Do you use a sniping service?
 

Since this seems to be a hot topic I wonder how many of us use a sniping service?

I didn't even know there was such a thing.

I was just like you Ed... Until I came here and discovered these neat tools. That said, I still use them minimally, mainly when I'm traveling, asleep, or when a seller has a bunch of auctions ending within seconds of each other (sellers prob lose money when they do this). I try to never use them when I'm able to get on line because I've been burnt by the fact they enter my max at 6-8 seconds left. This cost me at least $200 once when a person was able to get 3x bids in within that timeframe and walk up toward my max. Had I manually sniped at 1-2 sec only, I'd have won for 2 bid increments lower. Still won and was still happy with the price.

Never used one before. Are they free? Can't really see myself paying for this type of service....

Most are free. I use gavelsnipe and it's free. Frankly I am quite surprised at the results so far...

The great thing about a snipe service is you put in your max bid to begin with, and then don't worry about it again until after the auction is over.

If you get it, yah! you got if for what you were willing to pay or less.

If you lose it, dang-it, it went for more than you were willing to spend.

That leaves you with more time to look at other stuff or even (hard to imagine) spend time outside the hobby.

Don't get me wrong, I have no issue with snipes, I just didn't know you could get someone else to do it for you. I always thought "sniping" was hitting that last second bid to get the win. I do that.

+1 on Gavelsnipe. I don't use it very often, but it's a nice option to keep the wife happy during family functions where you are not sneaking off to throw in last second bids :D!

I use gavelsnipe, but find that if it is an item I really want I am still watching when it is going to end and sometimes bidding against my snipe at the last second. Yet there are times I just can't be there to bid and I am glad that I already have it set.

I use it somewhere around 99% of the time and bid on average about once a day.

I don't feel like I should vote since I just signed up and entered my first snipes yesterday!
I too always thought snipping was just placing the bid in the last few seconds until a few months ago when others here mentioned the snipping sites.
Honestly I feel like a lot of folks here are understandably quiet about the snipping because it gives an edge over those who are not using the service. No credit card was need to sign up with:
www.gavelsnipe.com
I have missed out on countless auctions because I was not at a computer when I needed to be & now I'm free from wondering if I will be available to bid at the close- albeit long after countless smart
folks here have taken advantage of the services.

Long, long ago, you could actually look at the items on ebay someone was bidding on. I got a chaser who would check what i was bidding on, which was fairly unique, and snipe me which necessitated me finding a service. I used Auctionsniper and was very pleased, but I haven't used them in a long, long time. I just bid what i am willing to pay and walk away though I buy a lot less off the bay.

So, kind of like bidding without snipping?

I've known about it, just never understood the benefit. It may be me though, I'm the time of person that is hesitant to do things the new different way.

No not the same. Bidding without snipping allows another person to keep bidding you up just because they can (not just shilling, but other bidders). A snipe is essence a way of saying here is my hidden "best offer" but I won't pay a bid increment more than any other "best offer".

I am another Gavelsnipe user. I don;t have the patience to be sitting by my PC for every auction in which I want to submit a last-minute bid. I like the "set it and forget it" approach a sniping service affords and Gavelsnipe has never let me down.

+1 to gavelsnipe. Once I found it I never looked back! I just set my max bid and walk away, takes all the pressure off.

Makes sense. I may have to try.

starting to look mighty tempting

Snipped the snipe
 

Used to, but with an eBay app on the phone I don't really need to.

Best regards,

Joe

Ive never done it and don't know what it is. Could someone give me a quick run down on what snipe services are? Thanks!

You setup a free account, then you add the Ebay URL of the item you are interested in, then add your maximum bid amount. At the last few seconds of the auction, the service puts in the bid for you up to your maximum bid. It runs on several servers and I have never had one that didn't get executed. They can also send you email notifications if your maximum bid has been surpassed.

I always wondered who was placing ebay bids before 20 seconds were left in the auction -- I guess now I know. Half the respondents! WOW! :eek:

As a bidder, why would you let your competitors know your high bid? This just encourages people to bid you up early and often.

Stated another way, the only person who benefits from early bidding is the seller.

If you bid with enough time to let competitors or shillers see your bid and respond then you are just asking to pay more to win, and you undoubtedly will lose more.

