Any of you guys use the available offerings. If so, which one and what is the pros and cons of it?
Sniper software
- Thread starter domino
- Start date
I use JustSnipe.
Pros: Free
Cons: Clunky
Pros: Free
Cons: Clunky
Gixen.com works just fine, and there's a free version. For just a small annual fee ($6, as I recall), you can upgrade to redundant bidding and no ads in the margins.
I do not use any program. I am not comfortable giving my password to a third party website.
- Thread starter
- #5
Me too.
I just got my a#$ kicked twice and think that sniper software may have helped.
Then again maybe not. I don't want to sound like a sore loser. I was soooo close...
Ditto... why let a 3rd party 'vendor' have free access to my funds
If I really want something, I'll snipe it myself during the last 20-30 seconds... at least up to my maximum bid... sometimes I get lucky and the auction is closed before my max bid is reached, and sometimes the other 'sniper' hits their bumped bid before my max bid is reached... oh well... If I did not get it, it was not meant to be.
Gents, I just set the maximum bid I can live with and let it go at that. If someone wants it more than I do, they can have it.
Yeah, for some reason I can't get into them. Somehow it seems "unsportsmanlike". I just try to get my bid on at the last minute. When I keep missing out by 50c I tell myself it is fate saving me money. 
Exactly the way I do it.. I put my max bid an hour before auction close and sit back and wait.. Sometimes I win other times I don't, just like in-house live auctions
I use auctionsniper - which does cost money, but over several years have never had a problem with them.
No matter what method you use, your maximum bid is what wins or loses an auction. However, if you do not show your hand, no one will know your maximum until the last few seconds.
The other advantage is if you do like to wait until the last few minutes to bid, your internet connection, dinner time or work won't keep you from getting your bid in.
No matter what method you use, your maximum bid is what wins or loses an auction. However, if you do not show your hand, no one will know your maximum until the last few seconds.
The other advantage is if you do like to wait until the last few minutes to bid, your internet connection, dinner time or work won't keep you from getting your bid in.
Yeah, for some reason I can't get into them. Somehow it seems "unsportsmanlike". I just try to get my bid on at the last minute. When I keep missing out by 50c I tell myself it is fate saving me money.
it may appear you lost by .50 because the other bidder only has to bid higher than the competitors; their maximum bid may have been a whole lot more than .50
like many others I don't use it, i bid what i think is a fair high for the value it has to me, if i win great, if not; there's always another day
ken
Egg-zactly!!
I use snip.pl. It costs a few cents per use but you just put a few dollars on your account with Paypal and it lasts you a year.
Pros: Works really well. It's cheap.
Cons: You have to pay
I probably use it on about 50% of the auctions I bid on due to the time difference between Australia and everywhere else.
Pros: Works really well. It's cheap.
Cons: You have to pay
I probably use it on about 50% of the auctions I bid on due to the time difference between Australia and everywhere else.
- Thread starter
- #14
Thanks every one. I feel better now...
Maybe better luck next time!
Maybe better luck next time!
Jbidwatcher works very well and lives on YOUR computer, not on some server. The only downside is that your computer has to be on and connected to do the snipe!
I find that a lot of my friends believe this. No one knows what your maximum bid is but you, unless they outbid you.
Example (sorry to be pedantic, but it took me TWO HOURS to explain this to a friend): your max bid is $20, but current price is $15. Other bidders only see that the price is $15 and have no idea how high you'll go. Try looking at some random items and finding out what the max bids are you can't do it.
Example (sorry to be pedantic, but it took me TWO HOURS to explain this to a friend): your max bid is $20, but current price is $15. Other bidders only see that the price is $15 and have no idea how high you'll go. Try looking at some random items and finding out what the max bids are you can't do it.
Realized I didn't answer the question. I bid my max and let it go. The mentality around sniping just forces you get caught up in the moment and spend more money than you wanted to.
I, too, use Gixen and so far I've been quite happy. You can't beat the price.
I disagree, and I ALWAYS snipe. When you snipe, you can't get caught up in anything, since you set your max days ahead and just go away. When you bid in real time at the end - that's when you can lose control.
With regular bidding, it is true that others can't see your maximum, but the ADDITIONAL advantage of sniping is that others can't see THAT YOU ARE BIDDING AT ALL! This can create a desirable complacency among your competitors, so they stop paying attention to the auction, until it is too late (for them).
Bidding early inevitably incites others to counter-bid. I have seen too many instances where people "creep up" on the high bidder, just to see what the current max is. This always results in a higher final price. In extreme cases, two individuals can get locked into a bidding war. They should have sniped.
There is nothing "unfair" about sniping. Everyone is allowed to take part in any auction at any time they like. So why not right at the end? Of course, there are people who get a kick out of bidding and counter-bidding on the internet, like in a live auction. These people need a life. They do everyone a disservice, except for the seller.
The bottom line is this: there is no conceivable advantage to the buyer of bidding until just before the end of an auction, and there are the potential disavantages of bidding early. If you are going to bid at the end, you might as well be safe and use a sniping tool.
P.S. I have used Auctionstealer for years. Works fine.
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I never knew those existed... I lost a few auctions but didn't overbid because I was in bed... I think it's all good and will live without it.
Bidding 2 days early or 2 seconds before the end won't make much of a difference if you are whiling to pay no more than $50 for the item...
Bidding 2 days early or 2 seconds before the end won't make much of a difference if you are whiling to pay no more than $50 for the item...
