"Using a sniping service does not give an advantage over any other person. It is the high bid that wins, not the last bid."

That is somewhat true but I still stand by my statement that some people feel at a disadvantage against people using sniping services or machines.

The way I look at it is this. Asside from situations where a person might go through listings like I posted last night where you can go to eBay and select Going Going Gone or Ending Today and look for deals that might lead you to bid near the last minute, Why then don't other bidders just place their highest bids early on and let everyone truely compete on the same field with them. Why do they have any need to use a high speed connection and a machine, or a service, that can get that bid in at 5 seconds where the other guy CAN'T compete or rebid. If the name of the game is High Bid and not timing then Sniping wouldn't exist and there would be no need for Sniping programs.

I have said before, I have not and, still, don't say that sniping is wrong. I see it as a legitimate strategy. Especially in light of a great deal of dishonest activity where some people have been known to shill for a seller or where melicious kids or others with nothing but time on their hands will sabotage auctions because they get some jolies off of making people pay a lot for items, or blocking the sales by certain sellers. To hold back a little so that you can get an item that you really want without unfair or meanspirited interferance by allowing yourself to put your final amount up at the last moments, these days, seems fair to me.

As I have said before, when I see something I really want, not something I am speculating about but really want, I will place a good, fair, and honest bid for that item. That way, if I oversleep, get called out, don't get home in time or whatever, I have a bid standing. I still have some chance. However, if I am willing to pay $15 for an item, I might put $12 or something for it. Saving the last 3 bucks so that, if I can be there when the auction ends I can bid again. If I exceed the $15 I will often say so be it. Or, I can reassess my desire for the item and go to $16 or $17.

With the number of times that it has happened to me I just wonder why so many people out there, when you put $15 for an item that is at .99, will come in some time later and place 15 bids at $1 increments until they outbid you. Then you say OK I want it a little more than I thought so you go to $20. Then the same person comes in, sometimes a day or hours later, with 5 more bids to outbid you again.

As an addition to the above I have sat on items, thinking of it for a few days. There will be NO bids for 3 or 4 days. Then I will place a bid and in less than an hour there will be bidding like I described above. Tell me that it doesn't look fishy.

The above example, doesn't have anything to do with sniping programs or services. However it does point to the legitimacy of using sniping as a bidding strategy. Again, the issue of "Bigger Bats" that I used in my previous post, simply addresses a sentiment and appearance by others. I don't bother myself over them. I could go find the programs myself or subscribe to a service if I wanted to. I CHOOSE not to so that is my decision. I will continue to try, when possible, to be online at the ends of auctions to defend a bid if neccessary. To be honest, I haven't had that much trouble with being snipped to the point of loosing. What has concerned me is the number of times, as I described earlier with some playing cards, where I got bid up to .50 of my final bid and the bidder STOPPED. Even when one lot of identical cases of cards was over a dollar less than the other. If the bidder really wanted the cards than why didn't he bid to the same amount on both lots? It just looks like he was bidding up my bid. Not trying to actually win.