20 Jan 10

Just lately it seems to be that there are more and more people using sites like Missing-Auctions.com to find misspelled items on eBay.  Now I’m not complaining, it’s nice to be popular ;-)

But this means that there’s  more competition with more people bidding on misspelled items which seems to be pushing up prices.  In the past, in my own ebay arbitrage activities, I’ve never ever resorted to using an eBay sniper but just lately my success rate has fallen and I’m beginning to rethink my strategy.

In my free eBay arbitrage ebook (which is in desperate need of an overhaul) I even recommend that you don’t use a sniper to bid on an item but I’m seriously reconsidering that recommendation now.

So, rather than simply Googling for a list of eBay snipers, I thought I’d ask for your help in developing a comprehensive list of eBay snipers along with their pros and cons.

If you’ve used an eBay sniper, whether it is something you’ve signed up to on the web or downloaded on to your computer, why not share it with the rest of us together with your thoughts on it.  Was it easy to use ?  Reliable ?  Expensive or even free ?  Available for PC, Mac or online?  What did you like about it.  What did you hate about it ?  Where can we find it ?

Just leave your recommendations and comments below.  And if you’ve never commented on a blog before, relax !  It’s easy.  And fun :-)

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10 Comments.

  • Larry says:

    I have used Auction Sniper for years. Seems to work very well & not expensive.

    http://www.auctionsniper.com

  • arie waserman says:

    Very intrsting
    This kinde of program may combined perfectly with “Missing-auction”
    Hope to see more progression.

  • Ebay Hobby says:

    I use gixen.com recommended by the ebaysellingcoach.com I luv her!! I have learned so much!!

  • arie waserman says:

    Is it not danger to leav EBAY username and password, this is my Confidential login??

  • admin says:

    You’re absolutely right Arie. I’ve been doing some research into these snipers and it appears that eBay tolerates then rather than encourages their development.

    Within the eBay API (it’s a way of interacting directly with the eBay platform (http://www.auction-follow.com uses it for example) there’s a way of placing a bid on an item but eBay have this turned off by default. You have to ask for access to it but the documentation states that it cannot be used for writing a sniper !

    The trouble is that some eBay developers develop an application which becomes popular and then it’s very difficult for eBay to say no when they want to develop a sniper.

    Regarding your specific point, handing over your eBay log in details is risky. eBay have a system that permits developers to take your long in details and pass these to eBay (eBays own TurboLister app does this) but NONE of the snipers do because eBay won’t let them.

    My advice would be to ensure that the page that you enter your username and password into is a secure page. Check that it starts with https:// but bear in mind that you’re breaching eBays user agreement by handing over your username and password.

    Finally, I heard about another auction site the other day that extends the end of an auction if a bid is received in the last 30 seconds. Under that system no sniper would work, the item would reach a higher price and the fees earned by the auction site would be higher.

    I’m amazed that eBay haven’t adopted such a system.

  • I use http://PleaseSnipe.com – Its simple, fast, and completely free.

  • Not sure which one are you looking in particular..

    Someone mentioned Gixen already. There are other two which worth mentioning.

    Sniping service:
    http://www.myibay.com
    Pros: it has many ways of managing your snipes, such as Web, Windows software, various browser’s add-ons (Firefox, Chrome), Mac OS X app (Beta but seems to be working).
    The service is free. Windows software has some price tag but this is one time price only.
    Cons: takes some time to learn in the beginning but it’s worth it.

    Stand alone software:
    http://www.jbidwatcher.com
    Pros: you keep your password. Multi-platform capable (Win & Mac).
    Cons: if your internet went down for a moment, you lost the item :(

  • I buy from Bidz.com where the time left is extended by 20 seconds everytime someone places a last-minute bid. I love it! It is a true auction which lets the price get bid up until the genuine highest bidder wins. They should all be like that. On eBay, people start bidding with a few seconds left, and a lot which should be bid up very high doesn’t have a chance to. I had a lot which easily could have gone over $100 if people had started bidding with 5 minutes left, not 5 seconds. eBay should do it this way.

  • karen says:

    i love auctionsniper, it is free and i usually win every time. i don’t understand why anyone would bid in anytime other than the last 5 seconds. people who bid when there is days to go drive me crazy, all they are doing is pushing the price way higher than it needs to go. as a seller i enjoy that naturally, but as a buyer there is just no sense behind it.

    using a sniping site is great because i don’t ever watch the end of an auction so i never bid higher than i want to in the heat of the moment. i put in my absolute maximum price and if i get it that’s great, if not it’s fine because it obviously went higher than i was prepared to go.

  • Conner1 says:

    Hldbid.com is a good sniping service to use.

    Pros:
    Free
    Reliable
    Simple to use

    Con:
    Ugly site, looks like a 1970′s design.

    http://www.bidball.com is another one, and is nicer looking, but I’m used to hidbid so that’s what I use.



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