# Sniped it!



## ronparise (Jan 18, 2013)

Every once in a while things go according to plan.

I won an ebay auction today in the last 2 seconds, the folks that had been bidding against each other all day, never saw me coming

By the way Im posting this to let those, thinking about bidding on ebay for Wyndham points, know how the real world works. Ive seen several posts recently where someone says something like: Im bidding on ebay and if the bidding stays where it is I expect to get a good deal....Thats not the way it works. There will almost always be someone that wants it worse than you, and if its a desirable property that attracts experienced buyers; they are going to use a sniping service. Youll never see us coming

The auction I won was scheduled to end at 12:08:36  This morning there was one bidder, over the next 2 hours several more came in and the high bid was $200. which wasnt raised until 2 minutes before the end of the auction.In the last 30 seconds the high bid went to $300. . Im sure this guy thought he won as he watched 28 seconds tick away and no new bid, But with 2 seconds to go "esnipe.com" placed my bid and I won.

The message here is to decide how much you are willing to pay, place your bid  with a sniping service and forget about it. I lose most of what I bid on, but sooner or later I get what I want, and I never pay more than I want


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## ace2000 (Jan 18, 2013)

ronparise said:


> Every once in a while things go according to plan.
> 
> I won an ebay auction today in the last 2 seconds, the folks that had been bidding against each other all day, never saw me coming
> 
> ...


 
I want to be you.


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## bjones9942 (Jan 18, 2013)

I use Bidnip.com - but the results are the same 

Congratulations!


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## csxjohn (Jan 18, 2013)

ronparise said:


> ...The message here is to decide how much you are willing to pay, place your bid  with a sniping service and forget about it. I lose most of what I bid on, but sooner or later I get what I want, and I never pay more than I want



Very good advice!!

Ron turned me on to esnipe and I have used it in losing efforts a few times.  However, I bid once and only once, don't get caught up in the emotion of trying to win and could not have won anyhow, the final bids were almost double what I was willing to pay.

I see 2 major advantages to using a sniping service.

1)You show no interest in the auction and hopefully keep the bids low.

2)You don't have to sit by the computer at auctions end and hope you don't
   lose your connection or some other such nonsense at the last moment.


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## vacationhopeful (Jan 18, 2013)

Ever since I was "a bidding" on a GREAT WINTER WEEK at Wyndham Santa Barbara and got very carried away with bidding and WON the auction for $2250, I decide ESNIPE was my friend.

PS I met the "loser" 2 years later while at Wyndham Santa Barbara where he cried OUT, "you were the one I was bidding against and lost out to!"

PS He is a TUGGER!


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## paxsarah (Jan 18, 2013)

I've won all of my timeshares by sniping. I use Gixen.


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## presley (Jan 18, 2013)

I haven't used a sniper because they require the log in information.  Do those of you who use them have a different Ebay account for that than you do for a seller account?  If you even have a seller account.


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## capital city (Jan 18, 2013)

Ron do you realize how many times I have cussed people like you :hysterical: 

Every auction worth looking at on ebay has someone using a sniper service so listen to Ron and do the same. You dont get caught up in the bidding and bid too much and you dont waste hours watching a clock to see someone get it at the last minute. 

Ron what did you win?


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## Myxdvz (Jan 18, 2013)

I am finally on my way to becoming a Wyndham owner, finally winning an ebay bid (after losing the previous 3).

I am using a sniping service, and was about to pull out because no one else was bidding, I worried that there's something in the details I overlooked! 

The last minute, I saw the bid go and he must have thought he's got it.  Mine was set at 5 seconds, which is really too late for anyone else to change their max bid.  I guess my max amount was higher than his! 


I'm now in the transfer process.


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## ronparise (Jan 18, 2013)

capital city said:


> Ron what did you win?



Palm Aire, 1,318,000 points. mf $5/1000  
purchase price $305 seller pays closing and transfer,

I know the mf is high, but the purchase price is so low

The average mf of everything I own is just under $5/1000 now. This will raise it to something like $5.10.  Not a big deal.


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## bigeyes1 (Jan 18, 2013)

I love sniping!! I have used eSniipe for so long.  But...you can still get outbid. If you put in the maximum amount you want to snipe it at and you get outbid, then hey, it's more than what you originally wanted to pay, right?  I've had a few circumstances where I was outbid by a penny!! A lousy penny!! Can you believe that? 

Congrats Ron on your new purchase!


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## ronparise (Jan 18, 2013)

bigeyes1 said:


> I love sniping!! I have used eSniipe for so long.  But...you can still get outbid. If you put in the maximum amount you want to snipe it at and you get outbid, then hey, it's more than what you originally wanted to pay, right?  I've had a few circumstances where I was outbid by a penny!! A lousy penny!! Can you believe that?
> 
> Congrats Ron on your new purchase!



Remember:  The winning bid might have been only a penny more than yours but  the winner may have been willing to go many dollars higher

In this auction my winning bid at $305 was only $5 more than the guy in second place. But esnipe was authorized to go as high as $529 for me


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## bogey21 (Jan 18, 2013)

bjones9942 said:


> I use bidnip.com



http://www.AuctionSniper.com works well also

George


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## Beefnot (Jan 18, 2013)

I am a master sniper, and I enjoy the thrill of sitting at the computer or on my ipad and manually sniping. I love it.


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## mistalong (Jan 18, 2013)

Ok Ron tell the truth.  Which one did you get this week, 300.000 at the New Orleans Wyndham or the 203K Points at the Williamsburh


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## mistalong (Jan 18, 2013)

I sniped a Sedona one just a couple of weeks ago.


