The Drum's bell

[Tom Bowser]

I sure wouldn't have gone that high for it, maybe he will drop iy on his foot and break a toe.
Tom Bowser

[Paul Farace]

OK, so you guys don't know what sniping is!   You will have to learn.
No need to sit there refreshing like a trained monkey until the last second of the bidding process. There are services called "Snipers" -- which offer a free service. You put in the ebay auction item number, tell the program what your top bid is (and you have to make sure it is going higher than any reserve anyone else has put onthe item in question. Then, you tell it how close to the end of an auction you want it to place the bid, and were talking within 10 seconds... then, when the final countdown is proceeding and the numbskull thinks he is going to get your prized widget from your boat for $12, you bid gets zapped in and wins the bid (if your reserver is higher than his) even before he can realize what has happened.

Hopefully you've now left him or her coiled on the floor in a fetal position, biting their fingernails and wetting their pants.

Google "sniper services" to find one. I will ask our director which service he prefers and get back to you.  This is not a game... if you have something you need from your boat, or for your boat, you have to have no mercy. Bidding up the price of something just makes the jackass who stole the item from the boat that much richer.


PF

[Mark Sarsfield]

Agreed.  One service that I have used is e-snipe.  I forget the other one.  Many of them offer you a free trial or 3 free winning bids (it doesn't count if you lose).  Also, if you get other friends to join, they sometimes give you more free bids.

If you still prefer the low-tech way, don't place a bid until the last 12 seconds of the auction. Have the amount already typed in and ready to go.  Hit refresh a few times after the auction has less than 1 minute to go and at about 10-12 seconds left hit bid, and then hit the confirmation button - a fast internet connection is required.

Some of these... well, many of these a$$es on eBay like to bid against their own auctions to drive up the price, too.  So, bidding at the last second keeps them or their buddies from jacking the price on you.  Every so often they will win their own auction and within a minute of the auction ending you get a "2nd Chance Offer" at an amount higher than your max bid.  I always ignore these and let the schemer eat it.

Okay... rant over...