Warning! Ebay and Auction Sniper users beware

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mattl

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Right now I'm quite angry and upset.  I had placed an Auction Sniper bid on an ebay item I wanted, just a simple mixmaster model 12 in white with both bowls in excellent shape - $20  It was relatively near by and the seller agreed to local pickup saving me $20 and the fear of getting broken bowls.  However the bid was not placed.  I went to the Auction Sniper site and it has a warning about problems after the ebay password changes issue.  I HAD gone in and updated my password in both places and it was verified by AS, yet no bid.

 

So, if you use any kind of sniping program verify it's working correctly.  I don’t know when I'll come across as nice of a machine at the right price.
 
Got this replay from Auction Sniper:

 

"Reply (submitted [Saturday, 6/14/2014 9:51 PM PDT])

Hello,

Thank you for contacting us.

I have reviewed your account and the snipe record for item #151322315675 and find that it shows the 'Did Not Win' status.

When I check the confirmation page for this snipe, I find that our system could not complete access to your eBay account at the time of the snipe even though your account is correctly configured at this time. The confirmation page shows a blank log in page for eBay.

You can see this by using the "View Confirmation" button located on the right side of the title bar for the item (it looks like an eye). This provides a snap shot of the messaging that Sniper received from eBay when it attempted to place your Snipe. (Since this is not the live eBay page, you won't be able to log in using this.)

This can occur for several reasons. The primary one is that eBay reserves the right to "test" changes to their site on random accounts for limited intervals and that the log in page is set up differently than usual and the log in process from our side is unable to respond to the changes on the page. However, this can also occur if eBay presents a ad at log in or requests confirmation information prior to completing log in which Sniper cannot work around, so log in is not completed.

Our engineers are aware of this issue and are seeking a solution. Currently we do not have an estimated time on when the solution will be implemented, but we hope to be able to amend it soon."

 

So it appears ebay is screwing with us, again.
 
Sorry To Hear

But as the saying goes when you want something done right, do it yourself. *LOL*

Understand why persons use various sniper apps or programs, but for something one truly wants could never feel secure. Much rather acquire target and pull the trigger oneself so to speak.

Don't worry about the mixer, am sure another will come along eventually. Will keep my eyes peeled both on fleaPay and elsewhere to see what there is, and will let you know if I find anything.

L.
 
Thanks, I appreciate the kind words.

 

I've resorted to sniper programs because I've found people to be quite dumb when bidding.  Plus, it seems easier to me just to put my max bid in and not worry about it as often I'm not around when an item is ending.  It also helps me not get carried away with last minute bids.

 

Yes, I know there will be other mixmasters out there, perhaps even the yellow that I covet, but the price  and quality was right.  I'm not willing to pay more than $20 -$30 total on anything other than my "dream" machine.  This one was $20 with both bowls and free pick up.  I do frequent the local Goodwill and SA, but for some reason there are never any mixmasters for sale.  I did try and contact the seller including a capture of my AS bid letting them know I'm still interested if they want to repost as BIN, or list it on CL.
 
Sorry about the mixup. Have used Auctionstealer.com for years with zero problems, including several since the password changes, if that's any help. They allow three free bids a week. If that's not enough, they have paid service that allows unlimited bidding, but I use it as a way to keep my impulses in check!

Honestly, I've missed more things by forgetting to bid than by using the service. Just this week the power went out due to a storm, but I won two
auctions anyway because the snipe bids had been set.
 
Launderess

Love that "Much rather acquire target and pull the trigger oneself so to speak. " My thinking exactly, I think Matt that ad business maybe intentional on ebays part as they have never liked auction sniper and now ebay has its own built in sniper program when you bid. So they want to "encourage" you to use theirs and not auction sniper. Keeps the money all under one hood.

 
 
Do you think the hacking story Ebay gave out was maybe a ruse to just make some changes to force user behavior to comply with what Ebay wants them to do? Companies have done stuff like this before.
 
Very Interesting...

I have never heard of these things called "Auction Sniper," "Auctionstealer," Auction Kleptomaniac" etc and didn't know bidding tools like this even existed. It's always frustrating to really want an item and then see it snatched out from under you. In your case there was a real advantage in that the mixer was pick-up close. Fortunately there are always all kinds of Mixmasters constantly poping up on ebay and you might find one you like better that's close by and/or has reasonable shipping costs and will be packed carefully.

