Is That You Outbidding Me On Ebay?

Nope. I'm broke

I was reading on another non-pipe group about how some venders will snipe a low bid away from a bidder if they feel like the bid will lose them money. Using a dummy account, they will outbid you last minute and settle it up behind the scenes. Maybe re-listing the item later on, after the smoke has cleared.
It's all just a gambit to prevent people from getting something below cost, while keeping the public drunk on the illusions that you can get an unbelievable deal.
It might not be the majority of ebay vendors, but it is happening frequently, because I've seen it happen with several different products, like tools, parts, and I am recently suspecting pipes, ...especially one vender that I have my eye on that has just re-listed a pipe that I lost in auction last February. Luckily, I made copies of the images that were posted.

yes its me and i have unlimited funds and i will never stop until i have whatever it is your bidding on (evil laugh)
...seriously though no not me

Lmao I know the feeling but I won't be buying anything for bit I have five pipes on route lol

I think they keep sniping me by fifty cents or so. Or that could be anyone else who sees the pipe. There are deals to be had but it is some knowledge, alot of luck and a prayer for no burnout, chewed stems, or stuck stems that were not shown or listed.

My wife had this issue too on Ebay. She was trying to buy an estate pipe for me, but every time she bid it would go up by a dollar. Then it would sit there and she would bid 2 dollars, then it would go up one dollar. We figured someone was doing that to inflate the price. She gave up and just bought me a new Nording.

Yeh, my blood pressure can't take the stress of bidding anymore. I'd just assume go to a B&M and buy what I can take home or else only buy the ones that have the "Buy it Now" button activated. I'm to the point where I feel like bidding is for suckers.

Every time there has been a pipe I want on ebay I get sniped or "counter-sniped"

Half the fun is the chase! If I won every pipe I bid on, I would have hundreds of them. But sometimes you do get that one deal, and there you have it. I won a 1934 Dunhill Shell for $37.50 because someone was asleep at the wheel, heh heh. It's a lot like playing the lottery. You don't win if you don't play, but the odds are really high.

My advice would be that if you have your heart set on a certain pipe, try and find it through a known restorer or reseller, and pay what it costs. Less chance of the burnout or stuck stem.

Yes yes yes that's why I am off from ebay this days. Not only that this day ebay average pipe price

went up at least 30% or more. I can't find a good deal anymore.

My last ebay pipe and a few tools from there, I just messaged the vendor and asked them how much they wanted. I've yet to feel like any of them was a bad deal. Saving ten or so dollars isn't worth the effort and time. Plus, they get the sale right away without having to wait it out. I did have one guy not respond to me, but eh... their loss. It sold for way below what I would have paid. Or, the vendor sniped it and plans to relist it later, whatever...

...I was reading on another non-pipe group about how some venders will snipe a low bid away from a bidder if they feel like the bid will lose them money. Using a dummy account, they will outbid you last minute and settle it up behind the scenes. Maybe re-listing the item later on, after the smoke has cleared. - cosmicfolklore

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On eBay, it is legal to have two User ID's... however, the way the eBay system is set up, it is impossible to use your second account to bid on your own auctions from your other account.
Pipestud

I like bidding. I determine what I'll pay beforehand, bid that, and if I don't win ... there are thousands of other worthy pipes to bid on. I get outbid often but I did get two nice Comoy's for $39 shipped a while back.

My wife had this issue too on Ebay. She was trying to buy an estate pipe for me, but every time she bid it would go up by a dollar. Then it would sit there and she would bid 2 dollars, then it would go up one dollar. We figured someone was doing that to inflate the price.

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Not necessarily. It sounds like you were simply up against Ebay's proxy bid system from somebody who'd placed a high maximum bid. Assume I see a pipe that I really like that's currently listed for $25 and decide I'm willing to pay $100 for it, for whatever reason. Maybe it's really worth that much. Maybe I just really really like that pipe. Maybe I'm Bill Gates and think $100 is a reasonable price to pay for a stick of chewing gum. Whatever. So I enter a maximum bid of $100. And then the fun starts.
My maximum bid may be $100 but Ebay's software will only bid the next minimum increment, so my bid comes in at $25.50. Your wife sees my bid and ups it to $26. The software instantly rebids another $0.50 without me ever doing anything. Every single time someone tries to bid on that pipe, Ebay will place a new bid on my behalf, increasing the bid amount by a small amount, until my maximum bid limit is reached.
This is actually a very common scenario. Repeatedly being outbid by 50 cents or a dollar is a good indicator that this is happening to you. If you take the time to look at the bidding history, you'll see that you're being outbid by bids that were placed hours or even days before your bid. Nothing nefarious going on.
That's not to say that Ebay is completely free of auction shenanigans. For example, while they try to prevent people with second accounts from bidding on their own auctions, the system is actually somewhat easy to get around if you know what you're doing (IP proxy's, etc). Likewise, there's nothing to prevent their "friends and family" from bidding on their auctions with completely separate accounts. I've also seen instances where bids were withdrawn at the last minute, often with the excuse that the item was damaged or some such, only to be relisted a few days later with the exact same pictures and descriptions. But for the most part, their auctions are pretty honest - Ebay makes does its best to make sure of it. They make way too much money off the system and know full well that it only works if buyers can trust that they have an honest chance of winning and they'll get what they pay for.