Instead, try sniping. Take the ebay item number to Gavelsnipe. Put the number into the system and how much your top bid is. Then leave it alone. It will place the bid for you with 8 or so seconds left. Nobody can respond. You just get your bid in at your max. Set it, and forget it! :D

This is from the front page of gavelsnipe.com:

GavelSnipe improves your odds to win auctions at lower prices. By not tipping your hand early, your bids won’t start as many costly bidding wars, or lose lots you’d have otherwise won.

Simply type, or copy and paste, the auction URL into your MY SNIPES page, and enter your bid. Or better yet, use the time-saving Snipe-It! Toolbar instead. GavelSnipe displays everything for you, with optional email updates nightly, and/or whenever you get outbid.

Seconds before each auction ends, GavelSnipe submits your bid from three bid servers (in
separate cities). Your computer does not have to be turned on.

If you ever want to retract any bid, you can do so up to five minutes before the auction closes.

I've used Gavelsnipe for a few years now and it has worked perfectly. Set your max bid and walk away and enjoy other things instead of watching the clock tick on an auction! Most of the times the item goes for about what I'd expect, but there have been times where I've "stolen" an item with the snipe.

True, but if the price is artificially low it also encourages more bidders in the final few seconds thereby potentially hurting your odds. I realize this effect is less than that gained by just sniping but just adding a potential reason people might bid earlier.

Sniped manually for many years -- quite successfully, and we were proud of our sharp timing and quick fingers.
Then eBay auction pages started filling with so much Java and Flash doohickeys that it slowed page loads to a crawl
(at least on our old system) and often made manual sniping close to impossible.

A friend turned us on to GavelSnipe, which worked superbly for us for many years following. A few weeks ago,
it inexplicably refused to acknowledge our correctly-entered sign-in/password and thereupon blocked us
from accessing our account. Polite inquiries to GavelSnipe yielded the rudest responses we've ever gotten from
any supposedly professional company, twice coming just short of calling us irresponsible idiots in so many words
and offering no explanation nor any help beyond telling us to open a new account.

I've known about snipe services since joining this board 5 years ago (wow time flies), but never used one.

Like someone said: it would just be a vehicle for me to spend more money, which I am constantly battling against.

I normally wait till the end and manually enter my bid at the last seconds.

I've forgotten or shown up late a few times over the years, but that's ok... another way to help control my spending.

I agree this happens 90% of the time, but as was case in my example using the snipe service actually hurt me. By placing my max bid at 8 seconds, it allowed time for the eventual under bidder to take me up 3x bidding increments. Ebay's new one click bidding feature means that someone can rattle off 3-4 bids in a couple seconds.

Again, 90% of the time it goes off without a hitch (with exception of this past weekend).. However, think there's no replacement for bidding manually at about 1-2 seconds. In my case, I was on line and could've/would've done so, except the snipe cannot be changed or deleted within 5 min of close. Looking at bid history, the item was mine at X, maybe X plus one increment had I sniped it manually.. But ended up at X+ 3 increments with automatic snipe.

Overall, very happy with the service though.

I am surprised by the results so far .

Same here... simply astonished that the poll is even close to 50/50.

I haven't seen it mentioned above (or perhaps just missed it), but want to give a "shout out" to Gixen, who is my sniper of choice. Very reliable, completely free, easy to use, and has yet to mis-fire after hundreds of snipes :)

What happens when you bid against your snipe? Does Ebay recognize it as raising your max bid, or does it treat your bid like a competing bid?

With Gavelsnipe it is your same login and user id so you can't beat yourself or raise your own high bid (as far as I am aware). The system won't allow it to bid against itself (yourself).

Gavelsnipe/ebay
 

A few weeks back I got an outbid notice at the end of an auction from gavelsnipe.

I went back to the auction to take a look at it and there were NO bids.

I emailed gavelsnipe to ask how this was possible, and got the below response. Has anyone ever heard of this before? I emailed the seller and eventually got the item. I informed him he should change his ebay settings, if this is indeed a possible setting.

eBay returned this message when Gavelsnipe attempted to bid for you:

Buyer Requirements error

Sorry, you are not allowed to purchase this item

•This item is only available to buyers who have not purchased 1 or
more items from this seller in the past 10 days.
•You can contact the seller for more information, or find similar
items offered by other sellers.

Gavelsnipe doesn't have a specific error message for this condition
and defaulted to the outbid notice.

Try bidding on an item by the seller and not sniping. If your bid doesn't register, then the seller probably has you blocked.

