All about Sniping

(Potential savings: hundreds of dollars
each year)
There are a number of online auction
sniping tools available. In many cases
they will let you buy items for less,
or at least ensure that you are the
winning bidder. The following is a brief
description of the sniping tools.
What is Auction Sniping?
“Sniping” is a smart way to purchase
Internet auction items on sites like
eBay.com. It helps you avoid
competitive bidding that can drive the
final price higher. When you snipe your
bid remains hidden until the last few
seconds of an auction, then a bid is
placed at the last possible moment,
which makes it practically impossible for
other bidders to outbid you!
There are lots of reasons why should
you use an online sniping tool, including:
o It saves you money by avoiding
competitive bidding.
o The tool monitors your auctions so
you don’t need to.
o The tool is simple and easy to use.
o There are no special downloads or
software to install.
o Most have native support for all
operating systems and service providers
(AOL, MSN, etc.).
o You can cancel or change your bids at
any time.
o You can adjust your snipe delay from
1 to 30 seconds.
o You can view previous snipes
o Immediate outcome notices are sent
via email.

Why should I snipe?
Because you want to win and you want
the best price. The bottom line is that
sniping saves you money. Because
sniping eliminates competitive bidding,
your winning bid will be much lower than
if you used traditional bidding methods.

If I snipe, am I cheating?
Not at all. Sniping is not playing dirty -
it’s playing smart. eBay’s proxy bidding
system works the same regardless of
when a bid is placed. Any bid received
by eBay before the auction ends is
valid and legally binding. Seller’s on
eBay generally don’t discourage sniping
either, as long as their item sells they
are happy!

Why can’t I just snipe manually without
using an on-line sniping service?
You can try, but the people you are
bidding against may be using a sniping
service - and beat you. The sniping
service’s high-speed bidding servers are
often synchronized with eBay’s internal
clocks continually throughout the day,
so they know exactly when an auction is
going to end and can place the winning
bid faster than any human. If you really
want to win an auction, a sniping service
is your best bet.

Is it possible to lose an auction using a
sniping service?
It’s difficult to lose an auction with a
sniping service, but it is possible in three
cases:
1) Bidding too late on an auction:
Even though the servers’ clocks are
continually synchronized with eBay, if
you have scheduled your snipe delay
for less than two or three seconds,
there is a possibility that your bid might
not be placed in time due to a delay in
eBay’s servers or a connection between
the sniping service and eBay. You can
reduce this risk by setting your snipe
delay for at least 3 or 4 seconds before
the end of the auction.
2) Incorrect auction information: When
you set up your snipe, if you don’t enter
your correct eBay User ID or Password
or the correct eBay Item ID, they won’t
have the correct information to snipe
your auction.
3) Maxmium bid not high enough: Just
like with any auctions, if someone else
is willing to pay more than you, you’re
not going to win. Make sure you put the
maximum amount you’re willing to pay
for the item, and the service will get it
for the lowest possible price up to your
maximum bid.

Is a sniping service better than software
I can run on my own computer?
It’s better for a number of reasons. They
use a variety of custom programming
and system monitoring techniques
to make sure your snipes are placed
on time. They are connected to the
Internet through a multiple high-speed
connections, which is much more
reliable than any home connection could
ever be. Additionally, you do not need to
leave your computer on for the service
to place your bid.

What happens when multiple users are
sniping the same item?
It does not effect the rules of eBay
auctions. The person who places the
highest bid before the end of the auction
wins. For complete rules, please check
the eBay Buyer’s Guide.

My Maximum Bid was higher than the
ending price, but I didn’t win. Why?
The most common reason for this is that
your maximum bid wasn’t above the
required eBay Bid Increment. You can
check eBay’s Help site at: http://pages.
ebay.com/help/buy/bid-increments.html
for more information.

Scrooge