Today I'm happy about......

[Lost Leopard Spot]

If say your maximum was not required to win the auction?

Or are the tools not clever enough to up the current bid by a small amount? Do you actually have to specify a maximum bid at the outset? In which case, yeah, they do seem a bit pointless!
.

You set a maximum when you enter your snipe. As I say, you can do that just by entering a maximum bid anyway.

I suppose then the only advantage is your maximum goes in at the last possible minute, meaning there is no time for a non-sniper to outbid it.

That is the one and only advantage.

[thebish]

In what way do you save money?

you potentially save money by it not being known that you are bidding.

if you use the ebay thing where you put in a max bid and it bids for you - then you have started the bidding - and on a lot of ebay things people won't wait until the last day - they will put a counter-bid in and push up your price - pretty soon the bidding is up to your max bid, often well before the end-time for the auction.

if - on the other hand - they don't know you are bidding - then you are not part of a spiralling bidding round - and so the price stays lower.

snipe tools work exactly like the ebay max-bid function - except that it doesn't actually place any of your bids until the very last second - the time when it is too late for anyone else to outbid you (unless they are using a slightly faster snipe tool than you are!)

the snipe tool will bid UP TO YOUR MAXIMUM at the bid required to win the item.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

In what way do you save money?

you potentially save money by it not being known that you are bidding.

if you use the ebay thing where you put in a max bid and it bids for you - then you have started the bidding - and on a lot of ebay things people won't wait until the last day - they will put a counter-bid in and push up your price - pretty soon the bidding is up to your max bid, often well before the end-time for the auction.

if - on the other hand - they don't know you are bidding - then you are not part of a spiralling bidding round - and so the price stays lower.

snipe tools work exactly like the ebay max-bid function - except that it doesn't actually place any of your bids until the very last second - the time when it is too late for anyone else to outbid you (unless they are using a slightly faster snipe tool than you are!)

the snipe tool will bid UP TO YOUR MAXIMUM at the bid required to win the item.

It must be what I bid for. I think different items attract different types of bidder, but for the items I bid on there tend to be four specific sorts of people bidding. 1.Those who are after a bargain and bid conventionally - getting rarer; 2.those who are after a bargain and try to sneak that bargain using a snipe bid; 3. others who have a similar interest as me and recognise the good stuff from the dross and bid conventionally; and finally 4. those who know what they are doing and bid using snipe.
Let's say we are after a really good ushabti that after 18 months of waiting for anything similar, finally shows up on ebay - well can can discount bidders of types 1 and 2 straightaway, they drop out as soon as the bidding gets beyond their comfort zone, which is usually well short of the 'real value'. Those who use 4 are also at a disadvantage, because as I say there is nothing remarkably different to their and my technique, but if my bid is the same as theirs, I'll win. If their bid is more they'd have won it conventionally anyway. Which leaves those of type 3. And sometimes it is mutually beneficial to know that a 'proper' rival bidder is out there - with that knowledge 'arrangements' can be made, wink wink, know what I mean.

[thebish]

It must be what I bid for. I think different items attract different types of bidder, but for the items I bid on there tend to be four specific sorts of people bidding. 1.Those who are after a bargain and bid conventionally - getting rarer; 2.those who are after a bargain and try to sneak that bargain using a snipe bid; 3. others who have a similar interest as me and recognise the good stuff from the dross and bid conventionally; and finally 4. those who know what they are doing and bid using snipe.
Let's say we are after a really good ushabti that after 18 months of waiting for anything similar, finally shows up on ebay - well can can discount bidders of types 1 and 2 straightaway, they drop out as soon as the bidding gets beyond their comfort zone, which is usually well short of the 'real value'. Those who use 4 are also at a disadvantage, because as I say there is nothing remarkably different to their and my technique, but if my bid is the same as theirs, I'll win. If their bid is more they'd have won it conventionally anyway. Which leaves those of type 3. And sometimes it is mutually beneficial to know that a 'proper' rival bidder is out there - with that knowledge 'arrangements' can be made, wink wink, know what I mean.

kind of counts me out too as i don't even know what an ushabti is* - let alone a really good one!

*(obviously I do now as i have looked it up!)