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## csxjohn (Jan 18, 2013)

bigeyes1 said:


> I love sniping!! I have used eSniipe for so long.  But...you can still get outbid. If you put in the maximum amount you want to snipe it at and you get outbid, then hey, it's more than what you originally wanted to pay, right?  I've had a few circumstances where I was outbid by a penny!! A lousy penny!! Can you believe that?
> 
> Congrats Ron on your new purchase!



The winning bid may have been much higher than one penny over your bid.  No one will ever know how high  the winning bidders max really is.

Your point about bidding what you're willing to pay is why the sniping is nice.


Ooops, Ron beat me to it.


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## csxjohn (Jan 18, 2013)

presley said:


> I haven't used a sniper because they require the log in information.  Do those of you who use them have a different Ebay account for that than you do for a seller account?  If you even have a seller account.



I just use my regular eBay buyers account.  I don't have a problem with them having the login info.  It's the only way they can place bids for you.


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## ronparise (Jan 18, 2013)

mistalong said:


> Ok Ron tell the truth.  Which one did you get this week, 300.000 at the New Orleans Wyndham or the 203K Points at the Williamsburh



The 300k at La Belle Maison went for over $2000, , I was waching but when it went over $1000 I was out. I got this one at under $1500 121030725047

I had no interest in the 203000 points at Williamsburg


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## jjmanthei05 (Jan 18, 2013)

presley said:


> I haven't used a sniper because they require the log in information.  Do those of you who use them have a different Ebay account for that than you do for a seller account?  If you even have a seller account.



I use Jbidwatcher which runs locally on my machine so it isn't stored in a web server somewhere and its free. The only downside is you have to keep your computer running and need a decent internet connection to make sure it can log you in and bid in time. 

Jason


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## wptamo (Jan 19, 2013)

Beefnot said:


> I am a master sniper, and I enjoy the thrill of sitting at the computer or on my ipad and manually sniping. I love it.



Agree! I won my last TS that way, I put in my Max bid with 20 seconds left and saw the other guy increment by $20 till time ran out... It was kind a rush!
Especially when I had to "surprise " the wife!


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## csxjohn (Jan 19, 2013)

jjmanthei05 said:


> ... The only downside is you have to keep your computer running and need a decent internet connection to make sure it can log you in and bid in time.
> 
> Jason



There's the rub.  Esnipe is so cheap that it is worth my peace of mind to not have to worry about local power outages, my computer slowing down at a critical moment, or a lost internet connection.

Esnipe charges 1% of a winning auction price with a $.25 min. and $10.00 max


If you don't win the auction you don't pay.  I bought some credits when they were running a sale so if I ever win an auction I'll be paying a little less.


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## Beefnot (Jan 19, 2013)

wptamo said:


> Agree! I won my last TS that way, I put in my Max bid with 20 seconds left and saw the other guy increment by $20 till time ran out... It was kind a rush!
> Especially when I had to "surprise " the wife!



Yes indeed a rush.  I go even further. During the final minute, I watch the bid activity, then I place my bid at between one and three seconds left.




csxjohn said:


> There's the rub.  Esnipe is so cheap that it is worth my peace of mind to not have to worry about local power outages, my computer slowing down at a critical moment, or a lost internet connection.



Meh, unless it is a rare find, auctions are plentiful on ebay. In the unlikely event one of those scenarios happened, I just wait for the next one.


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## csxjohn (Jan 19, 2013)

wptamo said:


> Agree! I won my last TS that way, I put in my Max bid with 20 seconds left and saw the other guy increment by $20 till time ran out... It was kind a rush!
> Especially when I had to "surprise " the wife!



This isn't really sniping, by bidding at 20 seconds to go, you give someone ample time to up your bid.  As long as your max is high enough you will win.  The down side is that you gave someone the opportunity to bid higher than what you did at 20 seconds and it caused you to pay more than you might have had you waited for 3 or 4 seconds to go.



Beefnot said:


> Yes indeed a rush.  I go even further. During the final minute, I watch the bid activity, then I place my bid at between one and three seconds left.
> 
> 
> Meh, unless it is a rare find, auctions are plentiful on ebay. In the unlikely event one of those scenarios happened, I just wait for the next one.



I used to do it this way until I found out about sniping services.


All last year there were only 3 auctions on the unit I want and they were all the same unit that the winners backed out on after the first two auctions.


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## ronandjoan (Jan 19, 2013)

ace2000 said:


> I want to be you.



Agreed!  Ron is certainly a great TUGGER for us!!! Thanks!


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## Beefnot (Jan 19, 2013)

csxjohn said:


> I used to do it this way until I found out about sniping services.
> 
> 
> All last year there were only 3 auctions on the unit I want and they were all the same unit that the winners backed out on after the first two auctions.



I snipe myself because I want to control my own fate, and because I get a rush from slipping in my big just under the wire, often better than any snipe service can.  It does get distracting when auctions are closing while I am at work though. A sniping service might be helpful for me there. Naw, I am too cheap.


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## jeffwill (Jan 19, 2013)

I guess I do a different approach.  If you decide what your willing to pay then you can just enter that as your high bid.  But not right away.

I enjoy watching the different type of bidders.  Let's say I decide $500. is my max.  I enter $200. first.  That eliminates the cheap bidders.  Then you have the $20. raisers that are seeing if they can discover your high bid.  Then I raise my bid another $100. That is telling the seekers that I am staying ahead of them and they will have to pay up or shut up.  At three minutes to go, I raise my max bid to the full amount.  

If I win I am happy.  If I lose I am also happy because I REALLY dont want to pay more than my high bid.  The real thrill is when you are at half your max bid, you are expecting to be sniped, and the auction ends with no more bids.

YEESSSSSS.


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## CO skier (Jan 19, 2013)

jeffwill said:


> I enjoy watching the different type of bidders.  Let's say I decide $500. is my max.  I enter $200. first.  That eliminates the cheap bidders.  Then you have the $20. raisers that are seeing if they can discover your high bid.  Then I raise my bid another $100. That is telling the seekers that I am staying ahead of them and they will have to pay up or shut up.  At three minutes to go, I raise my max bid to the full amount.



Any experienced EBayer knows the only winning strategy is to snipe an auction within the last 10 seconds (whether using a service or self-sniping), otherwise you are just bidding against yourself.  The strategy above is a prime example of driving up one's own ultimate bid; it may provide some entertainment value, but it virtually guarantees not getting the bargain that might otherwise be had with a single, snipe bid.


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## bjones9942 (Jan 19, 2013)

Beefnot said:


> I snipe myself because I want to control my own fate, and because I get a rush from slipping in my big just under the wire, often better than any snipe service can.  It does get distracting when auctions are closing while I am at work though. _*A sniping service might be helpful for me there. Naw, I am too cheap*_.



Bidnip.com has two pricing options.  You can do a monthly/annual subscription with unlimited snipes, or you can buy 'blocks' of snipes that range anywhere from .30 to .70 cents per snipe.  You get 5 free snipes to try them out.


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## csxjohn (Jan 19, 2013)

Beefnot said:


> I snipe myself because I want to control my own fate, and because I get a rush from slipping in my big just under the wire, often better than any snipe service can.  It does get distracting when auctions are closing while I am at work though. A sniping service might be helpful for me there. Naw, I am too cheap.



I understand the part about the rush you get by having your trigger finger ready and hoping you don't slip up at the last second.

I don't understand the "I want to control my own fate" part of it.  I pick a max price and if the bidding hasn't gone past that, my bid gets entered with about 4 seconds to go.  I have controlled my fate by picking the max bid ahead of time. I can always raise it if I want and I can cancel it, something you can't do with a direct bid.

I try to take the cheap way out in many things I do.  I consider this a very cheap service for what they do.

If you find something you really want and will be working when the bidding ends, sign up and give it a try, there is a free trial period when you sign up.  Just sign up the day the auction is due to end.


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## jeffwill (Jan 19, 2013)

Well Mr. CO skier, I am an experienced eBayer and I win a lot.  Let me explain the basics of an auction.  The high bidder wins the auction---- period.

A sniper has NO advantage over me.  I am not bidding against myself (???).  I simply bid at the beginning and savor the experience.  I expect snipers.  If I have the winning bid of $175. going into the last three seconds, and you are one of three snipers with bids of $259, $377. and $450. you all LOSE.  I bought it for $460. which is under my max bid.  If you snipe me and win, you just bought it for $510.00 and I'm OK.

Am I missing something Sir ?


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## ronparise (Jan 19, 2013)

jeffwill said:


> Well Mr. CO skier, I am an experienced eBayer and I win a lot.  Let me explain the basics of an auction.  The high bidder wins the auction---- period.
> 
> A sniper has NO advantage over me.  I am not bidding against myself (???).  I simply bid at the beginning and savor the experience.  I expect snipers.  If I have the winning bid of $175. going into the last three seconds, and you are one of three snipers with bids of $259, $377. and $450. you all LOSE.  I bought it for $460. which is under my max bid.  If you snipe me and win, you just bought it for $510.00 and I'm OK.
> 
> Am I missing something Sir ?




If Im one of those snipers at 259 or 377 or 450. and you win the auction at 460, I figure you lose because you paid too much.  

You are probably right that theres not much difference between placing your best bid with ebay early, and placing your bid with a sniping service, but I do think that there is some value in remaining hidden until the last minute and not allowing anyone to figure out what my bid is... In the auction I won, I have no doubt that the bidding would have gone beyond my high bid (which was I think quite low) if I had been part of the bidding early on


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## jeffwill (Jan 19, 2013)

In my example----- how could I have paid too much?  I won at $460. when I was willing to pay $500.  The active bidders left @ $175.  That left the snipers--which everyone on here seems to believe gives them an advantage.
I was the man to beat-----and someone came close.  The other snipers may have thought I paid to much ----but they were one shot by by's. Now I ask you this question---- how could I have won the auction and paid less ?????


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## jebloomquist (Jan 19, 2013)

I sometimes use a snipe service and I sometimes wait until the last minute myself. I carefully analyse my competitors in the auction. Many times I have won an auction by just a few pennies by guessing what the other person might bid, but still not going over what I have as a maximum desired bid.

When I first started using ebay I thought that I could scare the other bidders off by bidding high early, but it just got them to keep the bids going higher. 

If any of you play poker, do you show the others at the table some of your cards? When you bid, I'm tracking what you do. You may be an xx.52 bidder, or xx2.52 type. When I see your pattern I know just what to bid to beat you. Keep bidding so I can watch what you do.

And for the sniper that waits until the last 2 seconds. Why? If I bid $500 at 5 seconds and you bid $500 at 2 seconds, who wins? I do.

For those of you who bid on top of your already high bid, I like to play with you. When I see that, even though I don't care about the item, I will bid until I get above your second highest bid, just to let you know I think that you are foolish.

Try to be a smart ebay bidder.

Just a few of my thoughts.

Jim


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## CO skier (Jan 19, 2013)

jeffwill said:


> I am not bidding against myself (???).
> 
> Am I missing something Sir ?



Yes.



jeffwill said:


> I  Let's say I decide $500. is my max.  I enter $200. first.  ...
> 
> Then I raise my bid another $100. ...
> 
> At three minutes to go, I raise my max bid to the full amount.



