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How to Set Offset/Mirror

 
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KingEdward
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PostPosted: Thu May 21, 2020 12:53 pm    Post subject: How to Set Offset/Mirror Reply with quote

I'm a new user and have a question for how to select the appropriate number of seconds for Offset/Mirror. I just won an auction for a single item having them both set to 2 seconds - does that mean both serves bid simultaneously? Is there any advantage to setting one at 3 seconds and the other to 2, or some other strategy that works better?

Also, can someone give me an example of when someone would use the Group feature?

Thank you for any assistance anyone can provide.
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Cupid



Joined: 09 Aug 2007
Posts: 7576
Location: Bristol, UK

PostPosted: Thu May 21, 2020 1:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The setting of offsets is allowed to be changed by users because there are differing opinions as to what works best, and indeed depending on the scenario different settings can provide different outcomes. There isn't any consensus though, so any recommendations tend to get challenged. Personally I prefer larger offsets than the default of 6 seconds because that gives me the advantage of the bid increment rule, but I tend to bid on auctions with many other snipers who often value the items quite similar to myself.

Having different offsets for the different servers just means that the one with the larger offset is more likely to win since that one will be trying to place its bid before the other one. The one with the lower offset most often won't get its bid in at all since it will be effectively blocked by the bid already having been placed. Only when the other server fails to place its bid will the server with a lower offset come into play, which only happens rarely.

Standard Grouping is used when there are many similar items and you only wish to win one of them. Once you win one the rest of the snipes in the same group are cancelled.

I also recommend that you read the FAQ tab, above as that has many other useful answers for those that have not used the service for long and/or are new to sniping on Ebay.
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Last edited by Cupid on Fri May 22, 2020 10:07 am; edited 1 time in total
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KingEdward
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PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2020 9:19 am    Post subject: How to Set Offset/Mirror Reply with quote

Cupid,

Thanks for all of the information -- I really appreciate it. If you wouldn't mind, can you elaborate/expand on what you mean by,

"...Personally I prefer larger offsets than the default of 6 seconds because that gives me the advantage of the bid increment rule, but I tend to bid on auctions with many other snipers who often value the items quite similar to myself."

I understand the bid increment changes depending on the amount of the bid (i.e., there are ranges .01-4.99, $ 5.00-24.99, etc.). Are you saying that if there is a longer offset time, there is more time for the computer to react to someone else's bid, adjusting the increment etc., or something else? I'm not sure that I follow. Also, how does the fact that other are valuing things similarly change your bidding strategy?

Please understand that I am new to all of this, but want to make sure I am doing everything to maximize my changes of winning. Thanks.
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Cupid



Joined: 09 Aug 2007
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PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2020 10:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If people value things more than a bid increment more than you do and are prepared to bid that much more than you are then it makes no difference when you (or they) bid, you won't win. The highest accepted bid always wins on Ebay no matter when it is placed. This is why I talk about other bidders that value things similar to myself, because these are the only ones I can get an advantage over by changing when my bid is placed.

The later you bid the higher the auction price is likely to be, auction prices rise on Ebay as more bids are placed, when there are other snipers this is happening in the last few seconds of the auction, so when your bid is placed makes a difference.

If there are no other snipers then the price is not changing in the last few seconds of the auction, so again the timing does not really matter, you are either going to win or lose, based on whether or not your bid is higher or lower than the bids already accepted, and that outcome is not changed whenever the bid is placed.

The bid increment rule on Ebay dictates that in order to be accepted your bid must be at least one bid increment more than the current auction price. Since prices rise as explained above, the later your bid is to be placed the more likely it is to be rejected because it is no longer high enough to be accepted, even though it may be a bit more than the auction price (but less than one bid increment more). It's disappointing to lose an auction for this reason. If your bid is earlier then there is more chance it will be accepted and that other snipers, that have their bids scheduled later, will find that it is their bid and not yours that gets blocked by Ebay for this reason. This is why I favour larger offsets, so that I, more often, win against other snipers that want their bids placed later but are only prepared to pay less than one bid increment more than I am.
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PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2020 10:02 am    Post subject:

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DocJekl
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 1:02 pm    Post subject: Offset values, same or different and how early? Reply with quote

Cupid wrote:
If people value things more than a bid increment more than you do and are prepared to bid that much more than you are then it makes no difference when you (or they) bid, you won't win. The highest accepted bid always wins on Ebay no matter when it is placed. This is why I talk about other bidders that value things similar to myself, because these are the only ones I can get an advantage over by changing when my bid is placed.

