Snipe with last second bidding

You can increase your chance of winning an item by bidding in the last seconds of the auction, a strategy known as sniping.  To snipe an item on eBay manually, you need to take note of the exact end time of the auction so that you can have your browser window open and be ready to bid.

Some bidders with fast internet connections wait until only five seconds before the end of an auction to place a bid.  Others prefer more time and may wait until 20 seconds or more remain.  You can also use eBay’s proxy bidding service by setting the maximum bid price and eBay to take care your sniping.

It is possible, although unlikely, that both you and another bidder may snipe the same auction.  In that case, the winner is whoever places the highest maximum bid.  If two snipers place the exact same bid, the winner is whoever places the bid first.

Snipe while you are away

If you are not free at the auction end period, you can use outside automatic sniping software.  While you are absent, you can still snipe an item automatically with sniping software, such as Auction Sniper.  Auction Sniper does the waiting for you.  It prevents human error and lets you do other things besides sitting by the computer.

To use Auction Sniper, you must first set up an account at www.auctionsniper.com .  To place a snipe, all you need is the item number of the eBay auction you want to snipe, and the maximum you want to spe4nd on that item.  You can also set the lead time – the amount of time you plan to act before the auction ends, in seconds, that you wants Auction Sniper to place your bid.

Auction Sniper displays a message that you have won, and reflects this in the status.  You can also receive an e-mail message informing you of your win, or see all your wins by clicking the Wins Tab.

Although Auction Sniper offers a free trial, once the trial is up, you are charged for the service.  You can check the service fee at www.auctionsniper.com/payment.aspx. You pay only for auctions you won.  You can also keep track of your payments and feedback using the Auction Sniper Wins Tracker simply by checking the Wins tab at Auction Sniper.

You can use other sniping services, including Bidsniper, Bidsage, eSnipe, EZsniper, Hammersnipe, Justsnipe, Powersnipe and Snipeville.