Ebay bid sniping Software??

[samn01]

There is an Ebay auction I must win (and I do mean must)
I have downloaded Auction Sentry and set it up to win the bid for me, but I am nervous.
Has anyone used it?
Does it work?
Auction Sentry specifically?

At what time should it be set to make its bid? (1 minute before, 45 secs, 15 secs)?

Does it always work?

Thanks
Sam

[SGirl]

I've used AuctionSniper in the past, in moments of desperation. I've set it to 5 seconds and it's never failed me yet, as long as my bid has been high enough to beat any other snipes that might run.

[KITT]

If the item's that important, why not put in a large bid that no-one would possibility beat? After all ebay will auto out-bid anyone who puts one in less than yours.

[SGirl]

That way lies financial ruin... Some people love the thrill of the chase and won't give in until they win the item. In "must have" cases, snipes are a cunning plan because such people don't know you've made a bid until it's too late for them to do anything about it.

[raceboy]

I don't really get how this works, obviously it places a bid, set by you, at a set time, but does it know what your other bidder has set as his max bid
say an item is currently sitting at £5 you place a snipe bid of £10 at 5 seconds to go, but the previous high bidder has set a max bid of £15 you'd still lose wouldn't you
Surely this thing has a maximum value to you, is that what you set as your snipe bid and just hope it's enough

[SGirl]

raceboy said:

say an item is currently sitting at £5 you place a snipe bid of £10 at 5 seconds to go, but the previous high bidder has set a max bid of £15 you'd still lose wouldn't you

Yes, that's right. But the point of sniping is that nobody can outbid you because it all happens at the last second.

Say the price of an item stands at £15 and you're willing to offer £30, Mr X in front of his PC might see you bid with 1 minute to go and up his bid to £35, so outbidding you. If you snipe instead, the £30 bid goes in with 5 seconds to go and there's no time to outbid you.

It can go wrong - you might not have set a high enough maximum bid. If something is that important, you have to make sure you're willing to pay as much as it takes to get it. Even if it's over the odds.

Personally, I've found sniping works. Not always - but if you want an item enough, you have to put your money where your mouth is and bid a high price. Then you'll feel good when you get the item for less! That's usually the case in my experience.

I hope I'm not helpfully offering advice to anyone who might use snipes against me.

[samn01]

Thanks !!

[samn01]

If I set two types of SW to snip the auction for me both with a "max bid" they will not bid up on each other will they? If I already have the winning bid (I.E my user name has the winning bid) another piece of SW could not increase that bid could it?

I am thinking of setting two pieces of SW to snip the auction one at 5 secs and one at 45 secs to cover all the angles and to make sure I win as I have used neither before. My only worry is I my end up paying over the odds by bidding against myself if thats possible.

Sam

[simpo two]

The logical Q is: what happens if two or more buyers all set up their sniping software to 5 secs?

[Alex]

I really think Ebay should put a stop to this. Last minute bids should cause the auction end to extend by 5 minutes.

[samn01]

Whether you approve or not is neither here nor there, I just need to win this auction!!!!!

[cosmic g]

I'm a regular seller on ebay, and half of my auctions are sold in the last few seconds. I see nothing wrong in it myself. I also snipe, why pay more by having a bidding war against someone when you can drop a BIG bid in just as it ends.

[maddog[uk]]

I used www.bidnapper.com and I can say it really works! It has no download so I personally trust it more.

>> Edited by maddog[uk] on Thursday 15th April 21:01

[SoftwareSorcerer]

Bidnapper works for me too - highly recommended.

[ultimasimon]

I used Powersnip software. It is excellent. I have only lost two auctions and they were to other powersniping users who had a higher bidding amount. I buy and sell lot of stuff from ebay, and although the Powersnipe software cost me $40, I have had my monies worth with it, and its funny when you get the 'auction won' email seconds after the auction ends.

For people that do not agree with this software, I understand your frustrations. However, if you keep getting 'sniped' then why not buy the software and then you won't. I have not yet been 'outsniped' by another sniper, but I am sure it will happen sooner or later

As more and more people buy into it, it will get more even, and it is in ebay's interest to allow it as it takes the onus off bid timing and concentrates more on bid price, which is where ebay make their money and what wins the auction.

[SGirl]

samn01 said:

If I set two types of SW to snip the auction for me both with a "max bid" they will not bid up on each other will they? If I already have the winning bid (I.E my user name has the winning bid) another piece of SW could not increase that bid could it?

No. If you hold the winning bid, all bidding again with a higher price will do is increase your maximum bid. It won't up the price at all.

What you propose sounds like a good plan TBH. The potential problem with 5-second snipes (although I've never encountered this) is that server congestion could slow things down and you could miss the end of the auction. This is why two 5-second snipes from two different people won't necessarily arrive at eBay simultaneously, and also why very short snipes are quite handy because it maximises your chances of being last in with a bid!

So come on Samn01, what are you bidding on?!

I disagreed with sniping too, until I got the feeling "well if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". There's nothing quite as annoying as being out front in an auction, then with 1 second to go some twerp in the US snipes and snatches the goodies from under your nose.

Edited to add: Have a read of the FAQ on the AuctionSniper website. It explains the whole thing much better than I can!

>> Edited by SGirl on Thursday 15th April 22:05

[samn01]

Wish me luck!

I now have three bits of SW primed to win this for me!!!

I will let you know how I get on

Sam

[samn01]

I won

Thanks all!

Sam

[SGirl]

So come on Sam, spill the beans! What was it that was worth three attempts at sniping?!

[SamN01]

I was bidding on a business.
Myself and others had shown interest in purchasing a business and as we were getting into a bidding war the owner of the business decided to stick it on ebay for 24 hours and let us bid it out (which seemed fair).

Luckily for me I am as cunning as a fox

If I had lost I would have been very disappointed...

Thanks again!

Sam