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Online Auction

The Secret To Increasing Your Odds Of Winning
An eBay Auction: A Comparison of Auction Sniping Tools
The folks at AuctionSniper phrase this best... "You've seen it happen: Your bid is still the highest as the auction is about to close. You wait excitedly by your computer expecting to be notified that you've won, but... somehow you've lost! In the last seconds of the auction a new bid has appeared, too late for you to respond. You've been sniped".

Sniping is a process through which bidders enter their maximum bid with a program or third party service (rather than on eBay itself) and it registers your bid on eBay during the last few seconds of the auction.

A number of auction sniping programs and service providers are available on the internet for your use. Most allow you try the service for a limited time free of charge. Once you have become familiar with how it works, you then buy the program or pay a small per-snipe fee to continue your sniping.

Each of the snipe service providers and programs offer something unique. Sometimes it's flexibility, reliability, useability, price, downloads, no downloads, or extra features like sniping toolbars or snipe links.

General Questions and Answers

What are the advantages of sniping?
  • You don't have to keep checking the auction to see your status. Just enter your maximum bid and let the snipe handle itself. If the snipe doesn't win, then the item usually went for more than you were willing to pay.
  • You want to be the last bidder in the auction. By sniping during the last few seconds, you will likely have the last bid.
  • You don't get involved in a bidding wars.
  • It adds discipline to your bidding process, helping you to save money.
Am I guaranteed to win the auction?
No. there are a number of factors that could prevent you from winning the auction. These include:
  • Your maximum price was below the highest bid, matched a bid that got in before you, or not a high enough increment over the highest bid.
  • Someone outsniped you by playing the snipe closer to the end of the auction, or placing a higher maximum snipe.
  • Your sniping service had a problem entering your bid. This can be caused by server problems with your sniping service or eBay, an early close to the auction, eBay maintenance, or heavy traffic.
Sniping sounds unethical, dishonest, or illegal. Does eBay recognize and allow sniping?
It is not unethical, dishonest, or illegal. It is clever. It is practical. And if you win, by definition, the seller ends up with a higher selling price than if you had not bid or sniped at all. If you lose, you have nonetheless entered a legitimate bid and that, by definition, gives the seller a higher selling price than if you had not bid or sniped at all. Yes, eBay does recognize and allow sniping. The help file at eBay states... "sniping is part of the eBay experience, and all bids placed before a listing ends are valid - even if they're placed only one second before the listing ends".

How do I locate a sniping program or service and what do they cost?
Check out the charts below.

Snipe Service Providers

Sniping ServiceWebsite AddressFree TrialCost After Trial
Auction Sniper AuctionSniper.com3 Free Snipes1.5%: 35 cent min / $14.99.00 max / lose = no fee
BidnapperBidnapper.com15 Days$7.99/month or $49.99/year
BidSlammerBidSlammer.comBasic ServiceBasic snipes are free. Premium snipes cost money. Multiple plans available.
Bid Sniping for FREEbidsniping.auctionstealer.comBasic ServiceBasic = 10 sec snipe. Max 4 wins/month.
Premium Service = $9.99/month
3 sec snipe. Unlimited snipes. More options.
GixenGixen.comUnlimitedFree.

Information is from sources believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed. The information presented is an opinion intended to assist bidders in preparing for their eBay auction bidding. The charts are not intended to show all of the features available. Be sure to read all of the terms and conditions of any program before you sign up. Since we do not have complete control over the "Ads by Google" appearing on this page, we do not directly endorse their sites or products. Please notify us if you find any of the advertisers to be misleading.
Feel free to contact me to correct any information in this article or to alert me to additional information one should consider.

© 2008 Topher
Updated 2019

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