I had to write this up as killjoy32 pulled a cracking smoking on me yesterday.

Now Alan and I have been in e-mail contact for some time.  During one of our regular chats I happen to mention that I had spotted a nice softy GW Monster Manual on the big e.  I was in a good mood having just got a top H2 out from under his nose and I felt UK bragging rights for the day were mine.  Then the e-mail came. . .
"I'm interested in that too. *throws gauntlet down*"
I mean this is at 9 in the morning and the auction doesn't close till 17.37 gmt.  I have 8 frigging hours to panic about swimming with the big fish. Oh crap!
Anyway, I fire a confident little riposte reminding the big killjoy about my recent victory and settle back to my work. Reply was swift and brutal.
"*evil grin* this time I'm going to wait until the last 10 secs so you can't counter bid"
SHEEEEEET!!!!!!!!
You  know the feeling.  You wake after fantastic sex to discover that you are living in a teen slasher movie where the only survivors will be the virgins.  It was like a lead ball in my stomach.  I became a sweaty palmed blabbing wreck.  Evil grin?  Evil fecking grin??????
I was thinking Orcus of the front of H4 - YES THAT FECKIN EVIL
Anyway I nervously entered the battle yet with stout heart placed my opening gambit.  Again the reply was swift, if not the counter bid.
"£5.50 wahey!"
I ought to explain that I was now going to be late leaving work, miss my train desperately hoping I could hang on, and I KNEW I WAS GOING TO LOSE.  Even worse, so did Al.  Through a grimace of frustration I imagined him sat some 150 miles from me safe in the knowledge that his swipe was going to take me out.  As back up I moved my bid higher whilst placing an insurance bid on the softy PHB finishing three minutes later, confident that I would sneak under his radar as he would be only watching the MM.
I sat, and I waited, and I worried and I sweated.
17.35 GMT and still no counter bid - has he given up? Not a chance.  Activity begins an unrelated third party makes their challenge and is swiftly rebuffed.  Surely I have it now.  Pressing refresh I see the dreaded red cross and the words "you have been outbid".  OH CACK!!!!
My fingers stumble as I desperately try and fire in a counterbid but I am too late.  It will not be mine - it is moving to Warrington. Oh well I thought, at least I have the PHB.  I click on the item description and wait for the finish.
SNIPED BY GOD!!! (well by killjoy actually, but the effect is much the same)
Oh the abject horror, the pain.  I stand back and salute you killjoy - an evil genius but a comic talent  :D  :D
After the state you left me in have you ever thought about writing Ravenloft or Cthulhu modules?  8O  8O  8O

LOL :)

that was really really funny yesterday - the bids were worth it just for the thought of what you would be saying as you refreshed :D

now you know what i felt like when david (harami2000) sniped me on 4 items in 2 days, but was then honourable enough to let me have the 5th :)

now if ebaying was that much fun all the time - life would be great  :twisted:

nah i have to be real honest i don't like sniping in the last 10 seconds......don't seem quite right to me i have to say....but this one occasion, it just had to be done!

i had to have revenge for that snipe he had on me! :)

all good fun tho - made a dull day quite fun in the end  :D

KingOfPain wrote:

beyondthebreach wrote:wthomas - assuming you don't want to go the route of sniper software and you are worrying about a potential last second counter bid (especially when you are expecting to be outbid - as in this situation) then just open up multiple browser windows.

Place your counter bid and enter it so that the screen with "Review and Submit" comes up. Place your cursor over the "submit" button.

"Alt-tab" to the other window which watches the auction. Use F5 on your keyboard to "refresh" (don't move your cursor). When you see the "snipe" come in at 8 seconds, quickly "alt-tab" and left click your mouse button. Your bid is already to go. . .

That's the best way to manually snipe. 8)

Never thought of this. I dont feel the need to use sniping software because I dont bid on a ton of auctions at the same time. This is a smart tactic and one that I will use in the future for sure. Wouldnt be a big deal but I remember bidding on three or four of darkseraphim's auctions that were all ending at around the same time, and by God if I didnt get outbid on all of them at the last second by the same frickin' person. :mrgreen:

I win some of my bids against snipers using a very similar method.
Another way to not have to worry about snipers is to simply place a bid so high that none of them will reach it...even with that last second snipe bid.
Of course that method will cost you. :roll: