[coastie65]

Hey Klaatu, No problem. I don't think anyone took it as an endorsement, but for what it was, just relating an enthusiastic experience with it. coastie

[eserg]

Just to add a few points.

Sniping has its own good and bad things.



Bad things are that you may loose auction if you use unreliable service or your PC crashed if you use software-based sniper.

You may also loose when the seller ended auction earlier due to low bidding interest.



Good things.

It prevents this auction from shill bidding, which some sellers do (that is much more cheating, than sniping).

some collectioners prefer to keep their own research in secret.

you can always change your mind and cancel your snipe before auction ended. anytime. this way you can decrease non-paying auctions.



For me, shill bidding protection is my main concern.



I never used EZ sniper, but I could suggest a free sniper which I use: myibay eBay bid sniper

There are more when I did my own research. You can search for "free ebay sniper" if you want to compare.

[Klaatu]

Thanks for the feedback, eserg. Seems that if one doesn't want to spend too much time on an auction but really wants the item, the ultimate strategy is to bid your max late after observing activity and researching completed listings, and using some type of sniping software.

[eserg]

Klaatu,

That's completely true. You always have to bid your max (sniping or not).

I would personally prefer to bid as late as possible (snipe) in order to prevent shill bidding. In any case, I bid my max.

[PalominoGirl]

As you can see most aren't fond of Sniping -- unless they're the ones using it. But I can give one GREAT reason why I used it: A couple of years ago I wanted a gift for Daddy that was available no where else -- a very special item, custom made and perfect for him. I was sitting here w/ a dial up (yes, I admit it but let it be known I live on a hundred acre horse ranch surrounded on three sides by a national forest and didn't get WiFi until yesterday -- WOO HOO!! :^0 and I tell you truly, EVERY time I bid on something I really, really wanted it was like "Kill me now," because I knew that 24k connection would do me no favors. So I admit it! I've used Sniping software! And I got the gift for my daddy which actually made him tear up. It's special!

[JimH443]

mphenterprises said:

You Coastie and Klaatu. Yes, there are definitely some unscrupulous sellers on eBay but that is just a fact of life. There are bad people everywhere. I try to take the good with the bad and not write off something until I have given all benefits of doubt.

The problem I have with eBay is the preponderence of PayPal. I've heard too many horror stories to trust it. I've got a prepaid Visa that I use for all my online shopping. Immediately before I purchase something online, I transfer just enough money into it to cover the expected cost (guessing at S&H). That transaction goes through, and the balance is next to zero. This card will refuse any transaction if the funds are not in the account. While the recourse available to prepaid cards doesn't begin to match that of true credit cards... it's better than the "lip service" that PayPal pays to it.

[Klaatu]

Don't want to get off topic but PayPal horror stories notwithstanding, I had a very positive experience with them. Turns out the item I won on the auction that I used EZ Sniper for was misrepresented. How's that for irony! Unscrupulous seller was uncommunicative so used PayPal intervention for full refund without unreasonble delay.

[coastie65]

PalominoGirl said:

As you can see most aren't fond of Sniping -- unless they're the ones using it. But I can give one GREAT reason why I used it: A couple of years ago I wanted a gift for Daddy that was available no where else -- a very special item, custom made and perfect for him. I was sitting here w/ a dial up (yes, I admit it but let it be known I live on a hundred acre horse ranch surrounded on three sides by a national forest and didn't get WiFi until yesterday -- WOO HOO!! :^0 and I tell you truly, EVERY time I bid on something I really, really wanted it was like "Kill me now," because I knew that 24k connection would do me no favors. So I admit it! I've used Sniping software! And I got the gift for my daddy which actually made him tear up. It's special!

Hi Palomono Girl, Great story. I am of a mind "do whatever it takes as long as it is legal". It was good to hear you won out. My experiences with ebay haven't been so positive as it seems there are a lot of shills out there bidding up the price. I can well imagine that the dial up connection was a frustrating experience as well, when trying to bid on anything. Good to hear you at least have WiFi now. I guess there are some trade offs to living in a tranquil place. I'm in the Suburbs with an Interstate Highway directly behind the house. Not so tranquil. :^0 Incidently, both my sisters had Horses at one time. Primarily Quarter Horses, but my youngest sister got into Morgans after a time. coastie

[eserg]

PalominoGirl,
Good story.
Similar to that, I snipe just because I forget about auction I want. I just research once, put all items on sniping and then get back to it when I won it.
If I was not sniping, I would just forget to bid.

By sniping I fight with shill bidding and my bad memory :-)

[Klaatu]

For those still following this discussion, just today received via PCW Daily Downloads link for three eBay sniper programs: Buyertools Reminder, Prospector Lite and Auction Sentry.

Can't beat the price on Buyertools; free (Prospector Lite-demo, Auction Sentry-$15 Trial) but since PC-based, might not be as effective as web-based tool.

Just won another auction, BTW, without sniper tool. Bid max in last three minutes. Competitor's frantic final bid was same as my max but since mine was first, I won.

[eserg]

Quote

Just won another auction, BTW, without sniper tool. Bid max in last three minutes. Competitor's frantic final bid was same as my max but since mine was first, I won.

Agree. You never know... I usually bid a few cents more or snipe at 12-15 seconds (many snipers do at 5-8 so I can win with the same snipe amount).

I think that Web-based are more stable (does not depend on your PC and local internet) as long as you trust them.
Many people prefer PC-based tools as it gives false (but strong) assumption that your password is more secure.

[macy1]

Server based sniping systems do seem to work better, if nothng else, they have a better Ebay connection that you probably do. Several well known and reputable snipe services offer 3 to 5 free snipes a week, justsnipe, hammertap and esnipe come to mind.

Personally, I use snipe services to prevent paying too much and also allow me set an bid, but have time to recheck the actual value of the item. Seems like some items are ebay are selling too high, so I carefully guage what I want to pay for an item, place a bid snipe order (which can change at anytime) and back away. The keeps me from overpaying in the heat of a last minute bidding war.