I've learned not to get too upset about lost auctions or Craigslist items where purchase arrangements are all set only to have the seller "change their mind" which generally means they received a better offer. Everyone has their own horror stories. A friend of mine in Tennessee drove a very long distance to pick up a rare stereo only to be told it was destroyed in a fire. The house displayed no signs of a fire. He drove even farther to buy a TV/stereo armoire only to discover one un-photographed side was crushed and destroyed. Online sales for used and vintage merchandise are full of snafus. Best of luck with your Mixmaster hunt.
 
eBay has yet again been fooling with their site

These past few days one has noticed searches come up at "showing only relevant listings...". One is then invited to click a link to show entire matching listings.

More and more one thinks what is happening is that eBay is trying to keep/win back sellers. Many have left or decreased their use of fleaPay because quite frankly there is often way to many garbage listings. This causes many to search through pages of listings for adverts, and other garbage that quite frankly are rubbish. However as even rubbish listings make money for eBay.....

Part of this is the fault of eBay itself when they changed how searches were conducted and displayed. Try searching for "Ironer" and you get pages of listings with "iron" in the title. Anything from golf clubs to cast iron items.
 
Joe, ebay auctions sort of resemble sealed-bid auctions, where the bidder can place a bid early but it is very much to his advantage not to do so.

Third-party sniping services have been around for years to allow bidders to set a robo-bid for days in advance.

This eliminates the problem of what some call "creepers."

eBay would like you to place your max bid days in advance, but this leads to problems. Say you bid $200 max on an item with a $30 minimum. The bid shows as $30. Someone comes along and bids $50, then $75, then $100. Chances are their attention has been drawn to the auction by your early bid, anyway. Better to keep your interest under wraps till the last second.

I don't have the time to place all bids manually, and as I said, auctionstealer has never failed even once.
 
Launderess is absolutely right about eBay.

They are constantly messing with the website. They'll say they're trying to improve the experience for eBay users, but I liked it far better the way it was. It's obvious at this point that the only thing they're trying to improve is their own bottom line. That whole "best match" thing is a perfect example, as it consistently returns search results that are little better than useless.
 
you just bid at a super-high price to be assured of winning

Because sadly are plenty of twisted and sick souls on eBay. It is not unheard of for persons say to bid up an item they may or may not want but don't want anyone else to have either. More so if the other person seems to be on track to get the thing cheaply.

To keep it related to this website; someone has two cases of vintage NOS Dash detergent. The first set attracts wide interest and is bid up accordingly. But say the seller either makes a mistake in listing the second case (incorrect spelling of product) or perhaps now that the heat of the moment is gone no one is watching. No one but *You* that is and see your chance to nab the thing for less, much less than the first case went for. Well the winner of the other case may or may not be able to afford spending bank on another, but he just may want to pull your chain enough to drive up the price.

Long story short have found when it comes to fleaPay it is best not to show one's hand too early and or bid outrageous amounts unless you intend to back it up. Yes, you can enter "$2K' for a that case of Dash detergent, but what happens if someone drives up the bidding and you are stuck winning it for that amount?

You can browse the archives for some, well shall we say not very nice debates and or heated exchanges between members over bidding on items. Would like to say all was well that ended well, but..... *LOL*
 
They are constantly messing with the website

Ebay as a problem. Between CL and other listing sites they aren't seeing the business once enjoyed when things were new. Worse many sellers simply are abandoning eBay because of various "improvements" and other niggles. Not everyone was or is thrilled about being forced to use only PayPal for accepting payments for instance. Nor is the shift towards backing buyers over sellers going down very well either.

Then there is the fact as one said before, eBay is more and more filled with junk and or job lots of items from commercial/professional sellers. Who sells empty moldy boxes of detergent? Do any of those adverts cut out of magazines sell in good numbers? Then there are countless pages of coupons that at least around here stores will no longer accept.
 
