Backjob said:
I keep getting pipped on eBay auctions too, and someone told me recently it's cos there's this program people use called eSniper that is automatically programmed to swoop in and bid 30 seconds before the auction ends. Anybody know if that's true?
But generally, fuck eBay. It tempts you with this massive array of amazing vinyl, but you never EVER get a good deal, even if you do manage to win the cunting auction without being "sniped" or whatever...
Are you mad? Ebay is the best! if you have patience you are guaranteed to find great deals. Maybe not as good as if you went to used record stores or something but then again you dont' have to go anywhere. For example I saw the following records go for $1.99 each (which I didn't buy because I stupidly missed the auctions) in the last couple of weeks:
UR - Interstellar Fugitives (2x12")
UR - Electronic Warfare (2x12")
2 Bad Mice - Bombscare/Hold It Down (fuck fuck fuck. my most wanted record right now. sure, it's pretty common but I don't want to pay more than $5 for it either)
And you can find lots of 50 records that go for less than $100. Even if you only want like 10 of them it's still a pretty good deal.
The records where you often cannot get a good deal are perversely not the rare ones but the very popular ones (trance anthems, daft punk etc.)
About eSnipe, yeah, it's true. I've never used the program though. It doesn't guarantee anything aside from making sure you never miss an auction. All you have to do is bid the most you are willing to pay. For example: the current price is $1. You bid $5 but since the increment is 0.25 the price only goes to $1.25. With 30 seconds to go the esniper swoops in and bids $1.5 Since you bid earlier for $5 eBay automatically bids for you and raises the price to $1.75 (you are still the winner). At this point the sniper most likely won't have enough time to change his bid. So you win and you don't have to pay $5 either. And even if you do wind up paying $5, that's how much you were willing to pay in the first place. Saying all this it usually pays off bidding later rather than earlier because it doesn't leave enough time for bidding wars to take effect (because people rarely put in a bid of the maximum they are willing to pay).