Have you ever been in a bidding war and lost out in the last seconds of an auction? I bet you were sniped. The newest tricks in bidding and winning online auctions is to use an auction sniper software program that will automatically bid for you at just the last second of the auction.
Auction sniping is waiting to place your bid until seconds before the auction closes. In most cases, the last-minute bid precludes competing bids and assures the sniping bidder the winning bid at the lowest price. Some web sites estimate that sniping occurs on 5 percent of all eBay auctions that close with bids.
While this technique is not without controversy (mostly from disgruntled sellers or competing bidders) it is permitted on most online auction sites including eBay. In fact, an eBay Community Development representative related eBay’s position on one of eBay’s message boards:
From: daphne@eBay.com
Topic: Re: Snipers How To Workshop
Just for the record, contrary to what some people think, there’s no rule against “sniping,” or bidding in the last moments of the auction. You will hear all kinds of debates about which method (proxy bidding or sniping) is more effective, and eBay would recommend proxy bidding, but bidding at the last moment of the auction is perfectly acceptable and legal.
Daphne
eBay Community Development
There are several advantages to sniping on auctions. The first is that the sniper prevents counter-bids and is more likely to win the auction. The most significant advantage is that sniping prevents emotional bidding wars. These are events that auction sellers dream about — two or more bidders start running up the price of a listed item because they get caught up in the excitement of the moment. More often than not, the sniper will win the auction at a lower price if they do it correctly.
There are some problems associated with sniping manually. First, you must be online to bid when the auction closes. This may not be convenient if the bidding for that PEZ dispenser you’ve been drooling over ends in the middle of the night or while you are at work. Second, depending on your connection speed, your last second bid may be submitted too late. The auction might close before your bid reaches eBay.
This is where the automated sniping software comes into play. These programs allow you to “set it and forget it”. Some of these programs are costly, but many of them are free or include free trials.
For all you FireFox users out there, here’s a great video showcasing an auction sniping add on.
Sniping online auction sites such as eBay can be of great benefit to the bidder. It saves them money and greatly increases the chances that they will win the auction. Give it a try on the next auction you bid on and make sure you get that great deal!
Visit AuctionInsights for more tips.