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I don't buy a lot on e bay but , why is it a item will sit for days with no bids ,say a item that no one else really wants , then once you bid , then (POOF ) somebody else bids on the same item ? Is this the seller poking it along and is that what the term ( shill) bid means ? Pardon my dumbness ,I am just asking to learn ? This has happened several times this week to me on some little nic nacs, just wondering? Thanks .

Most people believe waiting as long as possible to bid will keep the final price lower

agree, snipe it with less than 10 seconds to go otherwise you'll drive the price up...

That kills me..also, a sign will go the whole auction without one bid, then it gets relisted and sold at a ridiculous price. And i kick myself for not bidding when it was listed cheaper previously.

Any bids before the last 10 seconds are a waste of your time and money.

I usually wait til the last few seconds also if I really want an item and can be around the computer at the end. But, sometimes I need to be gone or busy when an auction ends and go ahead and put in the max amount I will give for it and hope for the best. Sometimes there are watchers out there that won't bid until it's bid on and once there are a couple of bids it can raise the price I guess. On the other hand, if there is a buyer out there that really wants it they will usually snipe my snipe and I lose anyway! It's a game that you win sometimes and you lose sometimes.

Good information everyone . Thank you.

I also agree with this statement however if it's a item that's rare and I want it bad most likely other people will want it as well and try and get seller to end auction early (which I WON'T do) so I'll throw a large starting bid out there so if seller does end early he'll get dinged the fees in amount of highest bid at time he ended it. At least that's what I was informed would happen last time we disused ending auctions early.

I think Pete makes a good point with that strategy.

I make an early minimal bid on most non-rare items using the eBay search box at the bottom of this page. That gives Oldgas.com the credit for bringing in the bid even if you snipe it or bid normally later. If I can't be around at the end, I use auctionsniper.com to place that last moment bid for me.

This is why I only bid on the Buy It Nows,if at all.
No time to play games or get into a p***ing contest.

Like it or not, snipping is how eBay is played. Regarding shill bidding, that is having one or more "friends" place bids on an item to drive the bidding higher.

Bingo... 63shelby has it right... thats the best way to prevent sellers from ending early!

Sometimes, I wish I could list some of my things for 30 seconds. 20 seconds to look at it and 10 seconds to bid. It would make for some less anxious weeks.

You could contact the seller and inform them that you're going to be a strong bidder on this but choose not to bid early. Tell them that if they are tempted by others to end the auction early, send you a message as you will most likely pay more than those that try to get you to end early. Remind them that the whole reason others may try to get them to end early is because they know you will outbid them should the auction run its course.

90% of the time that I don't snipe and bid early with a strong bid I have some nimrod climbing the ladder and bidding 5-10 times on the last day until they either top my bid or make me pay hundreds more than if I sniped.

I'm also thinking a seller that's dumb enough to end early doesn't put that much forethought into the fees.

I always snipe in the last few seconds. Nothing like being part of a good bloodbath on a rare item.

I have a strong dislike for sellers who choose to end actions early. Especially, the ones that start their auctions with a low bid and no reserve and then get scared and end their auction early. If you don't have gonads then pay for a reserve.

Like this guy...another picker that frequents this site.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Mobilgas-Pegasus-Porcelain-pump-sign-NO-RESERVE-/251635003953?