This is bidding against yourself.  If the bid stayed below $200 until 10 seconds to go, you could enter your high bid of $500; there is no advantage to do so earlier.  Maybe you get it for, say, $180, instead of the $500 that your bids contributed to -- but it's your money.  If you find bidding-up an auction amusing, maybe it is worth it.


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## ronparise (Jan 19, 2013)

jeffwill said:


> In my example----- how could I have paid too much?  I won at $460. when I was willing to pay $500.  The active bidders left @ $175.  That left the snipers--which everyone on here seems to believe gives them an advantage.
> I was the man to beat-----and someone came close.  The other snipers may have thought I paid to much ----but they were one shot by by's. Now I ask you this question---- how could I have won the auction and paid less ?????



You couldnt have, but thats not the point...The point is not to win everything you bid on. The point is to never pay more than you are willing to pay...and sometimes get it for less.


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## jeffwill (Jan 19, 2013)

CO---   again you miss the point in your logic.  When I am the high bidder at $175. and nobody bids higher--- and there are no snipers---I win @ $175.  I have done my job of setting the bar at that price.  This may well send a message to the snipers that they can win with a lower bid.  I have suckered them.   You are stuck on one method that you think works for everybody. I like jebloom's response----- I agree with him.  I am protecting my bet from the beginning.  Beat me if you can.     If you or Ron were after my TS----again---- you lost.      I'll rent it to you.


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## jeffwill (Jan 19, 2013)

OMG------ did I read this right?  "The point is to not win everything you bid on ".  I want to win EVERYTHING I bid on------ at a price I am comfortable with.  Let's face it -- we're all right---- if it goes the way we want it to.  

What we should ALL agree on is that a contigent should all go to Ft. Meyers, drink all of Ron's beer, and solve absolutly nothing.


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## Saintsfanfl (Jan 19, 2013)

Jeffwill,

The difference is that bidding early gives another single bidder a chance at getting lurred into bidding higher. It's ok if you have the discipline not to second guess and go higher, but the other bidder may not. If it was a blind auction then every bid, by definition, would be a snipe.

I say single bidder because that is exactly where sniping has an advantage. In your example other multiple bidders cloud the sniping picture because they are bidding each other back and forth which makes the sniping advantage much less. The advantage lies between the sniper and the last other bidder standing.

If everyone bid like you it wouldn't matter. It's basically a blind auction at that point. But other bidders aren't like you, and they will constantly think about being outbid and put in another bid, pushing higher and higher. If this lone standing bidder continues to push your top bid closer to your max, you have paid more than you could have. He would have never known he was out bid in order to second guess himself. Without second guessing himself he would not have pushed your max bid higher. This is a fact.

You are right in that snipers have absolutely no advantage against you. But they do have an advantage against undisciplined bidders, which is an advantage that you do not have.

For most auctions it probably doesn't matter much. Where it can make a very big $/% difference is where you are almost certain that you will be the highest bidder, and when only you and one other desire the item (but only if the other bidder is either not a snipe, or is not disciplined to stick with their bid).


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## jeffwill (Jan 19, 2013)

Saint----you have my complete attention---I AM listening.  I decided my max bid at the beginning.  I like to play the game.  That is why I start low and see what the players are thinking.  If they blow past my initial bid--- I have to think.   This has not happened very often--- that is why I like this.   But---you are right & Co is right-----sometimes.   When I am challanged---- I then become a sniper.  A BAD sniper.        Smile.


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## Saintsfanfl (Jan 19, 2013)

jeffwill said:


> Saint----you have my complete attention---I AM listening.  I decided my max bid at the beginning.  I like to play the game.  That is why I start low and see what the players are thinking.  If they blow past my initial bid--- I have to think.   This has not happened very often--- that is why I like this.   But---you are right & Co is right-----sometimes.   When I am challanged---- I then become a sniper.  A BAD sniper.        Smile.



I mainly just snipe now but I find myself changing my max snipe bid based on how the other bids are going. The reason is that my initial bid is what I would like to win the auction at but not the most I am willing to pay. I suppose I am playing a game with myself and it's not too unlike the mindset of an undisciplined bidder but I don't think it matters. Sniping has taught me a key lesson. Never get into a head to head bidding war.


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## jeffwill (Jan 19, 2013)

Alas---we are much alike--- I am a front loader before I snipe.  

I must remember to refresh before I go on an oratory rampage.  I had a most complimentary response to Co that ended exiled in cyberspace.  I will now suggest again the last paragraph----- all posters on this thread should convene in Ft. Myers, drink all Ron's beer (& some more) and solve absolutly nothing.     Good Night.


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## Beefnot (Jan 19, 2013)

csxjohn said:


> I understand the part about the rush you get by having your trigger finger ready and hoping you don't slip up at the last second.
> 
> I don't understand the "I want to control my own fate" part of it.  I pick a max price and if the bidding hasn't gone past that, my bid gets entered with about 4 seconds to go.  I have controlled my fate by picking the max bid ahead of time. I can always raise it if I want and I can cancel it, something you can't do with a direct bid.
> 
> ...



I dont want to rely on some snipe service to correctly enter my bid. I want to get the pulse of the auction and make decisions on my max bid in real time.   I may change my mind.  By manually doing doing this, I can control things up until the end.


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## OpenSky2012 (Jan 19, 2013)

Ron,

Just curious if I am using esnipe for the same item that you are bidding for, how would that work. In this case you authorized them to go for 529. Will I be told that I have to authorize for more? How would that service be so dedicated for me when you already have put your request for an item that I am also trying to make a bid?

I haven't tried that service obviously and hence the question.


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## ausman (Jan 19, 2013)

Beefnot said:


> ...... I want to get the pulse of the auction and make decisions on my max bid in real time.   I may change my mind.  By manually doing doing this, I can control things up until the end.



