I need to vent!

[kup]

A have gotten a lot of good bargains from a snipe fest - Only when someone drops a bomb in the last minute like $200 for a $60 item that's when things get out of hand but that hasn't been that common in my experience although it has somewhat become more common in rarer items such as the Micromaster Transports and Pretenders.

Also when you are after items that do not appear that often on ebay, you can't just make your bid early and let it be as you don't only drive the price up as other bidders try to figure out your max but you will also most likely loose to the snipers waiting for it at Auctions end who will get the item for a $1 more than your max. You'll potentially miss out and it could be another year or two before the figure appears again in a reasonable condition - I am sure that the snipe is more time saving that searching ebay constantly for months until the item reappears again only to likely loose it again by bidding early.

I am happy that bidding early has worked for you but its been the exact opposite for me. I lost far too many auctions by bidding early to go back to it and its hardly a time intensive thing as they usually end while I am at work so all that I have to do is keep a window open in the back with the auction, put an alarm the minute before it ends, Alt-tab and bid and then Alt-tab back and hope for the best - That's it. I have probably taken longer writing this post than making a typical snipe and I am sure that I have wasted more time doing unproductive things like day dreaming or reading some wikipedia article than sniping.