I love to shop on eBay! Over the years I've found great bargains on clothes for my kids, cross stitch patterns, knitting supplies, and much, much more. When I'm considering a purchase, eBay is one of the places I search to see if I can buy an item at a discount.
To get the best discount possible, I prefer to practice the fine art of sniping.
Definition: Auction sniping is the practice of waiting until the
last possible moment before an auction closes to enter your bid, with
the hope of outbidding other sellers that didn't anticipate such a
move. Auction sniping is not a violation of eBay rules and is
considered fair practice in auction bidding, despite the fact that some
members find it to be objectionable.
- ebay.about.com.
And some eBay members do find sniping objectionable. For me, it's part of the fun of shopping on eBay. So how does one snipe effectively?
Sniping the Easy Way
Sign up for a service like Auction Sniper and have them bid for you. All you have to do is enter your bid in Auction Sniper, and they will place your bid for you at the last second. The downside of using a service like Auction Sniper is that they charge you a small fee for each auction win. So even though sniping with Auction Sniper is the easy way to snipe, it's not the most frugal way.
Sniping the Frugal (and Fun) Way
Add the item you're interested in to your watch list. Do not place a bid early in the auction, unless the auction has a Buy it Now option. It is believed that if a bid is placed on an auction early, it will create more interest in the auction, driving up the price.
If the item has a Buy it Now option, however, place the minimum bid right away. You don't want someone to swoop in and use the Buy it Now option. If they do that, you lose.
As the auction comes to a close, open two browser windows. You'll want to open one window to the page where you place your bid. Put your maximum bid in the box, and hit submit. You will be taken to another screen, asking you to confirm your bid. Leave that window open, but don't click anything yet.
Open the second window to the auction page. Keep your eye on the clock. As the time winds down on the auction, refresh the page. Keep refreshing until there's just a few seconds left. I usually bid when there's about 10 seconds left.
When the clock says there are 10 seconds left, confirm your bid in the first window. Close your eyes, hold your breath, and if all has gone well, the next screen will show you as the high bidder. If all goes really well, one more refresh of the screen will show you as the winner.
One word of warning. Sniping can be addictive, so make sure you really need an item before bidding. If your really need it, snipe away. And have fun!
Lynnae blogs about her frugal adventures at Being Frugal.net.
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That's exactly what I do, I just didn't know there was a name for it!! And it is so addictive, what a rush I tell ya. So glad to know I'm not the only one
The way that you're doing it is effective, but it takes a lot of time.
http://www.hidbid.com also offers a sniping service, but it's free.
I think that probably more important than the money you can save by sniping, is the time that you can save by using a sniping service.
As I imagine you already know, sniping is not magic, you still have to have the highest bid to win.
Still, it's an effective way of bidding. I wouldn't bid on any ebay auction any other way, it would just make no sense to do so.
Oh goodness…free ebay sniper…i think I love you. I have used esnipe to snipe things for a couples years. Small fee, great deals…but FREE sniping…just marvelous.
Oh, my goodness!!! I'm a total sniper I just didn't know I had a name!