You can do all that by using a snipe service. Just change the bid on the snipe service.

Some weird logic on display on this topic.


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## Beefnot (Jan 20, 2013)

basham said:


> You can do all that by using a snipe service. Just change the bid on the snipe service.
> 
> Some weird logic on display on this topic.



If I can do the same thing on the snipe service as I can do in person, I have no need for the snipe service. Seeing as I may change my mind about what I want to bid up until the end, e snope service is useless to me. It would only be of use if I cannot be present for the end of the auction.


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## gnorth16 (Jan 20, 2013)

I think the standard sniping service enters the bid at 6 seconds.  This can also be manually altered as well...


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## Saintsfanfl (Jan 20, 2013)

gnorth16 said:


> I think the standard sniping service enters the bid at 6 seconds.  This can also be manually altered as well...



esnipe defaults to 6 seconds but you can change it to whatever number you want.


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## Saintsfanfl (Jan 20, 2013)

OpenSky2012 said:


> Ron,
> 
> Just curious if I am using esnipe for the same item that you are bidding for, how would that work. In this case you authorized them to go for 529. Will I be told that I have to authorize for more? How would that service be so dedicated for me when you already have put your request for an item that I am also trying to make a bid?
> 
> I haven't tried that service obviously and hence the question.



The service is blind and dumb. It just sends your bid through without knowing other snipes or the current eBay bid. It will also attempt to go through even if the current bidding is lower than your snipe bid.


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## csxjohn (Jan 20, 2013)

Saintsfanfl said:


> The service is blind and dumb. It just sends your bid through without knowing other snipes or the current eBay bid. It will also attempt to go through even if the current bidding is lower than your snipe bid.



Esnipe knows the current bid and will send you a message if you wish, to let you know your bid is not high enough.  You can choose between 0 and 18 hours before auctions end to be notified.

If everyone bid their max bid only once there would be no need for a sniping service.  When eBay says "enter your maximum bid now," very few people do this because they are testing the waters.

If there are snipers bidding on an item that have pre-determined their max bid, it won't matter when you bid or how much.

If there are no snipers involved in your auction, or snipers who wait to see how the bidding is going before they set a price, by bidding early you are showing your cards and are probably paying more than you need to at auctions end.

I like the idea of getting together with Ron to discuss this.  I'll buy the first case of beer.  Stone Ruination IPA if that's OK with everyone else.


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## persia (Jan 20, 2013)

I love JBidwatcher, it runs on my Mac and doesn't cost a thing.  I set my maximum price, one that I am comfortable with, and forget about it.  I never check until after the auction is finished.  I do not want to be tempted into a bidding war.  I do not want to lay my cards on the table until the end, nobody even knows I'm interested until 2 seconds before the end...

If somebody has outbid my snipe so be it.  There's always more of the same item to be found on eBay.


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## CO skier (Jan 20, 2013)

jebloomquist said:


> And for the sniper that waits until the last 2 seconds. Why? If I bid $500 at 5 seconds and you bid $500 at 2 seconds, who wins? I do.



The intelligent sniper knows to not bid in round numbers, and would have won that auction for $503.18



jebloomquist said:


> ... I will bid until I get above your second highest bid ...



Psychic bidding?


How do you know what the "second highest bid" is, without having to exceed the highest bid, first?


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## lcml11 (Jan 20, 2013)

CO skier said:


> The intelligent sniper knows to not bid in round numbers, and would have won that auction for $503.18
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Sounds good to me, let us know how it works.


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## jebloomquist (Jan 20, 2013)

CO skier said:


> The intelligent sniper knows to not bid in round numbers, and would have won that auction for $503.18
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Haven't you ever seen where the high bidder decides to put in an even higher bid, maybe to show other how serious they are, or maybe they wanted to put in a higher bid in case they couldn't closely watch the auction? It shows both bids at the top for the same bidder at the same bid amount, but the lower or second one had to be at a lower bid value than the one at the top.

It appears as highest bidder at $xx, and the second amount, same bidder at the same $xx amount. As I bid I push both the top and second bid for this one bidder up. I keep bidding until I have toppled the second highest bid. Then I quit.

Maybe you have never seen what I am describing. You will at some point.


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## jebloomquist (Jan 20, 2013)

persia said:


> I love JBidwatcher, it runs on my Mac and doesn't cost a thing.  I set my maximum price, one that I am comfortable with, and forget about it.  I never check until after the auction is finished.  I do not want to be tempted into a bidding war.  I do not want to lay my cards on the table until the end, nobody even knows I'm interested until 2 seconds before the end...
> 
> If somebody has outbid my snipe so be it.  There's always more of the same item to be found on eBay.



The timing of a snipe bid is important. The main reason to snipe is so that no other bidder can react to your bid and then bid higher. I find it hard to believe that someone can see my bid made at 5 seconds and then react to it with a higher bid unless they were already sniping or planning to make a bid. 

As I stated earlier in thei thread, if we both bid the same amount and I put mine in at 5 seconds and you put yours in at 2 seconds, I win. I don't think that you need to wait until 2 seconds, especially if for some reason your connection is delayed. I few times I missed the auction window trying to be too close to the end. 5 seconds works for me.


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## jjmanthei05 (Jan 20, 2013)

jeffwill said:


> I guess I do a different approach.  If you decide what your willing to pay then you can just enter that as your high bid.  But not right away.
> 
> I enjoy watching the different type of bidders.  Let's say I decide $500. is my max.  I enter $200. first.  That eliminates the cheap bidders.  Then you have the $20. raisers that are seeing if they can discover your high bid.  Then I raise my bid another $100. That is telling the seekers that I am staying ahead of them and they will have to pay up or shut up.  At three minutes to go, I raise my max bid to the full amount.
> 
> ...



