I'm a sniper, and in the last couple of months I've lost several auctions to buyers putting in private offers to sellers outside the normal bidding process. When a seller has a very low starting price and the bidding is slow (snipers sitting on the sideline), a buyer sends a private message to the seller offering to buy at a much higher price than the current bid, but still a good buy. The offer is accepted, all bids are cancelled, and the auction ends early. My last snipe bid was several thousand dollars higher than the sales price settled on through the private sale.
This buying strategy works, and I know several Tuggers who have done this - but it still drives me nuts! Not just because I lost the eBay auction , but I think it leaves the transparent bidding process open to all kinds of shenanigans. It would be different if the auctions were Buy It Now or Best Offer, but these are regular auctions... maybe the "rules" are changing...
This buying strategy works, and I know several Tuggers who have done this - but it still drives me nuts! Not just because I lost the eBay auction , but I think it leaves the transparent bidding process open to all kinds of shenanigans. It would be different if the auctions were Buy It Now or Best Offer, but these are regular auctions... maybe the "rules" are changing...