[Lost Leopard Spot]

It must be what I bid for. I think different items attract different types of bidder, but for the items I bid on there tend to be four specific sorts of people bidding. 1.Those who are after a bargain and bid conventionally - getting rarer; 2.those who are after a bargain and try to sneak that bargain using a snipe bid; 3. others who have a similar interest as me and recognise the good stuff from the dross and bid conventionally; and finally 4. those who know what they are doing and bid using snipe.
Let's say we are after a really good ushabti that after 18 months of waiting for anything similar, finally shows up on ebay - well can can discount bidders of types 1 and 2 straightaway, they drop out as soon as the bidding gets beyond their comfort zone, which is usually well short of the 'real value'. Those who use 4 are also at a disadvantage, because as I say there is nothing remarkably different to their and my technique, but if my bid is the same as theirs, I'll win. If their bid is more they'd have won it conventionally anyway. Which leaves those of type 3. And sometimes it is mutually beneficial to know that a 'proper' rival bidder is out there - with that knowledge 'arrangements' can be made, wink wink, know what I mean.

kind of counts me out too as i don't even know what an ushabti is* - let alone a really good one!

*(obviously I do now as i have looked it up!)

Here's one I bought a few years ago (but not off ebay)
This boy's a belter.

[thebish]

^ how do you know it's a boy?

[Lost Leopard Spot]

^ how do you know it's a boy?

The hairstyle. For the period he's from if he were a she the hair plaits would be different.

[thebish]

^ how do you know it's a boy?

The hairstyle. For the period he's from if he were a she the hair plaits would be different.

maybe just had a bad hair day?

do you collect Egyptian artifacts??

[Lost Leopard Spot]

^ how do you know it's a boy?

The hairstyle. For the period he's from if he were a she the hair plaits would be different.

maybe just had a bad hair day?

do you collect Egyptian artifacts??

I've got eight ushabti and about a dozen scarabs, but mostly what I collect are fossil teeth.

[thebish]

^ how do you know it's a boy?

The hairstyle. For the period he's from if he were a she the hair plaits would be different.

maybe just had a bad hair day?

do you collect Egyptian artifacts??

I've got eight ushabti and about a dozen scarabs, but mostly what I collect are fossil teeth.

human? shark? any kind?

[Lost Leopard Spot]

^ how do you know it's a boy?

The hairstyle. For the period he's from if he were a she the hair plaits would be different.

maybe just had a bad hair day?

do you collect Egyptian artifacts??

I've got eight ushabti and about a dozen scarabs, but mostly what I collect are fossil teeth.

human? shark? any kind?

All sorts. I have 70+ different shark teeth, five different sorts of extinct elephant species (molars) and a range of extinct mammals including one broken but still exceedingly handsome sabre-toothed tiger canine. I also have a few dinosaur teeth.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

What I really really really want is a T. Rex - but they are very rare and unbelievably expensive - probably well beyond my pocket ever.

[thebish]

What I really really really want is a T. Rex - but they are very rare and unbelievably expensive - probably well beyond my pocket ever.

if you ever want a base camp to go exploring the dorset jurasic coastline - you are more than welcome!

[Lost Leopard Spot]

What I really really really want is a T. Rex - but they are very rare and unbelievably expensive - probably well beyond my pocket ever.

if you ever want a base camp to go exploring the dorset jurasic coastline - you are more than welcome!

That's very kind. I've often fancied doing it. T Rex is however absent from Dorset. But a very fine Ichthyosaur tooth would go down a storm in my collection, especially if collected personally - that'd be amazing.
However. We need to wait a few years, I've got all my holidays sorted for the next 36 months... Scotland, Canada, Germany, Cornwall, Lake District, Scotland. Oh well.

[Montreal Wanderer]

What I really really really want is a T. Rex - but they are very rare and unbelievably expensive - probably well beyond my pocket ever.

if you ever want a base camp to go exploring the dorset jurasic coastline - you are more than welcome!

That's very kind. I've often fancied doing it. T Rex is however absent from Dorset. But a very fine Ichthyosaur tooth would go down a storm in my collection, especially if collected personally - that'd be amazing.
However. We need to wait a few years, I've got all my holidays sorted for the next 36 months... Scotland, Canada, Germany, Cornwall, Lake District, Scotland. Oh well.

If you want dinosaur teeth go to the Drumheller Badlands in Alberta. If you want some fun - give me a call...

[boltonboris]

Jesus.. That sounds like something you'd read on the back of a bog door at a service station

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Jesus.. That sounds like something you'd read on the back of a bog door at a service station

Bet you've never been personally invited to the Badlands in a bog.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

[mrkint]

They've revived Whose Line Is It Anyway in the US!

I used to be obsessed with this show as a kid. Well funny.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21659392" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BWFC_Insane]

They've revived Whose Line Is It Anyway in the US!

I used to be obsessed with this show as a kid. Well funny.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21659392" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ryan Stiles