I wouldn't call sniping "childish". It is actually
much closer to being a strategic move. Have I 
sniped auctions? If there's something up for 
auction that I want, and I can attempt to snipe 
it, I will. I most often place my bids at the last
possible moment. This doesn't mean I don't have a 
set price in mind - there are a lot of auctions 
that get crossed off my list without my ever 
placing a bid because the price of the auction 
went over my maximum bid before I even put in 
that bid.

Another reason to bid in the last few moments is 
to keep your funds free. If I see cel A on Ebay 
and it looks really neat and I put in a bid right 
away, then what happens if even better cel B pops 
up for sale on a dealer's site? Let's assume that 
I can't afford both cels. I really want to order 
cel B, but I still have the standing bid on cel 
A - an auction that might not be over for a week. 
I can't order cel B and risk winning cel A too 
(since I have no idea if I'll be outbid). But if 
I had waited to bid, then when cel B popped up, I 
can happily order it and just cross cel A off the 
list.

Also, just because I am *willing* to pay a certain
amount for something doesn't mean that I *want* 
to pay that much. It doesn't mean I don't care if 
I have to pay that much -- how many of us here 
have enough money to burn that we don't care if 
we hit our maximum bid on every auction we put it 
for?

On the one hand, it's annoying to see people 
complain about being outbid - how they couldn't 
get the cel for what they thought was a fair 
price, or they're frusterated that it went to a 
reseller. . . . . On the other hand, it's equally 
annoying to see the people who chastise the first 
group for wanting to "get something cheap". To 
the first group: an auction is about money - if 
someone can or just wants to put up more than 
you, there's nothing you can do about it. To the 
second group: face it, we **ALL** would love to 
get something neat for cheap - *you* included.

Do I think the first group doesn't have a point? 
No, I think they have a valid point. It is 
angering to see people look at auctions as some 
kind of pricing guideline. It's frusterating as 
*HELL* to watch some stupid reseller come in and 
snatch up all the nice cheap things they can so 
that they can resell those things to the same 
people who would have bought them in the first 
place if the reseller had just shoved off instead 
of getting in the way. I would love to see more 
online dealers reject orders from known repeat 
resellers. It might do us ALL some good.

Do I think the second group doesn't have a point?
No, they have a point too. There are certain 
things that are tougher to come across than 
others and those things are going to cost more. 
It's all in supply and demand - if supply is less 
than demand, then prices will be high assuming 
the affluence of the society continues to support 
the price increases. It only makes sense.

Bottom line is. . . It's an issue that's totally 
pointless to argue about.

Many Sharp Smiles,
--Drac