Ebay Sniping

[Beth76]

I like to bid at the last second too. But I like to do the bidding. I don't want a service to do it for me. That's part of the fun of ebay.

 

[KariC]

I always snipe, even if I don't have to.


And then I chortle gleefully as the silly people who bid 3 days before the auction end -- LOSE!!!!

Makes you wonder why they do the extended auctions, doesn't it? All the action happens in the last few minutes. I get irritated at the longer listings....

 

[starwishing]

Well I'm not paying anything for the snipe service right now, it came w. a 2 week free trial & I know a lot of people who use free sniping services as opposed to the pay ones. Even if I was using the pay service w. this site I'm signed up with now, it's VERY cheap...$0.25-$10.00 depending on what the winning bid was. For instance, if the winning bid was between $0-$24.99, you would pay $0.25 for the service and if the winning bid was $1,000 and higher you would pay $10.00. I wouldn't say that people who don't use sniping services never win their bids because most people snipe on their own by sitting at the computer and entering a bid at the last possible moment; the sniping service just allows you to leave your computer.

I hope you didn't think that was anything about you! I was just reading about how this works & your post commented on how it gets down to mere seconds.....which made me think about the people who are bidding manually on EBAY. I do think that the people who don't have this are really like sorta left out a little.....which means eventually everyone will want it, cause who wants to bid on something that they know goes down to 4 seconds???? Or putting in a bid for $100 for an item worth $40, just to totally outbid snipers.

 

[simpilotswife]

I snipe. At first I was opposed to using software but I can't always be at the computer so I just put in my bid and walk away.

 

[diskids2]

Ok what's sniping????/

 

[sydally9367]

Ok what's sniping????/

From Wikipedia:

Auction sniping is the process of watching a timed online auction (such as on eBay or Yahoo!), and placing a winning bid at the last possible moment (often seconds before the end of the auction), giving the other bidders no time to outbid the sniper. Some bidders do this manually, and others use software designed for the purpose. A bid sniper is a person or software agent who performs auction sniping.

There are also online sniping services, where the software agent is run from a website rather than the sniper's own computer. This decreases the failure rate of the snipe, because the website is expected to have more reliable servers that might be quicker to react.

Basically it's swooping in at the last possible moment & placing your bid either on your own or via a sniping site. I use esnipe (https://esnipe08.esnipe.com/) and you can read the FAQ there to get a better idea of how things work. https://esnipe08.esnipe.com/eSnipeFAQ/

 

[starwishing]

I was just reading a little more about this sniping....and I was wondering, you have to give your ebay password.....don't they then have access to your paypal account if you have one??

 

[disdanny]

How is bid sniping any different than entering a maximum bid on EBay?
If I am willing to pay $50 for something, that's what I enter.
If the item goes higher, oh well, there will surely be another listed soon.
How would bid sniping change my success or failure?

 

[sydally9367]

I was just reading a little more about this sniping....and I was wondering, you have to give your ebay password.....don't they then have access to your paypal account if you have one??

Although my Ebay account is linked to my PayPal account (there is a link on the My Ebay page that takes me right to PayPal), one still has to enter the password to gain access to it. As long as your PayPal account password is different than your Ebay password, you're all set.

How is bid sniping any different than entering a maximum bid on EBay?
If I am willing to pay $50 for something, that's what I enter.
If the item goes higher, oh well, there will surely be another listed soon.
How would bid sniping change my success or failure?

Most sniping sites connect right into Ebays servers and can place bids within a few seconds of the auction closing. Obviously you can do this on your own without a sniping site, but if you have to re-enter your password or if there is a connectivity issue, it will likely take you more tan 6 or 7 seconds to place your bid. You still place a maximum bid via a sniping site, so that's no different..sniping site just "help" with timing.

 

[scrump]

I just enter my maximum bid. If I lose the item, it's because i wasn't prepared to pay higher anyway. I really don't get the whole sniper thing.

 

[starwishing]

How is bid sniping any different than entering a maximum bid on EBay?
If I am willing to pay $50 for something, that's what I enter.
If the item goes higher, oh well, there will surely be another listed soon.
How would bid sniping change my success or failure?

That's true....but what if you are winning at $50 with 20 seconds remaining, and at the 4 second mark somebody snipes.....well....you would have never had enough time to manually put in another bid before time ran out. Now, knowing that....would you put in a higher than usual bid to counter possible snipers.....that's all I'm saying.

 

[starwishing]

Although my Ebay account is linked to my PayPal account (there is a link on the My Ebay page that takes me right to PayPal), one still has to enter the password to gain access to it. As long as your PayPal account password is different than your Ebay password, you're all set.

Gotcha.....thanks!

 

[Towncrier]

For those on this thread who don't understand why sniping is different from just entering your maximum bid to begin with, I offer the following explanation.

If you are playing poker, you don't show your hand until everyone else has placed their bids. On Ebay, if you bid $50 for something, you are showing your hand. I have seen other bidders ratchet up the price a dollar at a time until they outbid you. If you had put your $50 bid in at the last minute (or second), the other bidders would not have the opportunity to sneak up on your maximum bid. As I see it, sniping is the only way to level the playing field.

I've never used sniping software, but I am a dyed in the wool sniper and it has served me well on Ebay.

 

[disdanny]

I just enter my maximum bid. If I lose the item, it's because i wasn't prepared to pay higher anyway. I really don't get the whole sniper thing.

Right.
That's my point too.
It doesn't matter if I put in my max bid on the first day of an auction or in the last 4 seconds of the auction.
EBay's own max bid system is essentially the ultimate bid sniping arrangement. If you enter what you are willing to pay, and it is more than the sniper is willing to pay, EBay's system assures you the win.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Originally Posted by disdanny View Post
How is bid sniping any different than entering a maximum bid on EBay?

#1. Early bidding attract attention to the auction. When people see an auction with 2 days left that already has bids, they become interested in it. But if it just sits there with no bids on it, they will often pass over it. It is a way to "bid" very early in the auction, without letting people know you are interested.

#2. Most people do not enter their maximum bid. They bid the minimum required, then they slowly move it up by 50cents or $1 until they become the current winning bidder. Then when they become outbid with that, they "reconsider" and slowly inch up 50cents at a time from there. The desire to win very often makes people reconsider their maximum - after all, what's another 50cents?

Sniping in the last seconds keeps them from reconsidering.

 

[disdanny]

I guess I'm just not like "most people."

1. I tend to skip over items that already have bids, and bid one ones that don't.
2. If I decide $50 is my max, I stick to it and watch for the next auction.

If someone outbids me early, or in the last seconds, it just means they were willing to pay more than I. And that's the beauty of auctions in general.

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

I've never sniped but its too bad you weren't closer to Sacramento area. We've got Hannah Montana wigs all over the place.

Actually just yesterday took dd down to Libby Lu and she got the official Hannah Montana makeover and we are reusing the wig for Halloween. For just a bit more than the cost of the wig alone she got a makeup kit, goody bag, and microphone, plus the makeover.

 

[4greatboys]

I snipe but I dont really buy all that much on ebay so I just do it myself.

From what I have seen if you bid early with your max bid people come along kick up the price then go on. So I will stick with sniping.

 

[kimsuenew]

OK, I am curious... what is sniping?

 

[Kathi OD]

I'll admit it...I snipe AND I use a sniping service (well sometimes...especially if the auction ends while I'll be in bed or at work).

Just sniped tonight. (and won ) Generally I only snipe on auctions that offer rare items that are not likely to be offered again in a relatively short period of time, if ever.