![]() If you have DSL or a Cable Modem, you can bring it down to 10-15 seconds. JBidWatcher has to offer via the Options. You can configure all sorts of things like the ability to synchronize its own internal clock with eBay's current time. That is extremely important because if your clock is offer by the smallest amount of time it could cause your snipe to be placed after the auction has already ended. But the problem we have as pipe buyers is that it's one thing to know what we'd be comfortable paying for a pipe it's something else entirely to have a strong sense of what a given pipe is actually worth.JBidWatcher even has a built-in searcher that can be set to do eBay searches at a given interval. Many other collectibles have price guides that give you a good general sense of current value. (I've bought a number of guitars on eBay and relied heavily on such a guide to make sure I wasn't doing something stupid.) I have never seen such a thing where pipes are concerned, so it feels like more of a shot in the dark. Yes, you can look at other recent sales of similar items. Tin of Raven's Wing for $26.00 one week (far below what most Pease Syrian blends are going for), only to sell another one for $70 two weeks later. Knowing a pipe's true worth - regardless of whether anyone is willing to pay that or not - requires a deep knowledge of the maker, an appreciation of at least the recent history of pipe smoking, and I'm guessing a range of other information as well. Here's an example: You might see an Italian pipe marked "Sergio" and think, "Well, that's a nice pipe. I'd probably pay $60 for that." To you, it's worth $60, based on what you know. But what if you knew that the "Sergio" brand was used for only three months in 1980, on pipes made in Guiseppe Ascorti's factory by craftsmen trained in the Caminetto factory? Knowing how rare the craftsmanship and how few the number, that pipe might actually be worth $600 to you now. It isn't hard to do such research or gain the knowledge required. "But the problem we have as pipe buyers is that it's one thing to know what we'd be comfortable paying for a pipe it's something else entirely to have a strong sense of what a given pipe is actually worth." But it does take a lot of time and effort. What a pipe, or anything else - like stocks, an apartment or a car - is worth, is what the individual buyer is willing (or unwilling) to pay for it. The 'actual worth' of an item is really a mythical consensus, supported by the pschology of the masses, generally initated by a very small group or even a single so-called 'expert.' I am sure that my winning bid on the Kirsten, $160.00, would be considered by many as too high a price to pay for this kind of pipe, whereas for me, it was more than worthwhile. "As for "put in your max and walk away", the minor problem is that unless you do that in the final seconds, have a fairly high max or go through a sniper, somebody will almost always outbid you by $1 or so."Įxactly my experience I was able to succeed in outsniping because I had kept on eye on things up till the last 10 seconds so that I could up my max bid.Ĭlick to expand.That is a pretty well known and well regarded software, but it is desktop-based. I would go with a web-based service such as (, ) to take your PC out of the equation.Īs far as sniping and eBay bidding in general goes, make sure you're eligible to bid on an item before scheduling a snipe (or doing it manually), so that your bid will be accepted. As long as you live in a country that the seller ships to, you don't have many (or any, I think as little as two within the past six months can get you blocked) unpaid strikes lately, and you have enough positive feedback, you should be ok. If you have a problem with one of those things, you could contact the seller and ask them to accept your bid, as long as you know early enough.Ī couple benefits of sniping not often mentioned:ġ. Sniping is actually a way of combatting shill bidding - when the seller or his buddy bids on the item until they're the high bid, and know your max, then retract their bid, and use yet another account to bid on the item, bidding just below your max. You don't give the shiller time to retract their bid in order to leave you as the high bidder, close to your max. You can't do much about a shill bidder letting their bid ride to the end of the auction, if it just raises but doesn't exceed yours.Īlso, look out for 2nd chance offers, as they would be a reason for the shiller to let their shill bid ride, you may want to decline any and look for a different seller with the same item. ![]() Unless of course, the price seems ok with you, even though possible artificially jacked up.Ģ.
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