The other advantage of sniping services (especially for timeshares) are to avoid the seller running up your bid to maximize what you have put in. I have seen numerous postings for large point contracts that are listed as private auctions. You can look at the bids and see bids for $999 or $1,199 which look like bids not to win the auction but just to push the price up. If you are manually watching and playing the game you will pay more than if you put your bid in at the last second and not have the buyer push your bid with no intention of actually beating you. 

Jason

Just for an example take a look at the bids on this auction and tell me that person is the seller or at least working with them. The suspected bidder raised the actual buyers bid from $760 to $1,625 with what looks like no intention of buying the deed. 

Odd Ebay Auction for 1.5 million points.


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## CO skier (Jan 21, 2013)

jebloomquist said:


> Haven't you ever seen where the high bidder decides to put in an even higher bid, maybe to show other how serious they are, or maybe they wanted to put in a higher bid in case they couldn't closely watch the auction? It shows both bids at the top for the same bidder at the same bid amount, but the lower or second one had to be at a lower bid value than the one at the top.
> 
> It appears as highest bidder at $xx, and the second amount, same bidder at the same $xx amount. As I bid I push both the top and second bid for this one bidder up. I keep bidding until I have toppled the second highest bid. Then I quit.
> 
> Maybe you have never seen what I am describing. You will at some point.




... seen it innumerable times.  What you are describing would only work if a current high bidder entered a second, higher bid.

All the more reason to just snipe an auction.


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## Beefnot (Jan 21, 2013)

jebloomquist said:


> The timing of a snipe bid is important. The main reason to snipe is so that no other bidder can react to your bid and then bid higher. I find it hard to believe that someone can see my bid made at 5 seconds and then react to it with a higher bid unless they were already sniping or planning to make a bid.
> 
> As I stated earlier in thei thread, if we both bid the same amount and I put mine in at 5 seconds and you put yours in at 2 seconds, I win. I don't think that you need to wait until 2 seconds, especially if for some reason your connection is delayed. I few times I missed the auction window trying to be too close to the end. 5 seconds works for me.



Not all bidders operate like you. Different bidders have different strategies and tactics. And some tactics are inferior to others. For example, there are those who keep bidding the auction upward in small increments until they have become the high bidder at the five second or less mark, thinking they pulled it off with a just enough bid. In that last bid they make, they may even put a decent bid increase over their prior bid to add a buffer.  But they still get sniped at 1-2 seconds because they didn't bid the max they were prepared to part with, but only the max that they thought they could win with.


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## glypnirsgirl (Jan 21, 2013)

Sniping has two attractions to me - the first is the ability to set my bid and forget it --- I am both emotional and competitive so I am dangerous in the lsat few minutes of an auction.

The BIGGEST advantage is the ability to cancel a bid. I treasure my 100% positive rating --- to the extreme of paying for things that I did not take delivery of because I decided I did not want them. 

It is nice to be able to set a bid and then cancel if buyer's remorse sets in.

elaine


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## jebloomquist (Jan 21, 2013)

glypnirsgirl said:


> Sniping has two attractions to me - the first is the ability to set my bid and forget it --- I am both emotional and competitive so I am dangerous in the lsat few minutes of an auction.
> 
> The BIGGEST advantage is the ability to cancel a bid. I treasure my 100% positive rating --- to the extreme of paying for things that I did not take delivery of because I decided I did not want them.
> 
> ...



Elaine, keep on dancing. I agree with you completely.

I have a snipe in right now in which I am wondering if I should drop my maximum bid or leave it. I have a formula that reports three levels for my bid. The lowest level is for an item that is interesting, the second level is for one that is a good item, and the highest is for a great one. My emotions come in when I choose the level. Then I take the amount and it becomes my snipe.

This current item is a must have and I put in an even higher snipe. I am now reconsidering, given some of the posts about where the Shell and other new properties my end up.

My main concern had been to get the lowest MF/1000. Mine is currently about $4. But, I have no CWA properties. Maybe my search for low MFs should givve way to finding inexpensive CWA auctions.

Yes Elaine, it is a dance. If I don't ask someone to dance, the night is wasted.


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## capital city (Jan 21, 2013)

I just dont see that CWA scenario ever working out, seems it has to be a sales gimmick. The CWA mf is too high for me and wouldn't go after one until I knew I needed one.


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## ronparise (Jan 21, 2013)

Beefnot said:


> Not all bidders operate like you. Different bidders have different strategies and tactics. And some tactics are inferior to others. For example, there are those who keep bidding the auction upward in small increments until they have become the high bidder at the five second or less mark, thinking they pulled it off with a just enough bid. In that last bid they make, they may even put a decent bid increase over their prior bid to add a buffer.  But they still get sniped at 1-2 seconds because they didn't bid the max they were prepared to part with, but only the max that they thought they could win with.



Thats the reason I snipe. 

No question that the experienced bidder that sees the same value in something that I do, may bid higher than me...Sniping doesnt help me in that situation. Whoever is willing to part with the most will win

But the guy that thinks he knows whats hes doing; bidding, as you say, only what they thought they had to, to win, rather than their highest and best. I beat him every time

Of course if I think jebloomquist or jjmanthei05 will be interested. I contact them first...Im not bidding against a master


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## vacationhopeful (Jan 21, 2013)

While I am reading this thread, I am thankful you guys like a different type of unit than what I bid or have bid in the past on. Yes, there is ALWAYS another CWA contract for beaucoup points coming along. 

But I am of the position, 1 bid which I snipe in that last seconds of the auction, is JUST FINE with me. But there are other ways to STEAL an eBAY item without sniping. And I am NOT going to educate you all on that tactic.


