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October 30, 2005
eBay, a snipers tale
It's 5 minutes before auction ending. You've spent the last 5 days watching the price stay stagnat the whole time and you began your assault on the unknowing.
As you open up 2 browser windows side-by-side, your heart-rate goes up, for you know the victorious blow which is about to happen. You cue up "The Imperial March" theme song and begin to set-up your attack.
With one browser open to the auction, and in the other window you're max bid (an extremely high bid), ready to submit. You have already taken careful steps to assure you're signed in because there is no room for error. Sniping auctions must require ultimate precision. The auction, now at 3 minutes is hit by an inexperianced sniper and the price begins to creep up. As you refresh every 5 seconds watching the bids it remains constant. A few more inexperienced snipers hit the item and drive the price up but you must remain calm and patient if you are to win.
Now at 1 minute, your adrenaline begins to rush through your veins, You have turned up "The Imperial March" to full volume and increase the refresh rate to 3 seconds. Another wanna-be sniper hits the auction at 30 seconds and the price soars but no where near your max bid. 20 seconds left and it all comes down to this moment. You only have one shot, and it must count - everything is on the line.
The auction ticks second by second in slow motion, down to 12. . . still holding. . . 8. . . holding. . . 6. . . . holding. . . 5. . . . SUBMIT! After a tense pause while the page reloads with a green checkmark or red 'X' your heart is pounding, you're shaking and sweating. 5 days of observation and keeping demand low have come to this one moment!
The page refreshes again with a green checkmark - the symbol of VICTORY! You know have you done well as there is no time for counter-bids to be placed. Your training has paid-off young e-bay soldier. God is smiling on you.
Posted by jeremy at 05:23 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack