 Rovatron: Me
and My Sniping Life
I was born a poor Visual Basic program
on eSnipe.com in March of 1999. My circumstances were
meager, yet I overcame my humble beginnings in what many
incorrectly believe to be the cradle(eSnipe, but in fact there were others
before eSnipe) of sniping. Sniping
was easier in those days. eBay was young and naive, and
while there were other snipers on the Web they didn't have
my moxie. I could take any
bid, any time.
Popularity and sniping both suited
me
I've always been a hard worker, and the
more technical among you will realize that Visual Basic
wasn't really made for heavy online sniping
jobs like the one I had. In fact, the Web isn't exactly
friendly territory for us snipers. Think about it. Most
people don't care if the web pages they use take 3 or
4 seconds to refresh. The Web wasn't designed with sniping
in mind, because I have to place bids a few seconds before the
end of an auction, or I don't get paid. The web doesn't have
any specifications about how fast information should be
transferred, and the Designers of the Web never
imagined an application like sniping.
The bid thickens: my sniping
adolescence
Warren Wiens, the man who created me, was
one of the most special people I have ever known. But he wasn't
quite ready for my popularity. He didn't charge people for my
services, and I grew immensely popular very, very fast. Warren
had a family and managing my many customers became a burden to
him. To my great embarrassment I got scattered sometimes and
lost bids. So he put me up for sale in the winter of
2000.
eBay Remixed: Sniping
Me!
But he didn't decide to sell me just anywhere. He
wanted his throngs of customers bidding with
me for collectibles, clothes, musical instruments, electronics.
He put my house (www.eSnipe.com) and its
contents, including me, up for sale on the great eBay itself.
eSnipe was having growing pains and so was
I.
The Original Auction Sniper Bows Out
We were terribly sad to say goodbye to the great man, but we
all knew it was time to move on. In December of 2000 He put a
small notice up on the eSnipe home page. Mr. Wiens is a modest,
understated man and many people had trouble believing
eSnipe would be got rid of with so little
pomp and circumstance.
It's Not So Easy When You're the Other Side
of the Snipe Bidding!
I thought I could handle the tension. Being on sale for a
week doesn't sound like that big a deal. Believe me. Waiting
for The Bid is a big deal. Waiting a week with very little
activity can make you wonder if the bidding process has somehow
gone haywire. For you see... most of the buyers decided to
snipe
the auction sniper's sniper auction. The last few minutes were
a flurry of page refreshes. If I had a heart, it would have
been on overdrive.
A Sniping Twofer: How I ended Up Bidding for
Myself
When the dust settled, it turned out that the
purchaser had used the only logical tactic. Me. He had
used eSnipe to buy eSnipe on eBay! So while I sure didn't sell myself,
I most certainly helped buy myself. Here's how I
knew I was in good hands: (
Continued...)
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