um...  you think cel collecting is bad?  has 
anyone ever delved into the world of movie poster 
collecting?  those guys are *brutal*!  
(incidentally, that's where i picked up the 
sniping habit...)  

why snipe on auctions?  because people are 
competitive.  if you bid early on a cel, there 
*are* people who will run the price up just for 
fun, or for a thrill, or because they think if a 
lot of other people are bidding on a cel they 
just might want it themselves.  (that logic goes 
something like: if so many other people want it, 
it must be really good!)  early bidding generates 
interest.  interest equals competition.  i 
remember one auction in particular i wish i'd 
sniped instead of bidding earlier.  learned my 
lesson on that one, to the tune of $50...

and quit complaining that you got beaten out of a 
cel by $1, or 500 yen, because chances are you 
*weren't*.  you have NO way of knowing what the 
winner's top bid was, only that they beat out 
yours by the minimum allowable increase.  
consider an auction that closes at $50.50, with 
the next-highest bid being $50.00.  does that 
mean the winner actually bid $50.50?  very likely 
not!  *any* bid higher than $50.00 would bump the 
bid up by that minimum allowable increase.  $75, 
$100, $1000, all would have ended the auction 
with the same $50.50 result.  

bidders have no reason to complain about being 
beaten by snipers any more than they have reason 
to complain about being beaten by regular 
bidders.  someone else was willing to pay more 
for that cel, PERIOD.  if you're truly worried 
abut winning an auction, make sure your highest 
bid is sufficiently high in the first place! 

-whizbang
sniper/snipee