Why is it $80 with one day left? I thought these went for an arm and a leg on ebay. Is the seller’s score just not high enough? I mean, Paypal’s protecting it anyway…
I’m just not bidding right now because
a) I’m afraid I’m missing something here, and
b) I’ve already got a delrin copley on the way, so I’m not exactly desperate for a bamboo flute, however good.
But if this really is the $300 piece I think it is, then, well…
It’s ebay, the price is going to go up substantially by the end of the auction.
Also, the seller states it is not stamped with Olwell’s name, so that will keep the price a bit lower.
It’ll likely go for around $200. or more.
Loren
There are many of us who occasionally buy on Ebay using high-speed Internet connections, who wait until the last 30 seconds to enter what we are willing to pay - often snagging a great deal.
Why bid something up, when you can lay in wait? Just keep watching! 
(I shop for a deal, not the thrill of bidding).
G1, do you snipe manually or use some service or software? I’ve always tried it manually, but it’s awkward having to be at the computer for the end of the auction.
Shhhh, don’t tell him about esnipe.com… 
Nah… I add items I’m interested in to my ‘watch’ list in My Ebay, and monitor them as it gets close to time for the auction to end while listening to music or playing.
The esniping thing doesn’t work for me — a lot of purchases and amounts that I’m willing to pay are intuitive and last minute.
Besides, I don’t buy a lot on Ebay… just the occasional odd item. 
Wow. Just read a bit about sniping. Seems humans are some odd critters; I’d figured it makes perfectly good sense to make your top proxy-bid from the get-go, with the added benefit that an early bid would dispel more bidders from even taking a glance. But humans are odd critters…
As G1 suggested (at least I think I understand correctly), when I get down to the last minutes, I’m often surprised to see that I’m willing to pay more than I had initially thought. Someone else’s higher bid is a potent clarifier.
If your primary goal is to get a good deal, this would be a reason to either bid early and quit or use esnipe, again, just setting it and leaving it alone.
Similarly, the main advantage to sniping, I think, is that you don’t give the others who are bidding as much opportunity to realize how much more they’d be willing to pay for that item.
Yes, it’s easy to get caught up in auction-fever.
Then one has to explain to one’s wife the 600 dollars spent
for an antique kazoo.
I used an auction sniper just once, but I’m so glad I did. 
I’m also glad eilam turned his auction sniper off that time; I’ll always owe him for that. Thanks, e-skya!
Cathy, what did you win that time?
I saw some good advice on another forum a while back. First decide whether (a) you’d take the item at a bargain price (b) you’d pay the market price (c) you’d pay over the market price - say, to avoid a waiting list.
For (a) you might stick in a bid and perhaps you might win but the sky wouldn’t fall in if it went elsewhere.
For (b) & (c), wait till the end and bid once with the value you’ve decided.
My Murray.