Ebay sniping....reliable?

[DCEPTCN]

I'm using a snipe service to win an auction and am kinda nervous trusting this. I really want what I'm bidding on....has anybody else had any experience with these things?

 

[rhunt]

Sniping Services

Don't really believe in using these services. There are so many things going on in an auction that most of what you need to know comes only with experience. I have had almost 400 transactions on ebay and I've learned that if you really want something bad enough the best thing to do is put in your top bid and be done with it. Sniping is an acquired skill that requires patience and accuracy and a lot of luck.

HTH

Roger

 

[DCEPTCN]

Re: Sniping Services

Originally posted by rhunt
Don't really believe in using these services. There are so many things going on in an auction that most of what you need to know comes only with experience. I have had almost 400 transactions on ebay and I've learned that if you really want something bad enough the best thing to do is put in your top bid and be done with it. Sniping is an acquired skill that requires patience and accuracy and a lot of luck.

HTH

Roger

Yeah, I got very lucky with my car...at the end of the auction, the other a$$ tried getting me, and I went back and forth with him but was lucky enough to get the last one in. My buddy told me about this snipe website where you put in your REAL max bid and at the very last second it yanks it out from under the other guy. (Assuming his max bid isn't way higher.) I just feel strange sitting back and hoping that it's gonna win this set of rims for me....if I miss out, I'm gonna be really ticked.

 

[JayC]

I use AuctionStealer.Com religiously. It's never let me down unless my max bid wasn't enough. It will snipe with about 10 seconds to go in the auction and if you pay $1.00 through Paypal, it will snipe down to 3 seconds to go.

 

[DCEPTCN]

Originally posted by JayC
I use AuctionStealer.Com religiously. It's never let me down unless my max bid wasn't enough. It will snipe with about 10 seconds to go in the auction and if you pay $1.00 through Paypal, it will snipe down to 3 seconds to go.

Wow!

 

[victa1]

With something you REALLY want, it's best to up the bid yourself. Plus, you can back out at the last minute when common sense takes over!

 

[tjthorson]

Well, remember - buying on ebay usually means you were willing to spend more money for something then anyone else in the world when you win!

That joke aside, those auctionstealing services must have to have your ebay name and password in order to place those seconds left bids, right? Thats a security risk I would not be willing to take, myself. Just something to think about.

 

[Grant National]

What makes this sniping better than proxy bidding? Is Ebay not fast enough to place that bid? Sorry for newby question....

 

[DCEPTCN]

Originally posted by Grant National
What makes this sniping better than proxy bidding? Is Ebay not fast enough to place that bid? Sorry for newby question....

The way I understand it, (and as you can tell, I'm no expert) your opposing bidder will figure he is the winner after exhausting your Ebay max. bid, but the sniper knows your REAL max bid (probably just a couple of dollars more) and will use that to snatch it out from under him at the very last second.

 

[DCEPTCN]

Okay, now I'm freakin' ticked.

On the snipe service I put in my max bid at $400. I lost to the other bidder. The end price was $400! Because the snipe didn't come in until the last 3 seconds, technically he bid the same amount as me FIRST, which allows him to win in this situation.....I did not know that that's how it worked. You live and you learn, but man am I miffed!

 

[gn4u2c]

It just sucks for the people selling as they are not getting the most for the item.... It sucks when you want to play fair and someone cheets you out of winning. hope you all lose every auction you try to snipe on....I can't tell you how many times I have sold items and have had emails from bidders saying in the last 1-2 min they kept trying to bid but it was blocked.......

Happy to hear of a good deal . and there are lots !!!

 

[CARTMAN]

Originally posted by gn4u2c
I can't tell you how many times I have sold items and have had emails from bidders saying in the last 1-2 min they kept trying to bid but it was blocked.......

What do you mean by blocked? Who was blocking them? Do you mean they were out bid? Isn't this what you want?

As far as I know anyone can bid up to the last second and IMO it is just as fair as someone that bids in the first second. End your auctions an hour early if you feel you are being cheated or people aren't playing fair.

 

[WakkoSS]

I use AuctionSentry. www.AuctionSentry.com Works GREAT. I set it to snipe at 3 or 4 seconds and always put a random number for the bid amount. If I want the high bid to be $400, I'll make it $403.56 or something in case the current high bidder has a proxy of $400 or $401. I almost ALWAYS win. The program uses the ebay name and password, but since the program is on your PC it is safer. I think I paid $10 for it a few years ago, might be up to $15 now...worth every penny regardless.

 

[smallv6]

I do this-
If there is something I really want and let's say the bid is up to $400.00 I will bid $10,000.00 that way I get it everytime no matter how fast the other bidder is, he will never reach my maximum.
Let's face it nobody in there right mind would pay thousands for an item worth $400.00 so the bidding will stop when the other guy get's discouraged.

What I dont like is people that have buddies that bid against you on there item to jack the price up which is illegal.

 

[not-rdy]

I have been bidding at the last second for about a year. I do it myself and I always bid at least once to let other people have a chance to see who is interested. I only do it on things I really want. Otherwise it turns into a bidfest and gets out of hand. I don't do it though unless I really want the item. If it is something I would like I just bid normal.

Ken

 

[GNSCOTT]

I snipe every bid i make. If you keep refreshing your pc its easy to snipe whithin 5 seconds. I use an egg timer when doing it. I refresh it to around 20 seconds and go from there.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Originally posted by GNSCOTT
I snipe every bid i make. If you keep refreshing your pc its easy to snipe whithin 5 seconds. I use an egg timer when doing it. I refresh it to around 20 seconds and go from there.

Ya I open up like 3 browser windows and stick numbers in so I can watch the action and put a bid through at the same time.

Having a High speed cable connection helps!

 

[CHARGED]

Sounds like something good for someone like me who forgets to to go back and bid on an auction. I've lost tooooo many auctions that I wanted to go back and bid on in the last couple of minutes that I forgot to and lost.

 

[WakkoSS]

Bid Snipe program is also good if you're going to be at work when the auction goes!