The later you bid the higher the auction price is likely to be, auction prices rise on Ebay as more bids are placed, when there are other snipers this is happening in the last few seconds of the auction, so when your bid is placed makes a difference.

If there are no other snipers then the price is not changing in the last few seconds of the auction, so again the timing does not really matter, you are either going to win or lose, based on whether or not your bid is higher or lower than the bids already accepted, and that outcome is not changed whenever the bid is placed.

The bid increment rule on Ebay dictates that in order to be accepted your bid must be at least one bid increment more than the current auction price. Since prices rise as explained above, the later your bid is to be placed the more likely it is to be rejected because it is no longer high enough to be accepted, even though it may be a bit more than the auction price (but less than one bid increment more). It's disappointing to lose an auction for this reason. If your bid is earlier then there is more chance it will be accepted and that other snipers, that have their bids scheduled later, will find that it is their bid and not yours that gets blocked by Ebay for this reason. This is why I favour larger offsets, so that I, more often, win against other snipers that want their bids placed later but are only prepared to pay less than one bid increment more than I am.


Excellent example, as I lost an auction this summer with what could have been a winning max bid, because it was not the proper increment above the newest bid that came in just a few seconds I entered mine.

I didn't even see the new bid price because I had not refreshed the page for too long before manually entering my own bid a few seconds before the end. I didn't have time to increase my bid before the auction ended, and my bid was only $1 more while the increment was $2.50. But if I had bid a few seconds sooner, their bid would have failed, and they would had to scramble to enter a new one.

Now I am going to see how happy I am with Gixen on my next auction.

WHAT OFFSET number would you recommend? I also like the idea of different offsets, in case one server doesn't send the bid that there is a backup. For example, would you choose the default 6 seconds for one server and 8 seconds for the mirror, or 10 for one and 15 for the mirror? etc? How soon is too soon to have the snipe take place?

Thanks.
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DocJekl
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 1:54 pm    Post subject: Re: Offset values, same or different and how early? Reply with quote

DocJekl wrote:
Cupid wrote:
If people value things more than a bid increment more than you do and are prepared to bid that much more than you are then it makes no difference when you (or they) bid, you won't win. The highest accepted bid always wins on Ebay no matter when it is placed. This is why I talk about other bidders that value things similar to myself, because these are the only ones I can get an advantage over by changing when my bid is placed.

The later you bid the higher the auction price is likely to be, auction prices rise on Ebay as more bids are placed, when there are other snipers this is happening in the last few seconds of the auction, so when your bid is placed makes a difference.

If there are no other snipers then the price is not changing in the last few seconds of the auction, so again the timing does not really matter, you are either going to win or lose, based on whether or not your bid is higher or lower than the bids already accepted, and that outcome is not changed whenever the bid is placed.

The bid increment rule on Ebay dictates that in order to be accepted your bid must be at least one bid increment more than the current auction price. Since prices rise as explained above, the later your bid is to be placed the more likely it is to be rejected because it is no longer high enough to be accepted, even though it may be a bit more than the auction price (but less than one bid increment more). It's disappointing to lose an auction for this reason. If your bid is earlier then there is more chance it will be accepted and that other snipers, that have their bids scheduled later, will find that it is their bid and not yours that gets blocked by Ebay for this reason. This is why I favour larger offsets, so that I, more often, win against other snipers that want their bids placed later but are only prepared to pay less than one bid increment more than I am.


Excellent example, as I lost an auction this summer with what could have been a winning max bid, because it was not the proper increment above the newest bid that came in just a few seconds I entered mine.

I didn't even see the new bid price because I had not refreshed the page for too long before manually entering my own bid a few seconds before the end. I didn't have time to increase my bid before the auction ended, and my bid was only $1 more while the increment was $2.50. But if I had bid a few seconds sooner, their bid would have failed, and they would had to scramble to enter a new one.

Now I am going to see how happy I am with Gixen on my next auction.

