eBay snipe websites

[Mayhem]

Now normally I don't use them at all. But as I'm going to be away over this coming weekend and there's some serious rare kit I want to get and I don't trust my chances to leaving a max bid and having it pushed up... what's the best place(s) people recommend for an auto snipe for auctions? Preferably free, but for the stuff in question I'm after, I'd consider paying for it.

[MD]

Surely if the other person wants the item as much as you do then they bid their maximum anyway so you'll either end up paying the same as a maximum bid or losing the item anyway? Or do you just want to delude yourself into thinking you're really getting a bargain?

[weightgain]

I hate being sniped on ebay. You can always tell as it's a last micro-second bid. Which, I believe is mayhems thinking - early bids sometimes push the price up. Last second bids never leave the chance for further bids.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr............

[gossi the dog]

Surely if the other person wants the item as much as you do then they bid their maximum anyway so you'll either end up paying the same as a maximum bid or losing the item anyway? Or do you just want to delude yourself into thinking you're really getting a bargain?

In theory yes. In practice no. Far too many people on eBay bid about half a dozen times. I don't know why, but the idiots do.

[MD]

Surely the case is, How much do I want to pay for this item? I know xx pounds, enter xx bid in and if you get outbid then someone wants it more badly then you do and if you don't you have said item. Most arguements about last second bidding are crap.

For people that whinge about losing items at the last minute... STOP WHINGING ABOUT BEING SNIPED AT THE LAST MINUTE IF YOU HAVEN'T BIDDED WHAT YOU WANT TO PAY FOR THE ITEM IN THE VAIN HOPE YOU MIGHT GET A BARGAIN.

Some important things to rememeber.

1) Most items turn up again, so the chances are you'll buy the item again at a cheaper price then the winning bid of the auction you were bidding on.
2) Rare items are going to go sky high anyway so these programs would be a waste of time.
3) Last minute bidding for most items is likely only going to push up the price for the winning bidder rather then you getting a bargain.

The best way for Ebay to stop sniping bids is to extend auctions for 5 minutes for every new bid that push the price up and to stop when there are no bids for 5 minutes a bit like how Yahoo Auctions used to have this option to do so. That way the seller will likely get more money, Ebay would make more profits and everyone except the buyers would be happy.

[AllYourBase]

Download Auction Sentry, it is an excellent program and will only cost you a few quid to get a license for, that way ou pay no commissions - sniping is always the way to go, early bids do push the bidding up and who wants to manually sit on the pc and put in a last minute bid!!?

I know what MD is saying but ultimatly his logic is flawed, of course you do have to be daring with your bid that you enter into the program, if you "think" it might end at ?150, it may be worth putting in ?180 if you really wouldn't mind paying that much should your gamble not have paid off.

At the end of the day buyers should use any tactics at their disposal to not throw money away, just like sellers should think about their keywords and auction presentation to make sure they are getting the punters bidding in the first place.

[djjimbob]

eBay should automatically extend auctions by 24 hours if bids are made in the last 5 minutes.

It's supposed to be an auction house FFS.

Can you imagine:

"Going once at 300 pounds - too late ****os!"

Jimbob

[Mayhem]

Has to be websites btw guys not programs, the PC will be off whilst the auctions are finishing

Most people DO NOT bid their highest amount on their first bid. There's the flaw in MD's logic. In practice, bidding early is bad, people will push you up because a lot of them have the mentality of having to always be the highest bidder, even if there's still 5 days to go!

By sniping, anyone who was still interested in an item but hadn't bid as high as you has no chance to come back with a better offer. Whereas bidding earlier, they do.

That's where the "bargains" come in. People will also often bid more than they had originally thought they needed to on a comeback bid just to secure the item. I've seen this happen several times especially on software (which some of the items I'm after is). Or in other words, they originally went say highest bid ?100, but then still not winning and decide to sod it and go ?200 say. My condition for this weekend is just to win the items; doesn't really matter too much how much I pay, but by sniping, I'm likely to overall pay less than if I bid earlier.

As for #1 point MD, most of the items in question are so rare, we're talking lucky to see one copy a year. Hence my need to make sure I win here...

[AllYourBase]

You also have to watch out for sellers, a lot of them are dodgy gits setting up fake eBay accounts in order to "shill" buyers by pushing up their proxy bids.... i have fallen prey to the convinient (0) rated bidder who comes along and pushes up a proxy bid, if you look back at their previous auctions you can see the same usernames popping up at the last minute - sniping gets around that at least

[bowser123]

http://www.auctionsniper.com/

Initially free, small fees after a set number of uses.

[carbon boy]

You also have to watch out for sellers, a lot of them are dodgy gits setting up fake eBay accounts in order to "shill" buyers by pushing up their proxy bids.... i have fallen prey to the convinient (0) rated bidder who comes along and pushes up a proxy bid, if you look back at their previous auctions you can see the same usernames popping up at the last minute - sniping gets around that at least

Not if you have a fistful of underhanded mates (like me) who have actually set up legitimate accounts bidding your items up.

I hate sniping with a passion and I work in team of eBay members within my specialist area to push snipers as high as we can If we out bid the sniper the cost of the listing and eBays percentage cut is peanuts compared to letting someone sniper your auction. Why should you get all the bargains? OK, everyone likes to get a deal but if buyers are going to be underhanded so are the sellers.

[Dirty Sanchez]

Not if you have a fistful of underhanded mates (like me) who have actually set up legitimate accounts bidding your items up.

I hate sniping with a passion and I work in team of eBay members within my specialist area to push snipers as high as we can If we out bid the sniper the cost of the listing and eBays percentage cut is peanuts compared to letting someone sniper your auction. Why should you get all the bargains? OK, everyone likes to get a deal but if buyers are going to be underhanded so are the sellers.

One reason why I avoid eBay. Plus the poor quality crap that is on there, the potential to be ripped off is just too high for me.

[Mayhem]

Yep shilling is the other reason for sniping as well. I've been shilled a couple of times, so I try to avoid falling into that particular situation.

I never said sniping gets you bargains. It may sometime actually. It's just increases my chances of winning the item. That's why I do it...

Cheers for the link Bowser, I'll have a look at it. Maybe the number of times I'll need it over the weekend will still be within their "free" threshold...

[AllYourBase]

shilling is evil and wrong, you are a naughty boy carbon!

[carbon boy]

shilling is evil and wrong, you are a naughty boy carbon!

It is wrong. Yes, I know that but I'm honest enough to admit I have done it for a friend and I know people that are doing it on a regular basis.I wish I and others DIDN'T feel like they have to do it but if buyers on ebay find it acceptable to snipe an auction, your going to get sellers who find it acceptable to shill and auction. These things go hand in hand and it's all part of the eBay experience.

Bid your top bid and take your chances.