Ebay and/or 'sniping'

As 'D-Jones' says (Reply#11), the only thing that Ebay wants to improve is it's own 'bottom line'. It is losing 'market share', and deservedly so!! Most people don't like changes in the websites they use, especially when the changes offer no obvious improvement or advantage, even more so when the change is purely to imcrease profits for the site (the 'Thou Shalt Always Use Paypal' change, for instance). It's just an undisguised (except to the incredibly gullible) attempt to double their 'comission' to 20% per item, plus a mark-up on postage!!! No doubt there will be a hefty fee for the 'in house' sniping software. Sadly, here in the U.K., there is no real alternative to 'FleaPay' (yet!!). Here's hoping someone else wants a (just slightly thinner) slice of that very large pie. Ebay's management are just plain greedy, and are (like many others before them) destroying their company's reputation to make (an excessive) short-term profit.

IMHO, the sooner their empire collapses, the better!! With their turnover, even a 1% comission would make many times more profit in a day than most of us will earn in a lifetime. Do these people have NO sense of shame??

Personally, I don't like or use 'sniper' software. I have had too many items 'snatched from under my nose' in the last couple of seconds, when there is no time to consider an increased bid, or just 'bid up' to an exorbitant price. :-(

Rant over

Dave T
 
I knew a guy who used to intentionally bid up the prices of cars on Ebay with absolutely no intention of buying them. He used to get his jollies over the fact that he was causing people to pay more. He always was saying "Those sellers ought to pay me for increasing the sales price!". He was a strange bird anyway and one day we asked him to disappear from our lives because of how strange he was. And he did too.

While cyberspace has its advantages, the world is full of nut jobs and somehow most of them live on the Internet.
 
Well ...

"eBay is more and more filled with junk and or job lots of items from commercial/professional sellers."

I don't know about that. I think it depends on what you're looking for.

It was just this winter I scored a mint condition, top-to-bottom restored Kirby Dual Sanitronic 80.

I've purchased some fine vintage audio equipment as well. And it's one of the few go-to places where I can quickly find replacement styli for my turntables.

I also scored "new in the box" (my FAVORITE eBay term!!) briefcases from 1978 and 1980 ... a brown Samsonite and a black American Tourister ... never used, with their tags still attached. Where else on Earth would I ever find such items?
 
Junk Listing(s)

Search anything related to car parts or computing, and you're bound to get about 100 listings with the same picture and description. Only varying degrees of stupidity in the title of the item. 

 

That or its imitation sh*t that you just don't need/want/care about. 
 
I don't know too much about this auction sniper sites. Never used them. If I see an item that I want, typically I'll use the "Buy it Now" feature, if it is available. If it isn't, I'll wait till as close to the end of the auction as possible(depending on when it ends). I then will bid my max bid(A bid that if I end up paying, I'm still comfortable with paying). If I get the item, great. If not then I guess someone else wanted the item more than I did.
 
I've had good luck using eSnipe for many years. From a buyer's perspective, there are many good reasons to use sniping services.

You don't want to alert your competition that there is an item in which you are interested, as that will raise the price. You don't want to get into bidding wars, where you are jockeying for top bid constantly during the duration of the auction, raising the price ever higher.

You also want to discourage shill bidders, either affiliated with the seller or not, who have no intention of winning the auction. They only want to drive the price up, either to benefit the seller, or just for amusement value.

Of course from the seller's standpoint (and that of eBay), sniping services are bad, for exactly the same reasons. They want to push the ending prices ever higher.
 
ebay and other mental abberations

Quote: But as the saying goes when you want something done right, do it yourself. *LOL*

Launderess, I do fully agree. Why not keep watching ebay while the auction is going?
If you really want the item then you can at least take the effort to keep watching and bidding (otherwise you do not want it anyway - my opinion).
Launderess: your pic keeps irritating me, this lady is frightening ;-)

Joe (twintubdexter), quote: "I have never heard of these things called "Auction Sniper," "Auctionstealer," Auction Kleptomaniac" etc"
Me neither and I find the idea quite repulsive: snipe/steal/klepto etc. are syllables to me that suggest something "illegal" or at least "out of good manners and taste" (and obviously they are->> so no sympathy from my side to those using them/and seeing them fail)
Joe, your pic keeps irritating me (in a very good way ;-)

Launderess, quote: "They are constantly messing with the website"
Absolutely right. They keep fidgeting around, changing this and that, altering this or the other link button or checkbox and EACH bloody TIME something FAILS what comes to their functionality.
Have been writing more than half a dozen angry mails to them, they keep shrugging them off. And their website keeps getting worse, more pc-power laden and slower and slower and slower....