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## Beefnot (Jan 21, 2013)

vacationhopeful said:


> While I am reading this thread, I am thankful you guys like a different type of unit than what I bid or have bid in the past on. Yes, there is ALWAYS another CWA contract for beaucoup points coming along.
> 
> But I am of the position, 1 bid which I snipe in that last seconds of the auction, is JUST FINE with me. But there are other ways to STEAL an eBAY item without sniping. And I am NOT going to educate you all on that tactic.



Yes, Ron has mastered that tactic.


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## Myxdvz (Jan 21, 2013)

capital city said:


> I just dont see that CWA scenario ever working out, seems it has to be a sales gimmick. The CWA mf is too high for me and wouldn't go after one until I knew I needed one.



I bid on CWA points because I particularly want Glacier Canyon and the deeded GC MFs are higher than CWA MFs.  Oh, I also bid on lower MFs, but I actually prefer to be able to go to where I own, so my choices are few (Smoky Mountains, Grand Desert Las Vegas), so I've decided paying the premium for a GC ARP is worth it (for me).



glypnirsgirl said:


> The BIGGEST advantage is the ability to cancel a bid. I treasure my 100% positive rating --- to the extreme of paying for things that I did not take delivery of because I decided I did not want them.



I totally agree with this.  I once had setup a snipe for Tamarack (because it was in the Dells area).  After a few days, there were no bids, and it looks like I would have won it for $1.  I had to check the MFs on that one, and realized it was almost $7/K point, and it's not even Glacier Canyon.  I was glad I was using a sniping tool coz I was able to then cancel that snipe altogether.  Twould have been an expensive mistake.

The other thing I like about tools is the ability to do Group Bids, so that as soon as I win one, it will stop bidding on all the others in the group.


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## Beefnot (Jan 21, 2013)

glypnirsgirl said:


> Sniping has two attractions to me - the first is the ability to set my bid and forget it --- I am both emotional and competitive so I am dangerous in the lsat few minutes of an auction.
> 
> The BIGGEST advantage is the ability to cancel a bid. I treasure my 100% positive rating --- to the extreme of paying for things that I did not take delivery of because I decided I did not want them.
> 
> ...



I assume you are referring to a sniping service when you say sniping.. I am a manual sniper whose first bid is usually my final one, so I enjoy the same biggest advantage as you do. I can simply choose not to bid altogether.


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## bjones9942 (Jan 21, 2013)

My favorite feature of using a service is that I don't need to be at a computer to place a bid at the last second.  The cost of the snipe is well worth that comfort.


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## jebloomquist (Jan 22, 2013)

*A caution when sniping*

I had a snipe in for an auction today, and my snipe was about $800 higher than the winners eventual winning price. I put a snipe in because I was not able to tend the auction. To my surprise, I did not win. I looked at the snipe results, and the ebay seller had rejected my bid. Why, I don't know.

I hope that the client of the seller realizes that they may have lost out on hundred of dollars my using timesharepro1. I have not had the best things to say about timesharepro1 in the past. Maybe that is why my bid was rejected.

My point here is, if you are going to snipe, it might be a good idea to put in a bid earlier just to see if the seller will accept a bid from you. I wish that I had. If it would have been rejected, I might have been able to contact timesharepro1 and negotiate something before the end of the auction.

Jim


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## Beefnot (Jan 22, 2013)

jebloomquist said:


> My point here is, if you are going to snipe, it might be a good idea to put in a bid earlier just to see if the seller will accept a bid from you. I wish that I had. If it would have been rejected, I might have been able to contact timesharepro1 and negotiate something before the end of the auction.
> 
> Jim




You know, I was thinking about the same thing just yesterday.  I'm looking at one particular auction by redweek4less (normally, I wouldn't give them the time of day), but after having reneged on a bid last year, I wonder if I've been blacklisted.


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## vacationhopeful (Jan 22, 2013)

Oh dang, you fellas are so behind the curve! I was blacklisted some 3 years ago -- found out when my esnipe bid was rejected. I would have just used my_* OTHER *_ebay account,,, if only I had known.


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## Beefnot (Jan 22, 2013)

Beefnot said:


> You know, I was thinking about the same thing just yesterday.  I'm looking at one particular auction by redweek4less (normally, I wouldn't give them the time of day), but after having reneged on a bid last year, I wonder if I've been blacklisted.



Yup, just confirmed. I placed a bid on another one of their auctions that I knew was destined to go much higher and, sure enough, my bid is not accepted. Now let's see if I cannot try to reason with this chap.


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## gnorth16 (Jan 23, 2013)

vacationhopeful said:


> Oh dang, you fellas are so behind the curve! I was blacklisted some 3 years ago -- found out when my esnipe bid was rejected. I would have just used my_* OTHER *_ebay account,,, if only I had known.



some blacklist on backing out of an auction.  Others limit the amount of auctions you can bid on in a 72 hour period.  Redweekforless  doesn't deserve my business and I only deal with a few sellers anyways.  Be patient and the right deal will come along eventually.


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## Txag1997 (Jan 23, 2013)

So just to be sure I understand the process of sniping correctly... The price that you place into the snipe will be the bid that is placed, even if the bid is much higher the than runner-up bid?   I.e. I place a snipe bid for $500 and the next highest bid at the end of the auction is $300, I will win the auction for $500, not $301.


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## Beefnot (Jan 23, 2013)

Txag1997 said:


> So just to be sure I understand the process of sniping correctly... The price that you place into the snipe will be the bid that is placed, even if the bid is much higher the than runner-up bid?   I.e. I place a snipe bid for $500 and the next highest bid at the end of the auction is $300, I will win the auction for $500, not $301.



