Things that won't get you kicked off of eBay

alt.marketing.online.ebay FAQ

6.0 Things that _won't_ get you kicked off of eBay

6.1 Sniping
Sniping is the act of placing a bid with in the last few minutes, usually seconds of the auction ending. Sniping does not ensure that you will win the auction as the previous high bidder may have placed a proxy bid that is higher than your snipe bid, meaning they win.

See http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/questions/outbid.html

6.1.1 Why people snipe
Other than the joy of sniping, bidders generally snipe for three practical reasons.

a. Since other bidders may not have bid their max, snipers can get bargains by waiting until the last minute. Many bidders only bid enough to become the high bidder without considering their max. Other bidders think they have bid their max, but reconsider and are willing to go higher when the receive they outbid notice from eBay.

b. Items with bids tend to attract more bidders. If the auction has little activity, snipers perceive the auction will be overlooked by potential bidders.

c. Some bidders are stalked by other bidders with similar buying interests.
After all, why should you search for auctions if someone else is doing the work? By sniping the auction, the sniper prevents the stalker from placing a competing bid.

6.1.2 Why some people hate snipers
It's extremely frustrating to see yourself as the highest bidder for the duration of an auction and lose to someone who crawled out of the woodwork at the last minute. Novice bidders, who don't understand the proxy bidding system, are particularly prone to being successfully sniped. This is the type of bidder who bids repeatedly on an auction to get one step ahead of the next bidder. Many bidders feel quite helpless in the face of sniper activity and don't know what they could have done to prevent being sniped.

6.1.3 How to protect yourself against snipers
Although no one can guarantee that someone else isn't willing to pay a higher price for any given item, there are a few common sense strategies that can help prevent losing auctions to a sniper.

a. Whenever you place your bid, bid your ABSOLUTE maximum. If you think you have determined your max, ask yourself if you would have bid $1 more to win in the face of a competing bid. If you are willing to spend another dollar to win, you haven't found your max. Remember that the amount of your bid is far more important than the timing of your bid. A sniper can only win if they bid higher than your maximum bid.

b. Become a sniper yourself and use it to your advantage. Just remember that you only have time for one bid and the current high bidder may have entered a bid much higher than what is currently showing. Therefore, bid your max.

c. Recognize that very few items are truly unique. If an item is on eBay, it will probably come up again. Move on and catch it next time around.

6.2 Bid retractions
There are very few legitimate reasons for retracting a bid on eBay. With that said, there is nothing to prevent a bidder from retracting their bid for any reason (or no reason). A count of bid retractions you make are noted on your feedback page.

Excessive bid retractions can be seen as suspect (see Shilling) as the user could be bidding & retracting high amounts on items just to find out what the present high bidder's proxy bid really is - that practice is against eBay's rules. There appears to be little, if any, repercussions for retracting your bid. The seller has no say in the matter and feedback can not be left either way.

More specific information can be found at eBay's page: http://pages.ebay.com/help/buyerguide/bidding-retract.html

6.3 Posting negative feedback
EBay's feedback system is only effective if all members leave deserved feedback for both good and bad transactions. Many buyers and sellers are hesitant to leave negative feedback for fear of retaliation. I can state from personal experience that this fear is for the most part unfounded. Out of the first 77 negative feedbacks I left for other members in my eBay career, not one resulted in a retaliatory negative on my record.

With that said, I would caution that retaliatory feedback does exist and I do expect to receive one at some point. If you do receive a retaliatory feedback, the best solution is to respond to it in a professional and matter of fact manner. The response speaks louder than the negative and can show potential trading partners where the fault actually lies. If your feedback is otherwise sound, very few people will concern themselves with isolated derogatory feedback.

One way to potentially protect yourself against retaliatory feedback from buyers is by proactively contacting other sellers who haven't left feedback and asking how the transaction went. Often, if they also had a bad experience, they will follow your lead and leave the negative feedback and claim their FVF refund (three of which NARU's the buyer and prevents them from leaving any feedback.