ebay & sniping

[irish]

after watching a listing on ebay(just watching not buying)i see that a sniping program is the way to go. 2 were suggested the other day-isnipeit and powersnipe. just wondering if these are user friendly to install and use?
thanks

 

[AwayWeGo]

Sniping -- By Software Or Manually -- Does Not Guarantee A Winning Bid

I don't need any more French horns, but I'd sure like to have a nice Mirafone double horn in good condition for a nice price.

So when 1 of those shows up on eBay, I watch it & wait for my chance to snipe in.

Each time somebody else wins the auction -- not because anything is wrong with my (manual) snipe-in technique, but only because other people are willing to pay more.

On the most recent 1 of those I didn't win, somebody outbid me by $10 even though my (non-winning) bid was the last 1 registered. That is, it was a perfect snipe but somebody else had previously sent in a higher maximum (i.e., proxy bid, in eBay-speak).

So if I really want 1 of those horns, I'm going to have to come up by $200 - $300 if I intend to get 1 via eBay.

BTW, that most recent snipe-in that didn't work, in a departure from habit, was electronic rather than manual. The Chief Of Staff's sister had recently started an eSnipe account & was eager to try it out, so I let her give it a go on my Mirafone horn auction. When I lost, she thought it was her fault. I explained that more dollars will beat split-second snipes every time.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

 

[tjs1970]

i just won a timeshare with powersnipe today......my very first timeshare purchase.........the high bid sat at 223.00 for the last two days and i figured someone would maybe have a high bid of $300 on it so i sniped it at 332.00 and got the timeshare for 305.00 with 4 seconds left

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I use esnipe.

 

[Dave*H]

I've been pretty happy with bidnip.com.

 

[bilbran]

Try Auctionmagic

Try Auctionmagic from Merlin Software. This product runs on your desktop, only costs a few bucks and you control the entire snipe process rather than using a service. It's not real fancy or complicated but it works really well .
There are two versions, I like the older 7.6k classic version the best. There is a trial 15 day version that's free for 15 days..

 

[funtime]

powersnipe has worked for us

Powersnipe.com has worked well for us. It is a service and your computer does not have to be on to use it.

 

[ripleysmom]

I use this one....

http://www.auctionsnipe.com/default.aspx

 

[PerryM]

Lexus or a Mercedes Benz?

I’ve reviewed may an eBay sniping program over the years and to me there is one clear winner: www.auction-sentry.com the Deluxe version costs $25 to buy and $10 a year to lease it.

I have used it for 3+ years and its “bulletproof” and keeps up with the ever changing programming changes at eBay. eBay changes their programs daily and I get updates whenever a change impacts AuctionSentry.

There are two major groups of snipping programs; each has pros and cons:

1) “You run the program on your computer”

2) “An internet browser version”


“You run the program on your computer”

This is where AuctionSentry falls. This stand alone program is like MS Word – you run it and keep it alive in the program tray at the bottom of the screen. This means that when its time to snipe your computer must be running and the AuctionSentry as well.

If I close the program or turn the computer off AuctionSentry never snipes. I just like this ability – we go on vacation a lot and I don’t want an automatic program somewhere bidding when I’ve totally forgotten about it.

I’m normally in front of the computer when the snipe occurs and if, 10 minutes before the end of the auction, the eBay auction “refreshes” slowly on my browser I’ll add 5 seconds more to my snipe.


“An internet browser version”

Many folks like this version. Here you load the page where your bids are kept and you can add, change, and delete the bids up until bidding time. You can turn off the computer and the bids will be made for you while you are in the airport on the way to another vacation.

There are many cases of folks having a snipe set for 6 seconds and the internet is very slow that day AND it’s at the top of the hour and a billion eBay auctions are ending. Pick 15 minutes past the hour to end your auction and do us snipers a favor.


So it’s kind of like making the choice between a Lexus and a Mercedes Benz – both will get you to your destination in style.