Experts agree: eBay sniping works

Scientiffic Research

• Harvard Economics Paper Roth, Alvin E. & Ockenfels, Axel (2000), "Last Minute Bidding and the Rules for Ending Second-Price Auctions: Theory and Evidence from a Natural Experiment on the Internet", NBER Working Paper No. W7729.
• Physical Review Statistical Study on Online Auctions "These results imply that bidding at the last moment is a rational and effective strategy to win in an eBay auction.", Bidding process in online auctions and winning strategy: Rate equation approach I. Yang and B. Kahng School of Physics and Center for Theoretical Physics, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747, Korea (2006)

News Reports

• Mathematicians snipe to win on eBay (23 June 2006, NewScientist.com news service)
• Play it cool if you want to win an online auction (01 July 2006, From New Scientist Print Edition.)
• Best to bid late on eBay
• On eBay, it pays to snipe (Posted 6/25/2006 6:21 PM ET, From USATODAY news)
• Why sniping with one's maximum value is the optimal bidding strategy for eBay (27 April 2004)

Commentary

• Wikipedia on eBay Sniping "Experienced bidders of online auctions with fixed ending times often prefer entering bids late in the auction to avoid bidding wars"