Montblanc 149 And The Bay Of Evil!

[ruben50]

This is just a bit of a rant, and probably not the correct forum, but I was watching an auction for a 149 on the bay. The pictures were kind of vague and after no bids the same person made 5 bids, another person came in and raised in by $1 UDS the that same person made another bit for $200 USD more!?!?!? This is also after checking the hidden bids.

 

Does this kind of thing happen a lot?

[josephchow42]

IMHO, MB149 usually goes for over $350. Even if a pen is in horrible condition people are still willing to pay around $250 knowing that you can always send it to MB for maintenance(for modern ones of course). As long as the nib and feed is okay, changing the barrel or something else usually is under $100.

[jar]

This is just a bit of a rant, and probably not the correct forum, but I was watching an auction for a 149 on the bay. The pictures were kind of vague and after no bids the same person made 5 bids, another person came in and raised in by $1 UDS the that same person made another bit for $200 USD more!?!?!? This is also after checking the hidden bids.

 

Does this kind of thing happen a lot?

 

Hopefully quite often. Those are Proxy Bids. You enter your maximum amount and eBay then bids for you up to your maximum. If two people enter Proxy bids it immediately starts a bidding war up to the limit set by the lower maximum bidder.

 

That's why I use snipe services instead of Proxy Bids. No bids get entered until the last few seconds of the auction and so do not drive the prices up as much.

[ruben50]

I thought that was weird since the auction does not end for another 6 days but it is now well over $400 USD. Thanks for your assistance guys. I have never bid for vintage pens before and did not know what to expect.

 

Rube

Edited December 6, 2013 by ruben50

[BMG]

I always thought it was ghosts!

[AJ50]

 

 

That's why I use snipe services instead of Proxy Bids. No bids get entered until the last few seconds of the auction and so do not drive the prices up as much.

 

Now showing my ignorance, but what is a snipe bid service? I often go in during the last seconds which I understand is called sniping but are you saying there a service that does it for you?

[jar]

 

Now showing my ignorance, but what is a snipe bid service? I often go in during the last seconds which I understand is called sniping but are you saying there a service that does it for you?

 

Absolutely.

 

I decide the maximum amount I am willing to pay for the object, enter the item number and my max and the snipe service enters bids during the last 15 seconds or so of the auction. I then simply walk away and wait to see if my bid stood up. I avoid getting into bidding wars or making emotional bids. I can also create groups of similar objects and tell the system to stop if I win any one of the objects.

[Sblakers]

Absolutely.

 

I decide the maximum amount I am willing to pay for the object, enter the item number and my max and the snipe service enters bids during the last 15 seconds or so of the auction. I then simply walk away and wait to see if my bid stood up. I avoid getting into bidding wars or making emotional bids. I can also create groups of similar objects and tell the system to stop if I win any one of the objects.

 

I do this as well. Honestly, I wish everyone did this. I think it would keep prices in check. Emotional bids tend to lead to disaster.

[mirosc]

 

Now showing my ignorance, but what is a snipe bid service? I often go in during the last seconds which I understand is called sniping but are you saying there a service that does it for you?

I use myibidder. Free of charge and never failed me since I learned about it. But there are plenty more out there to do the kind of work you are doing manually. I resorted to these services after I lost an auction (as far as I can tell) due to a bad internet connection on my side.

[CS388]

I decide the maximum amount I am willing to pay for the object, enter the item number and my max and the snipe service enters bids during the last 15 seconds or so of the auction. I then simply walk away and wait to see if my bid stood up. I avoid getting into bidding wars or making emotional bids. I can also create groups of similar objects and tell the system to stop if I win any one of the objects.

 

Is this expensive? It sounds like a good system.

I've steered clear of sniping, so far. But the most recent auctions that I have taken part in (not just pens) seem to have ended with snipes - literally in the closing seconds. Bids which I had placed days earlier, were suddenly trumped (despite my current winning bid being nowhere near my maximum bid). And - even though some of these auctions were for expensive items (eg laptop) I would often lose by as little as $1

Maybe it's time I got wise.

 

 

I use myibidder. Free of charge and never failed me since I learned about it. But there are plenty more out there to do the kind of work you are doing manually. I resorted to these services after I lost an auction (as far as I can tell) due to a bad internet connection on my side.

 

How can it be free of charge? (My natural suspicion)

Isn't there some form of commission to pay?

 

Thanks for the info, though. Looking into it.

[jar]

 

Is this expensive? It sounds like a good system.

I've steered clear of sniping, so far. But the most recent auctions that I have taken part in (not just pens) seem to have ended with snipes - literally in the closing seconds. Bids which I had placed days earlier, were suddenly trumped (despite my current winning bid being nowhere near my maximum bid). And - even though some of these auctions were for expensive items (eg laptop) I would often lose by as little as $1

Maybe it's time I got wise.

 

 

 

How can it be free of charge? (My natural suspicion)

Isn't there some form of commission to pay?

 

Thanks for the info, though. Looking into it.

 

 

Here is the service I use. There is no charge unless you win and then it is pretty reasonable with a $5.00 maximum cap and $0.50 minimum.

[CS388]

 

 

Here is the service I use. There is no charge unless you win and then it is pretty reasonable with a $5.00 maximum cap and $0.50 minimum.

 

Thanks, Jar. I like the look of that.

 

My current financial state should keep me off the bay for a while - but, next time I get serious, I may be a sniper.

 

Thanks again.

[Nek]

I use snipers too. Just put your maximum price in and it shoots it in in the last second. The one that Jar suggested looks good and charges seem very reasonable.

[mirosc]

How can it be free of charge? (My natural suspicion)

Isn't there some form of commission to pay?

 

Thanks for the info, though. Looking into it.

 

You have to pay if you want to use the program off the internet browser as separate stand-alone-program. I don't do that, I just use the browser addon that shows a little icon besides the auction title. In the past years I have never paid a single cent to them, never got any spam/advertising and won every auction (unless someone else has bid more than me). The drawback without standalone version is that you don't have a complete overview which auctions you have bid on. But that's fine for me, because usually I concentrate on just one auction.

 

If you feel suspicious, please take another one. There are plenty out there and it's your own money you're gambling with. For my personal way of ebaying it's the perfect tool.

Edited December 7, 2013 by mirosc

[CS388]

Thanks for the info, microsc.

 

Just to clarify: didn't mean to infer that I was suspicious of your system. Just a natural suspicion of anything which offers me a service for free. Your explanation clears that up.

 

Thanks.

[Aussie_Bob]

Hi Guys,

 

I have been usng this sniper system for many many years.

It gives you 3 free snipes per week.

 

http://www.auctionstealer.com/home.cfm

 

 

Cheers.... Bob.