Robert:

I was not blocked. The seller had a few different cards in the same set ending minutes apart from each other. I won an earlier card, then for the reason ebay gave gavelsnipe I could not bid on any others because I had just won something from the same seller.

Have you ever heard of this? Is there a setting available to sellers to do this? Why would a seller want to do this?

Fred

A seller can limit the amount of items one person wins to 10. They do that to prevent one person from maliciously sabatoging their auctions. A malicious buyer can buy every single listing one seller has, and not pay for anything and there isn't anything anyone can do about it.

Indeed
 

As am I - surprised on two fronts, even:

1. that the results are so even - who wouldn't use one??
2. that I've quoted two posts of Leon's in 1 day ... not that there's anything wrong with that

Been using gavelsnipe since 2008 with my first successful eBay snipe on 10/19 ... there should be no surprise what set the card was from :D

--
Mike

I still have a gavelsnipe.com account, but I haven't really been actively buying cards from auctions in a couple years. I'll get there eventually....

I use Gavelsnipe every time on eBay. It actually saves me money by not sitting around waiting to get outbid, and then bidding more. I set my max and go with it. Great service that has never failed. Highly recommend.

sniping service
 

sounds too much like snipe hunting for me to give it a try.

best,
barry

LOL! I guess you didn't use it this past Sunday!....when did you last use it?? You might have to change something or it probably will fail.

I had an early issue with a snipe service (ten years ago?) and have never gone back. I might only bid on one item a month and look forward to the auction end which is typically when I'm available (Sunday evening).

I have used it every single day in the last week with no issues. (knock on wood :))

A sniping service? :confused:

I've used other sniping sites that allow you to change the time of your bid.
For example, if you go below their "10 seconds before auction end" then they don't guarantee the bid will be placed.
Looks as though GavelSnipe's is defaulted to 20 seconds. Has anyone had problems lowering their snipe timing?

I snipe at 6 seconds. Never a problem ( that I'm aware of)

I've used MyIbidder for the last three years, and I always set it for 3 seconds to discourage last ditch efforts to top my bid. It's flawless so far.

I'm really happy so many people aren't sniping! :D

I've used Gavelsnipe a lot in the past and it was always a pleasure. I won lots of ebay auction using the service. More recently I've been sniping on my own using the ebay mobile app and I get my bids in in the last 5 seconds every time. I do sometimes miss the end of an auction but nothing that bothers me.

Thanks,

AndyH

This. Unless I'm asleep, my phone stays with me almost all the time. I get alerts when items I'm watching are about to end. For me, I don't need a sniping service.

Double post...and that's weird because I didn't even hit the back button.

Enjoying this thread. Makes me feel like this is 1999 all over again. :D:D:D

Most every sniping service will let you adjust the buffer time(seconds before end of auction). Studies have shown that 8-10 seconds is the optimum buffer time to have your bids placed. There is a disadvantage to setting your buffer time to 3 seconds or less.

First, having the sniping service place your bids so late may result in your bids not connecting with eBay in time. This would not be the fault of the sniping service, but a problem with the eBay servers.

Second, having the sniping service place your bids so late may result in you losing an auction with a bid higher than the winning bid.

Example: Auction with $2.50 intervals
Bidder A snipe bids $101.50 with 5 seconds left
Bidder B snipe bids $102.00 with 2 seconds left

Bidder A wins auction because Bidder B's bid did not meet required minimum interval bid of $104.00. :eek::eek::eek:

Need a both selection. When on mobile, access to my snipe service is cumbersome, so I don't use it. When online, I do typically use. Probably 50/50 actually.

Not really Mike.... I chose the wording of the actual poll question very carefully.

" Do I ever use a sniping service? "



.

I have no experience with this and am not even sure I understand the concept. That being said, if I do understand what is involved, it seems borderline unethical to me. Sure, you can justify it by saying that others use it...but isn't that the argument for PEDs?

Maybe I'm a simpleton, but I do like to keep it simple.

signed, 'blissfully ignorant'

Not being disrespectful, or maybe clarifying the concept here. But how is a sniping service (setting an automation to bid on one's behalf in the last few seconds of an auction) different from sitting in front of the compute and hitting the bid button in the last few seconds of an auction? Or having a human do it on your behalf (either at a live auction or online)? Or trolling ebay and stumbling on something with a few seconds to bid and putting in a bid? Or simply, not knowing if you want to bid on something and making that decision at the last second?