WHAT OFFSET number would you recommend? I also like the idea of different offsets, in case one server doesn't send the bid that there is a backup. For example, would you choose the default 6 seconds for one server and 8 seconds for the mirror, or 10 for one and 15 for the mirror? etc? How soon is too soon to have the snipe take place?

Thanks.


Okay, I found your 5 yr old post where you said anything over 6 seconds and up to 15 seconds works for you, and I think at one post you mentioned using 10 seconds. Thanks!
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Cupid



Joined: 09 Aug 2007
Posts: 7576
Location: Bristol, UK

PostPosted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 2:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whatever you choose for your offsets, please bear in mind that in the vast majority of cases it's going to be the highest that is actually the most significant choice.

That's because most of the time both servers are on top form, directly connected to Ebay servers and placing all the bids... it's only when one fails to place a bid that the one with the lower offset even gets a chance to place its bid without it being blocked because the other servers one has already been placed at that same value.
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DocJekl
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cupid wrote:
Whatever you choose for your offsets, please bear in mind that in the vast majority of cases it's going to be the highest that is actually the most significant choice.

That's because most of the time both servers are on top form, directly connected to Ebay servers and placing all the bids... it's only when one fails to place a bid that the one with the lower offset even gets a chance to place its bid without it being blocked because the other servers one has already been placed at that same value.


Yes, thanks, that part is understood. I just didn't know if something like 10 was better than 15. I feel like 10 seconds gives the click-once snipers hovering over their keyboard less time to keep upping their impulse bids to beat mine.

But at 15 seconds, it might give the people who sit and manually enter their last minute bid an advantage of more time to make one or two final impulse bids for a ridiculous amount. Although at that point they deserve the item if I wasn't willing to waste as much money as them.

I suspect that most people new to using a sniping program like this would leave it at the default 6 seconds, and 10 seconds should be early enough to get the jump on them if the bids are fairly close. And those who hover over the keyboard and wait might be more likely to enter a bid at the last 3-4 seconds anyways, and then scramble to up their bid before the clock runs out because they didn't bid high enough, but then run out of time.
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Cupid



Joined: 09 Aug 2007
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 2022 5:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

All auctions are different from one another and attract different bidders.

If you feel that any particular auction is likely to attract more manual snipers then certainly a lower offset is an advantage.

On the other hand if you feel it's more likely to attract automated snipers than a larger offset gives you a greater advantage over them.

If it's unlikely to attract any other snipers it doesn't really matter what offset(s) you choose.

This is why offsets are user configurable and not set.

There is never going to be a single answer that applies to all auctions.
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DocJekl
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 11:42 pm    Post subject: Offset choices Reply with quote

Cupid wrote:
All auctions are different from one another and attract different bidders.

If you feel that any particular auction is likely to attract more manual snipers then certainly a lower offset is an advantage.

On the other hand if you feel it's more likely to attract automated snipers than a larger offset gives you a greater advantage over them.

If it's unlikely to attract any other snipers it doesn't really matter what offset(s) you choose.

This is why offsets are user configurable and not set.

There is never going to be a single answer that applies to all auctions.


Thanks, that clears things up. I won the past two auctions with Gixen this week, and while I set a max bid that was just past my comfort zone so I would have no regrets if I lost, both ended with me paying about half of my max bid as expected.

If people had lost their minds with more last minute bidding, because I placed my max bid too early and gave them time to bid things up, I'd be less happy. But with a 10 second snipe they didn't have time to go nuts.
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DocJekl
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 05, 2022 8:17 pm    Post subject: Given offset and mirror settings Reply with quote

Cupid wrote:
All auctions are different from one another and attract different bidders.

If you feel that any particular auction is likely to attract more manual snipers then certainly a lower offset is an advantage.

On the other hand if you feel it's more likely to attract automated snipers than a larger offset gives you a greater advantage over them.

If it's unlikely to attract any other snipers it doesn't really matter what offset(s) you choose.

This is why offsets are user configurable and not set.

There is never going to be a single answer that applies to all auctions.


So far, the only auction out of the last 4-5 that I entered in the past month, and did not win, was just 1 in which I was not willing to pay as much as someone else. Gixen did it's job, and the items that I wanted badly enough became mine. Nobody saw my bids coming until it was too late.
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