Quote (several writers here): "eBay is more and more filled with junk" - Absolutely right. 80 percent commercial plastic junk sellers vs. some rare 20 percent private attic clearances (at least here in Germany, my experience).
Just the same development as it was with fleamarkets some decades ago: Grandmas and families with boot sales going back while Turkish neon mobile sheaths junk plastic sellers of the commercial type keep conquering the fleamarket grounds for good. No more use going there (back then) - no more use browsing ebay (now).

Even the goodwill shops here have installed marketing managers in order to check second hand prices compared to ebay ("is it retro? check ebay! do NOT tag it for 4 euros, make it some 15,- or so! The retro freaks will buy it anyhow")

On top of it all, ebay is some sort of an A....hole company just in itself, the do NOT care about any transaction gone wrong, not about any item misplaced or mistagged, not about any client having an issue to be resolved: They just keep their filthy fingers out of everything as long as the coins keep rolling and ringing in their piggy bank.
The rest is shrugged off and the client gets an email: "Please see the following link..."

I personally have changed to all other (mainly local) platforms here and I keep avoiding this Arschlochfirma ebay.
 
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.  I'm not going to get up at 4 AM when an auction might end just to place a bid.  I'm also not going to play games with sellers who may be inflating their items with fake bids.  Snipers serve to level the playing field. 

 

If I had other  options I'd use them, but I am not a yard sale person, that takes too much time and gas money so I'm limited to online sources, the only two I know of that might have the mixmaster I'm after at the price I'm willing to pay is ebay and good will.  I'm only willing to pay $20-$30 for a complete white model 12 delivered to my door, the one I lost was $19.95 plus gas to pick it up.  If I came across the yellow I'm after I'm willing to go a lot higher, but still risk it arriving in pieces.  I once bought a model 10 from a member here that arrived shattered to pieces, I'm all for avoiding shipping.

 

I'm still quite angry but have no recourse.
 
No it ended with zero bids.  I wonder if it will be relisted or tossed.  No takers at $20 so he might not feel it's worth it.  I have checked his auctions to see if it's relisted, it has not been.

 

I might shift my focus to units without bowls.  I did pick up a small bowl at goodwill for $1 a few weeks ago, but have not seen the larger bowl anywhere local.
 
If you were in contact with him prior to the auction ending(about pick up for it) you can get in contact with him again and see about buying it from him for that $20. That way he won't have to pay the ebay fees either.
 
As far as issues with bowls arriving all in pieces, that is the fault of the seller for not packing properly. If it doesn't arrive as described in the ad, then you can go after the person via ebay and get your money back. I know that doesn't help with wanting/needing the bowls but maybe you should also email the seller prior to shipping explaining how to properly package an item.
 
Auction Ended With Zero Bids

I've missed auctions before and they ended with no bidders. I just send an e-mail to the seller and make my offer. Sometimes they'll say that they'll just relist the item in a 1 day auction. I bid and then win it. I've never had a seller turn me down for doing this. They want to get rid of the item.

And I have definitely sent sellers packing instructions. They never said anything about it, but the item arrived packed as I requested. I don't know where some sellers get the idea that a single sheet of newspaper is adequate packing for something that's breakable.
 
My last experience with broken bowls left a very bad taste in my mouth.  I PAID for shipping, yet UPS would only deal with he shipper, said he had to file the claim.  I told the UPS guy that was delivering the broken box, I could hear it rattling I did not want to accept it.  He said to take it and deal with the person who shipped it from what I can recall, The shipper got a refund not me.
 
I had a problem very similar to Matt's when I bought an AE50 wall phone from a seller in Canada. I paid for insurance, but it did me no good. The idiot seller had a very strange idea about what proper packing was for a heavy vintage Bakelite phone. They placed it in a box with some Styrofoam peanuts and then for whatever reason they wrapped the handset independently in saran wrap, so as it made its way to L.A. the handset proceeded to beat the tar out of the receiver body which arrived in several pieces. The post office here said the shipper had to file a claim, while the shipper insisted it was my responsibility, so I got nowhere. The whole thing was very disappointing.
 

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