I used to use one. I haven't in the last five years or so. I can't remember the name of it, but the software was loaded on my PC, so once that PC went Kaput I no longer used it. Although it died with my PC, the primary reason I stopped using a sniping service is that I am not very active on EBay any longer.

It is no different, but a sniping service allows you to be not tied to a computer. You can forget about the auction and no matter what you are doing or where you are, the bid will go in. Your house can lose total power, and your bid will (should) still go through!

Last night while reading to my daughter I won my 1st snipped auction well below my max price:o. What a great sense of freedom being able to set a bid and forget about it!

Gavelsnipe problem
 

I've been using Gavelsnipe for about three years now. Love it! However, this past weekend I had two snipes set that did not fire off. I wrote to them to ask what the deal was and got back this response...

"There were connection problems over the weekend that prevented Gavelsnipe from completing the snipe records. These have been restored and you can now view the results for your missing snipes in your snipe history."

Did anyone else experience a problem over the weekend?

I've used Gixen for the past few years...I'm surprised no one has mentioned them yet. I've been very happy with them and I have no complaints.

At first I was hesitant because it just feels wrong giving some random website your eBay user and password, but it's great not having to worry about keeping track of an item for several days and eventually placing your bid. Plus, placing a late bid is usually your best bet for not getting run up.

Gavel Snipe
 

I have been using Gavel Snipe for a few years now. I have never had a problem with it. I like to think that it makes it a little harder for people to shill bid against me.

I use Gavelsnipe...it had never failed me in many years of using it, but last week it didn't even register my bid, and nobody even bid on the item at all. It completely disappeared from my snipe list even as I was watching it end. I had to ask the seller to relist the item with a BIN and she did. I'm still baffled by that one.

Worked for me today though without a problem.

edited to add: Now I see above I was not alone in this problem.

LOL....uh....yea..........remind me never again to end auctions over Labor Day weekend!

Taylor-

I'm not offended at all...remember, I'm blissfully ignorant ( and I excel at playing dumb )...but I see your point. I guess I prefer the 'hands-on' approach, but I can remember missing out on wanted items because I did not have the opportunity to watch it through to the end & of course, that is the value. Maybe it's the negative label of 'sniping' that caught my ire.

As I mentioned before, it gives a lot of trepidation to running no reserve auctions, which it seems like people are always asking for more of.

I mentioned Gixen in Post #30.

But yes- very surprised that nobody else has. For those not happy with their current service, give them a try. They are nothing short of perfect :D

Regarding sniping services... Another assumption is that one actually enters a snipe amount and time. Anyone else here ever load an auction into your snipe service of choice and then forget to enter the amount? :o

Exactly what got me to auctionstealer. I had a number of 'followers' who would not only piggy back on my work ferreting out stuff but would also run up my bids. That doesn't happen any more since eBay made it impossible to track bidders, but the service remains valuable to me:
--I no longer worry that my max bid will be run up or chipped at all week long. My max isn't revealed until the last seven seconds.
--I am terrible for forgetting to bid on something. More than one time I have checked my inbox to find that I'd won a card that I really wanted but that I neglected.

Taylor, it is very liberating not to have to pay attention to when an auction ends and not to have to be online to bid into the final seconds of it. When something important to my collection pops up, I enter a placeholder bid and set a max bid with auctionstealer and then forget about the card. Just not having to actively track ebay auctions is worth the cost of the service to me.

Adam,

I generally do that as well. Placeholder and snipe for something I really want. Placeholder or snipe alone for stuff I might like (at the right price), depending. But also, in the midst of multi-tasking, I have added an auction to snipe and forgot to set the bid. Thus while close, I demonstrate how it is not totally foolproof for this old fool. LOL

I'm surprised at the number of members who believe it is somehow underhanded and shady to use a sniping service. Ebay is not a true auction, you don't go to a live auction and watch them place a time limit on an item, they don't stop the bidding at straight up noon, and say sorry, no more bids will be accepted.

Sniping allows one to bid without being shilled, and to bid while not being anywhere near your computer or unable to use your phone app.

I do now after reading this thread.

I was using a sniper for collectibles before I started to buy Pre War baseball .

Nope. Would remove some of the fun for me :)

I used to use justsnipe and it was great.