Just need these questions on sniping cleared out

[matrixseq]

Hi,

 

I read the various posts on this forum on sniping, and I just have a few questions I wanted to clear out for myself before I go venturing into Ebay

 

I know that this is a topic that has been discussed in detail and so I apologize for asking these questions.

 

 

1. What does the snipe time on any program (i.e. JBidWatcher, Justsnipe) actually mean - does it mean that if I set it to 30 seconds - that the program only starts sniping when 30 seconds of the auction is left ?

 

 

2. What should I set my snipe time to - in your experience what is the best time - if I set it to 5 seconds - would this be too short a time for the JBidwatcher program - or any free snipe program - like it to work its job ?

 

 

3. Why can't automatic bidding on Ebay accomplish the same task - after all if I put my maximum bid - and if this bid is higher than the rest of the people - then even if they use a sniper software - since my maximum bid is high - then ebay will keep increasing my bid until I am the winner, right ?

 

 

4. Is the maximum bid software on Ebay not as fast as the sniping softwares - meaning that the sniper software quickly ups my bid where as the ebay maximum bid program takes longer to do this (when it comes to those final seconds of the auction)

 

 

5. Last question - Can I put in a maximum bid on Ebay and use a sniper program (for the same item) as well ?

Are there any advantages or disadvantages to doing this

 

 

I am sorry for all these questions ... but if you could please answer these 5 questions above, it would make my e-bay life so much more meaningful

 

P.S. --> I also sent this as a personal message to one of the users on this forum, and want to thank them very much for their help and suggestion

 

Thank you in advance for all those who answer in response

 

 

[NeoTiger]

If your maximum bid is the highest than all the sniper's bids, you still win.

 

The point of sniping is that you don't let people know how desperate you are to win the item, until the last 10 seconds of the auction. Therefore people think demand is low, and put in a maximum bid that's not very high.

 

 

 

Sometimes you see people get into a bidding war, ie person A puts in $100 maximum, then B comes along and bids $105 maximum... Person A sees that and decides that he wouldn't mind putting another $10 in, so he bids $110.... and it keeps going on until one of them gives up.

 

However if person B used sniping tactics instead, then person A would've had his $100 maximum, and B would win it for $105.

[hexyr]

Hi,

 

I read the various posts on this forum on sniping, and I just have a few questions I wanted to clear out for myself before I go venturing into Ebay

 

I know that this is a topic that has been discussed in detail and so I apologize for asking these questions.

 

 

1. What does the snipe time on any program (i.e. JBidWatcher, Justsnipe) actually mean - does it mean that if I set it to 30 seconds - that the program only starts sniping when 30 seconds of the auction is left ?

It mean that your bid would go in at 30second mark

 

2. What should I set my snipe time to - in your experience what is the best time - if I set it to 5 seconds - would this be too short a time for the JBidwatcher program - or any free snipe program - like it to work its job ?

I think they say 6 seconds. I don't use any of the free but that is what the pay sniping services suggests. I settled on snip.pl 19cents a bid you win

 

3. Why can't automatic bidding on Ebay accomplish the same task - after all if I put my maximum bid - and if this bid is higher than the rest of the people - then even if they use a sniper software - since my maximum bid is high - then ebay will keep increasing my bid until I am the winner, right ?

Ebay bidding doesn't snip it increases your bid as you along.

 

4. Is the maximum bid software on Ebay not as fast as the sniping softwares - meaning that the sniper software quickly ups my bid where as the ebay maximum bid program takes longer to do this (when it comes to those final seconds of the auction)

They are 2 completely different services. If you have your high bid on ebay and someone snipes but it is not as high as your high bid ebay will bid it up in time and you win

 

5. Last question - Can I put in a maximum bid on Ebay and use a sniper program (for the same item) as well ?

Are there any advantages or disadvantages to doing this

Complete overkill if your real high bid goes into ebay

 

Hope that helps

[matrixseq]

Just wanted to say thank you very much for the replies .... and ofcourse, would always love to hear more suggestions and opinions !

[Rapt]

To repeat.

 

The point of sniping is to win the auction for less money. If you're going to put in a very high bid then it doesn't matter, other than it keeps people from nibbling at it and finding out what it is.

 

The closer to the end you can get with the snipe the better as it allows fewer chances to be out sniped. However, if two bids are equal the earlier bid wins. I manually snipe at about 30 seconds or so and have won a couple where a later sniper bid the same, but lost because I was in first.

 

Its up to you to determine what works best for you.

[nom_de_plume]

Just to answer one of your questions, 5 seconds would be fine. I use justsnipe as it is free, it bids with 8 seconds left to go and seems to work all the time. However, there are plenty of free programmes, and I don't know which is the "best".

 

Some people feel sniping is not fair, and it does take the fun out of bidding, but it is very handy. Sniping is good if you are bidding at a time that you cannot be at the computer, which suits me, as I often can't be at the computer when the bidding ends. As someone else has pointed out, you can use the ebay automatic bidding, but this can tend to lead to a bit of a bidding war.

 

Best of luck.

 

 

To repeat.

 

The point of sniping is to win the auction for less money. If you're going to put in a very high bid then it doesn't matter, other than it keeps people from nibbling at it and finding out what it is.

 

The closer to the end you can get with the snipe the better as it allows fewer chances to be out sniped. However, if two bids are equal the earlier bid wins. I manually snipe at about 30 seconds or so and have won a couple where a later sniper bid the same, but lost because I was in first.

 

Its up to you to determine what works best for you.