You will win the auction for only the highest bid necessary to win the auction.  So in your example, $301 would be the winning bid. The $500 is only your max bid, not necessarily the winning bid.


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## vacationhopeful (Jan 23, 2013)

Txag1997 said:


> So just to be sure I understand the process of sniping correctly... The price that you place into the snipe will be the bid that is placed, even if the bid is much higher the than runner-up bid?   I.e. I place a snipe bid for $500 and the next highest bid at the end of the auction is $300, I will win the auction for $500, not $301.



$30X == whatever the increment is on that value. If it is 50 cents, then you would win at $300.50.


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## rrsafety (Jan 23, 2013)

jebloomquist said:


> I had a snipe in for an auction today, and my snipe was about $800 higher than the winners eventual winning price. I put a snipe in because I was not able to tend the auction. To my surprise, I did not win. I looked at the snipe results, and the ebay seller had rejected my bid. Why, I don't know.
> 
> I hope that the client of the seller realizes that they may have lost out on hundred of dollars my using timesharepro1. I have not had the best things to say about timesharepro1 in the past. Maybe that is why my bid was rejected.
> 
> ...




did you happen to ask why your bid wasn't accepted?


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## Txag1997 (Jan 23, 2013)

vacationhopeful said:


> $30X == whatever the increment is on that value. If it is 50 cents, then you would win at $300.50.



Thanks to you and Beefnot for the explanation.  I was hoping for that to be the answer!


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## csxjohn (Jan 23, 2013)

Txag1997 said:


> So just to be sure I understand the process of sniping correctly... The price that you place into the snipe will be the bid that is placed, even if the bid is much higher the than runner-up bid?   I.e. I place a snipe bid for $500 and the next highest bid at the end of the auction is $300, I will win the auction for $500, not $301.



You will win the auction for $305.00.  Your bid is teated as if you bid and did not use a service.  eBay does not know how your bid was entered, the service uses your eBay login info to bid for you.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/bid-increments.html


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## PamMo (Jan 24, 2013)

+1 for sniping!

Some reasons why sniping is a good option: 1) Bidding activity generates more interest. There's an auction mentality that there is more value in an item when they see a lot of bidding (it also tends to "validate" the seller for newbies); 2) It eliminates emotional bidding and the desire to go up "just a little bit more" to beat the competition; 3) Your bid goes through at your targeted time - no matter where you are or what you're doing (from personal experience, it's super aggravating to wait to pounce until the last seconds, and have your internet go down!); 4) Questionable sellers don't have the opportunity to "push" the price  with shell bidding.

With timeshare prices so low on eBay, you can get a good deal with or without sniping these days. Good bidding to all!


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## jebloomquist (Jan 24, 2013)

*when you sell, ask ebay sellers if they block buyers*



rrsafety said:


> did you happen to ask why your bid wasn't accepted?



The following is the correspondence that I had with timesharepro1.

Dear timesharepro1,

I placed a bid on this item (200,000 Wyndham Points @ Shearwater Princeville, Hawaii FREE CLOSING), but my bid was blocked. Can you explain why my bid was rejected? The winning bid was $869. My bid in the last few seconds was for $1,560. It certainly may have won if it had not been rejected. I don't know what the winner's maximum bid was, but it may have been for hundreds of dollars more that $869. You may have cost the timeshare owner hundred of dollars by not accepting my bid. Ebay has a list of reasons why a seller may block a buyer's offer, but I don't feel that I have violated any of them. Exactly what have I done which caused you to reject me as a buyer? Are you suggesting that in the future I should never look at auctions where you are the seller? Is this permanent? You could have at least notified me that I was being put on your blocked list so that I could try to negotiate something. Your seller lost a better price. Will you tell him?
j*******1

Dear j*******1,

Yes you have been blocked, I have my reasons. Perhaps you should not look at my listings in the future. This is the final email you will receive. 
- timesharepro1

Dear timesharepro1

I’m sorry that you feel that way.

j*******1

Interestingly enough, the last feedbacks that either of us had given the other on prior ebay sales were,

Feedback from me to timesharepro1 – positive

Closing ended within 60 days. Now off to hawaii for transfer.
Seller: Member id timesharepro1 ( Feedback Score Of 274Teal star icon for feedback score in between 100 to 499)  Jul-30-12 03:12

Last feedback from timesharepro1 to me - positive

Great buyer to work with! Provides information promptly & payment extremely fast
Member id timesharepro1 ( Feedback Score Of 274Teal star icon for feedback score in between 100 to 499) Jul-30-12 10:36

In all fairness to timesharepro1, I had been critical of the amount of time an earlier purchase had taken and said some hasty and unkind things about it and the closing agent. I shouldn't have done that.

So, if you are a seller of a timeshare, it might be a good idea to ask the ebay seller that you hire, “just how many buyers have you blocked?” It may affect the eventual price that you get for your property.

Jim


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## csxjohn (Jan 25, 2013)

jebloomquist said:


> ...Dear j*******1,
> 
> Yes you have been blocked, I have my reasons. Perhaps you should not look at my listings in the future. This is the final email you will receive.
> - timesharepro1
> ...



Too funny.  This would be a problem if he were the only one on eBay selling timeshares.

If he has properties that you must have, it may be time to open another eBay account and get some feedback with small purchases.  A different email would also help mask your identity with the new eBay account.


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## ace2000 (Jan 25, 2013)

jebloomquist said:


> So, if you are a seller of a timeshare, it might be a good idea to ask the ebay seller that you hire, “just how many buyers have you blocked?” It may affect the eventual price that you get for your property.
> 
> Jim



Just about all of these ebay companies go by a completely different company name when they deal with the individuals looking to get rid of their timeshares.  So, your advice doesn't really help anyone.

Interesting story though, thanks for sharing it.


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