Snipe services

I enjoy being there when the aution ends but in the last few days I have missed some items I was really wanting for decor in the office. So I am going to ask if there is any recommended snipe service out there.

Free being the best as these items were sold for less than $10 w/shipping.

[asoriano]

I've always used eSnipe with no problems.

[Robextend]

I use Gavelsnipe

[cwazzy]

I use biddingscheduler and it has yet to fail me.

[quinnsryche]

Sorry for what might be a stupid question, but what exactly is "sniping"? I think I understand the concept, but if I put in a max bid and someone goes over my max, how would myself having this sniping ability help me? I would appreciate some examples in detail if someone cares to take the time to explain. Thanks!

[ajw]

Originally Posted by quinnsryche

Sorry for what might be a stupid question, but what exactly is "sniping"? I think I understand the concept, but if I put in a max bid and someone goes over my max, how would myself having this sniping ability help me? I would appreciate some examples in detail if someone cares to take the time to explain. Thanks!

Here's an example.

We both want a card, and you plan to bid $100 as your max. I plan to bid $50 as my max. The auction ends on Friday.

No sniping.
You bid $100 on Monday.
I bid $50 on Tuesday.
I now have three full days to ponder and consider my previous bid. I decide on Thursday to bump it up a bit, maybe to $60. Darn. You're still higher. Ok. I'll bump it to $70. What? You're still higher? Ok. Last time. $80. Dammit. Still didn't get there. Ok. I'm done. You can have it for $85 (or whatever the min increase is over my $80).

Result: You get the card for $85

With sniping
You set your $100 snipe on Monday, but it doesn't launch until Friday.
I bid $50 on Tuesday.
Wednesday. I'm the high bidder.
Thursday. Still the high bidder. This is awesome!
Friday. Totally gonna win this one.
Ten seconds...seven seconds...three seconds...your snipe launches
Wham! What happened? Where'd that new bid come from?
Result: You get the card for $55.

Other benefits: you don't have to be at your computer; you'll never forget to bid; you don't show any interest to other bidders, so they may think they're the only person interested.

Downside: you only get one kick at the can. Go hard or go home. You'll save money in the end, but you'll also say "man, I should have bid $5 more..."

I snipe *everything* I bid on. Saves me tons of time and money. It's also fun to watch the snipe launch at the last second.

Oh - I use biddingscheduler and love it.

[Robextend]

Agree with the last post, no bidding war saves you money.

Does anyone know advantages that other sniping services have over Gavelsnipe? I'd be willing to try a new service if one was clearly better.

Thanks - Rob

[quinnsryche]

Thanks for all the explanations. I think I understand now.

[AndyG09]

Like Rob, I use Gavelsnipe. It is free of charge and works great. I look days in advance and set the snipes. Saves lots of time and the Gavelsnipe page showing all current snipes is really helpful.

[Jewish-collector]

Tony,

I didn't fully understand either so don't feel bad. I think the bottom line is that sniping doesn't let the sniper show his hand until the last few seconds.

[ibuysportsephemera]

Alan..exactly your bid is placed by a computer at almost the very last second.

You can have other snipers as well which is why even if you lose an item, you really don't know how much another bidder was prepared to pay. I always use a sniping program to bid and put in the very highest I am willing to pay, so I have no remorse if I don't win.

I use quicksnipe which is free and it has been almost 100% reliable.

Jeff

[ajw]

I use biddingscheduler. I've also used Gixen in the past, as well as a couple other services. One thing I really like about biddingscheduler is that it populates your Ebay watched items, so you can easily enter your snipes. Some other services make you copy the item ID number and paste it into the snipe page, which is just a pain. I'm guessing that some other services also populate your watched items, as it's a nice feature.

[perezfan]

Gixen is my snipe service of choice.

They have never mis-fired for me, and it's completely free. Very easy to navigate as well. There is no downside.

[DaveH]

I use Gavelsnipe and it covers Ebay and Heritage Auctions. I don't know if other services snipe auctions other than Ebay.

dh

[deadballera]

I use GavelSnipe and AuctionStealer

[oriolesbb6]

I use bidnapper, no problems, except I spend way too much because I tell myself I'm getting a deal.

[tbob]

For ease and peace of mind I use esnipe. It's not free but is not expensive. Very user friendly and never had a misfire.

[scottglevy]

I use Gavelsnipe. Am generally pleased with it. And it's free.

[JP]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned auctionsniper. I've used them for years...ne'er a single issue with them. Wholeheartedly recommend.

[usernamealreadytaken]

As a bidder, I hate the snipers, because you have to play beat the clock to try to enter a higher bid. As a seller, on the other hand, I love it!!! I have seen a card go from $200 to $800 between the last seconds left and when you refresh to the final.

[Jim VB]

I don't understand why any bidder hates a sniper any more than you hate any other bidder. If you compete in fixed ending time auctions, and you don't want to snipe, you better be prepared to put your best bid out there early and hope it holds up.

All a sniper is doing is putting his best bid out there, late.

[John V]

It looks like we're largely pro-snipe. Is anyone skittish about handing over their ID and password to strangers?

[nebboy]

always wanted use one of the snipe sites - so just signed up with gavalsnipe, it was easy to get a couple of auction bids placed. Thanks for the info from this thread guys.

[BCauley]

Originally Posted by JP

I'm surprised no one has mentioned auctionsniper. I've used them for years...ne'er a single issue with them. Wholeheartedly recommend.

I'm right there with you on that one. I signed up with them what seems like an eternity ago and have never had any issues. They are not free but I don't use it a whole lot anyway so it's not a big deal to pay their small fee.