Silly question to some, but I am new to ebay in terms of bidding on things. What is a snipe? My thinking tels me that it is a service that bids on your behalf...if that is the case, what is a good service?
New to Ebay - What is a Snipe
- Thread starter Sluggo
- Start date
It's a service that bids at the last second so others don't have a chance to react. I don't use one because it's really unnecessary. The item should go to the highest bidder and the highest bidder gets it regardless of whether they're using a sniping program or not. So, all you have to do is enter the highest bid you're willing to pay.
The other reason I don't use one is because it's sneaky. The only advantage seems to be that no one knows you're bidding but, as I said, I think it's unnecessary. Plus, it's just one more place where I have to put personnel information (the sniping program has to know your eBay username and password) and another username and password I have to remember.
The other reason I don't use one is because it's sneaky. The only advantage seems to be that no one knows you're bidding but, as I said, I think it's unnecessary. Plus, it's just one more place where I have to put personnel information (the sniping program has to know your eBay username and password) and another username and password I have to remember.
Simply put, it is waiting to bid until the last possible second, in hopes that your bid will be higher than all others put forth previously. In theory, it keeps bid prices down, as someone is not going to come along and incrementally bid up your max. It avoids bidding wars. And yes, there are services like JustSnipe that do it for you (justsnipe gives you 5 free snipes per week but the interface is very clunky).
There is a ton of info out there on auction sniping, starting with Wikipedia.
There is a ton of info out there on auction sniping, starting with Wikipedia.
a snipe program saves money, (yes sneaky but fair). If your bidding on an item it seems someone will keep eeking up until they outbid you, then you have to outbid them and so forth. The only winer there is the seller.
If you don't like the idea of "another service" download "ebay countdown" from ebay. This enables you to act as your own "snipe" service making an instant bid in the last seconds of a listing.
I currently have a riding lawn mower for sale which is over $1,000 away from selling. However, not to worried because there is over 130 "watches" which simply means that in the last seconds of the listing they'll be a bidding frenzy.
You really don't need a snipe service it simply increases your chance of winning and at the cheapest price.
If you don't like the idea of "another service" download "ebay countdown" from ebay. This enables you to act as your own "snipe" service making an instant bid in the last seconds of a listing.
I currently have a riding lawn mower for sale which is over $1,000 away from selling. However, not to worried because there is over 130 "watches" which simply means that in the last seconds of the listing they'll be a bidding frenzy.
You really don't need a snipe service it simply increases your chance of winning and at the cheapest price.
- Thread starter
- #5
Thanks for the feedback. What are some of the more popular services?
Yet another snipe.....
I do my own sniping, usually within the last 2 minutes or so. If my highest bid isn't enough, there's always next time. Several times the winer has defaulted and I was the runner-up, or the seller had another of the same item to sell at slighty less than the one I was bidding on.
If you head out into the woods with a sack late at night and make a clucking noise, you'll find out.
What you want to do is wait until the last few seconds of an auction and then bid like $5000. This should win you most of the auctions for items you are interested in. 
JBidwatcher2 has never let me down (just make sure to leave your computer on!) I probably wouldn't buy anything off Ebay without sniping software...doesn't guarantee you'll get what you want every time but for me it's miles better than manually entering bids or hanging around until something ends.
Yeah, when I wasn't busy I enjoy tracking and sniping myself. A snipe isn't necessarily a program or service, it's just a last second bid so you don't "show your cards" (max bid) early to other buyers.
But these days I use jbidwatcher 2.0, a free sniping program.
A sinpe is the best way to buy something. You still may lose to a higher bid, but at the end of the day, the person willing to pay the most still wins, the person who wants to beat the other buyers as some sort of competition gets shut out.
But these days I use jbidwatcher 2.0, a free sniping program.
A sinpe is the best way to buy something. You still may lose to a higher bid, but at the end of the day, the person willing to pay the most still wins, the person who wants to beat the other buyers as some sort of competition gets shut out.
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Just pray you don't run into another bidder with a similar max bid strategy.What you want to do is wait until the last few seconds of an auction and then bid like $5000. This should win you most of the auctions for items you are interested in.
And as a side note, a number of economists have done the research and have found that on average sniping is the most effective way to win an auction.
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Sniping sucks from the seller's point of view, but from the buyer's point of view it is definitely the way to save some bucks. It is more than just bidding at the end. Items with alot of bids get more attention. By bidding at the end, you keep attention down, which in turn means winning the item for a less price/cost. If you snipe an auction manually, keep refreshing your screen until 14 seconds remain and then type in the most you are willing to give. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
There is no need to pay for a service to snipe for you, but you must know how long it takes you to enter through the bidding process and confirm the bid and you can do it on your own.
Bidding on an item before the final seconds of an auction only serves to raise the price. I snipe, but manually. Seems more sporting.
Doc.
Doc.
And more fun, too...
I use bidnip.com for when I am busy or on the road but prefer I do my snipes myself, it is like a rush when you wait for the last seconds and hit it, my wife freaks out LOL
Sniping - just one more way for someone to suck money from your pocket.
I finally signed up for one. If you win, they charge a small percentage of the winning amount.
Benefits: you don't have to sit around and wait for the last few seconds to submit a bid; theoretically, it keeps bids lower because there are fewer members in the "bid history" listing on eBay.
Drawbacks: everyone else does it.
I have not won a single item on which I've bid using a sniping program. But only because my final bids were too low and I was beaten by other snipers, presumably.
Still, it goes to the person willing to pay the most (more or less, there are some faint corollaries to that) as with any other auction.
So, you can use a sniping program to place your bid without you having to sit at a computer and doing it yourself; but you end up paying the sniping service for that privilege.
I'm not impressed.
I finally signed up for one. If you win, they charge a small percentage of the winning amount.
Benefits: you don't have to sit around and wait for the last few seconds to submit a bid; theoretically, it keeps bids lower because there are fewer members in the "bid history" listing on eBay.
Drawbacks: everyone else does it.
I have not won a single item on which I've bid using a sniping program. But only because my final bids were too low and I was beaten by other snipers, presumably.
Still, it goes to the person willing to pay the most (more or less, there are some faint corollaries to that) as with any other auction.
So, you can use a sniping program to place your bid without you having to sit at a computer and doing it yourself; but you end up paying the sniping service for that privilege.
I'm not impressed.
Glad someone got here before me. +1. Free. Works. I rarely ebay without it.
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