The only disadvantage is that you need to be able to leave your computer on nearly all the time, or you might miss the end of some auctions.”
So I wonder, which advice she follows for herself?
May 1st, 2006 at 6:43 pm
I also LOVE the sniper bids, I had several auction close last night, and ALL 14 items that sold had their totals increase within the final seconds.
One item jumped $100, from $54.60 to close at $154.90 and another item went from $18.00 and sold for $67.00
$150 Extra on just two items thanks to snipers!!
As my grand-father liked to say, “All Money ‘aint Good Money”
May 1st, 2006 at 11:45 pm
J,
I didn’t notice that.
My guess would be she probably doesn’t follow either.
The same article is on a lot of other eBay related web sites and many of them all have the same 30 or 40 articles on them.
My guess is that most of those people probably don’t sell on eBay at all. The web sites are there merely to attract people who they hope will click on their Adsense advertisements.
Gary