REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

AzNightmare · 12-03-2009, 11:29 PM

Is there any auction sniper programs that can be recommended for eBay?

Something easy to set up. And preferably free of course.
But I really only need it for the next few days, so even if it's like a 10 day trial or something, that's good enough.

I just need it to be reliable and nothing shady like adding spyware in my comp or scamming me if I need to enter in my password, etc.

The_AK · 12-03-2009, 11:45 PM

I used this thing called "Auction Sentry" before, i'd say it was reliable and it worked well. Comes with a 10 day trial, up to you of course.

http://www.auctionsentry.com/

threezero · 12-04-2009, 12:02 AM

http://auctioninsights.auctionstealer.com/home.cfm
http://www.gixen.com/
https://www.smartsnipe.com/

personnal favorite is smartsnipe but i usually set all all three just to be on the safe side. easy to setup its all done on their website so no spyware and shit like that on your computer. all have free service which is enough if u are like me who only use ebay once in a blue moon but you have an addiction to buying junk on ebay they offer pay service too that let you do more auctions

Jer3 · 12-04-2009, 12:48 AM

i use the client version of myibay. works pretty well and never had any problems.

illicitstylz · 12-04-2009, 08:19 AM

Also use myibay.

Just a simple add-on to firefox
Settings can be viewed on their website ( which ones won lost etc)

Biggest advantage, you can set the remaining time to post up a bid instead of other programs default at 6
Seconds
Posted via RS Mobile

AzNightmare · 12-04-2009, 03:48 PM

Thanks for all the replies. So many, didn't know which one to use.

I'm currently using Gixen now, just because it's web based, so no downloading and installing anything. Is this pretty reliable? Have you ever had any problems with it?

And do I need to have my computer running during the auction or anything like that?

threezero · 12-04-2009, 04:08 PM

^ i have won items using all third i have posted. the only disadvantage with web base one is with the free service you can't really set the time to bid.

the advantage is like you said, your computer doesn't need to be running or connected to the internet, there server does all the bidding for you.

I would really recommend setting up all three i mention they are all webbase. set up all 3 to bid on your single item for foulproofness. when I have all three setup smartsnipe is usually the one that outbids the others. can't specific time with smartsnipe at all but it use some kind of "smart" bidding system, watever it is it work and it works really well the time i have used it.

AzNightmare · 12-04-2009, 04:15 PM

do you know what time is the sniping is set up at? I'll be satisfied with anything less than 10 sec.
Cause that's what I would do if I was doing this manually anyway.

cause there's a bunch of settings in Gixen, like Gixen Main: Gixen Mirror:
I don't know what these mean so should I just leave them all on default (which is blank)?

There's also Gixen main target ebay site: [United States]
Gixen mirror target ebay site:[United States]
Change ebay target site automatically if needed: [yes]

etc

Just leave them all on default?

Maybe i'll try the other programs too so nothing goes wrong.

threezero · 12-04-2009, 04:17 PM

i dont remember the setting i had with gixen, but i think i just left them at default. I do believe it to be under 10 sec. out of the 3 i posted you pick the one with the most setting to mess with lol.

lgman · 12-04-2009, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzNightmare

I just need it to be reliable and nothing shady like adding spyware in my comp or scamming me if I need to enter in my password, etc.

Question:
why can't you just simply set an alarm before the auction ends? instead of giving your passwords and more authorization for these 3rd party services which results in higher risk of identity fraud?? Just saying. What's wrong with setting a maximum bid? its not like your gonna go over the amount anyways in person nor with the program.

AzNightmare · 12-04-2009, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lgman

Question:
why can't you just simply set an alarm before the auction ends? instead of giving your passwords and more authorization for these 3rd party services which results in higher risk of identity fraud?? Just saying. What's wrong with setting a maximum bid? its not like your gonna go over the amount anyways in person nor with the program.

I won't be home and no access to a computer tomorrow, or otherwise I would just do it myself.

I always snipe for psychological reasons. Avoid bidding wars, attract less attention, take away the emotional part of eBay bidding. If the guy has a higher maximum bid in mind, and plans to put it out to beat me, he will beat me then. Nothing I can do about it. But sometimes people get caught up in bidding and will bid higher just to win and lose track of the amount.

Say his max bid is $30 and he already bidded.
I then bid $31 after. The bid ends in 5 hours. Then he decides... well, whatever, just 2 more dollars. Then he bids $32 after. Then I lose.

If I wait, and bid $31 with 10 seconds left, he has no time to think about whether he should add another $2 or not.

In this case, if he had just chosen to max bid $32, I would have lost anyway. But sniping just increases my chance by a bit.

Any psychologically, a lot of people don't really put their full bidding amount anyway. Partially because they don't even know themselves. They tend to play it by what others are doing. Then evaluate if it's worth outbidding them or not. By sniping, they get no chance. Cause they see no bids until the last few seconds.

There's probably other reason why people snipe, but that's my reason anyway. And when I'm sniping manually... it's kind of exciting... just the other day... some guy counter sniped me with a higher bid within the dying seconds... On a popular item... there's probably at least 3 or 4 snipers lurking there.

InvisibleSoul · 12-04-2009, 06:00 PM

I haven't sniped anything on eBay in awhile, but I had been using jBidWatcher and it worked for me fine.

Yeah, there really are no downsides to sniping if you enter the maximum amount you're willing to bid. If you lose, then the item went for more than it's worth to you. If you win, it could come at a significantly reduced price because you may have avoided a bidding war.

threezero · 12-04-2009, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lgman

Question:
why can't you just simply set an alarm before the auction ends? instead of giving your passwords and more authorization for these 3rd party services which results in higher risk of identity fraud?? Just saying. What's wrong with setting a maximum bid? its not like your gonna go over the amount anyways in person nor with the program.

because sniping service snipe at like last 10 second or less. if you try to pull that off you will most like miss the bid.

cunninglinguist · 12-05-2009, 12:05 AM

I use Auction Sentry also like The_AK.

I can get it down to launch the bid to one second before end.

BronsonQ · 12-07-2009, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzNightmare

Is there any auction sniper programs that can be recommended for eBay?

Something easy to set up. And preferably free of course.
But I really only need it for the next few days, so even if it's like a 10 day trial or something, that's good enough.

I just need it to be reliable and nothing shady like adding spyware in my comp or scamming me if I need to enter in my password, etc.

http://www.hidbid.com allows you five free snipes per week and is web-based.

You can also select the number of seconds before the end of an auction you want your bid to be executed. However, I would leave it at the default "5", unless the snipe is scheduled to execute on a Sunday or other high traffic time for eBay, then maybe raise it to 7 or 8.

5 seconds should be too little time for a manual "nibbling" sniper to react, and hopefully before any other scheduled snipes there may be for the item.

Scheduling a snipe to execute with less than 5 seconds left in an auction is a bit of a gamble, because any slight delay in communications between eBay and the sniping server could prevent your bid from being placed. Most sniping services have a "mirror" or backup server also submitting bids, but delays could still cause trouble if they're on eBay's end.

Sniping is a convenience for people who know that early bidding draws unwanted attention and usually a higher ending price (often as a result of emotional bidding).

If people were completely rational, the best eBay bidding strategy would be to bid the second an item is listed. Because, if two bids are the same or there is not enough difference between them to meet eBay's minimum bid increment, the first bid in wins.