I thought you guys might find this interesting...... When 'Snipers' Do Your Online Bidding for You By HANNAH KINNERSLEY January 5, 2006; Page D3 If you've ever lost out in an online auction at the last moment, chances are you were sniped. That is, the winning bid was probably placed by so-called sniping software and the actual bidder might have signed off hours earlier. Sniper software isn't illegal and it has developed a following among online bidders. But the practice isn't encouraged by auction sites such as eBay and Yahoo. The main advantage is that a sniper can enter the bid data faster than most people can type, allowing a bid to be placed at the last second after all other bids have been set. Snipers also make it unnecessary for the bidder to be physically present at the time of the bid -- a big bonus if the auction for your desired item ends at midnight, Pacific time, and you live in New York. There are two main types of snipers: Web-hosted ones that require users to log in, and downloadable software that manages bids and snipes on a user's computer. Web-hosted snipers work with any operating system and have a reliably fast Internet connection, a step up for bidders still accessing the Web from dial-up connections. Snipers can be preprogrammed to bid at the latest moment, and automatically synchronize with eBay's clock. And because bidders can input the item number and bid amount at any point before the end of the auction, they don't need to be online, or even have their computer on, at the time of the bid. Users enter their maximum bid and the sniper will bid in increments up to that amount. The drawback of Web-hosted snipers is that unlike a one-time purchase for a piece of software, users pay either a monthly fee, a set fee for each bid, or a percentage of each win when they use it. For regular eBay users the costs can add up. Prices for sniper software range from $14.95 to around $50. For users nervous about giving out information online, it can be preferable to a Web-hosted sniper, which requires your eBay user name and password. The software, however, will only be as fast as the bidder's Internet connection, and when eBay changes any part of its auction software, sniping software will often require an upgrade or patch. To find the best bet for successful bidding, we tested five snipers for ease of use, and in a nail-biting grand finale had them bid against each other in four auctions to see if we could find a consistent winner. All the auctions were for girls' party dresses, and each one ended at 10-minute intervals over the course of an evening. This gave us time to adjust our maximum amounts and how many seconds before the end of an auction to bid. Bidnapper, a Web-hosted sniper at www.bidnapper.com, had a helpful tutorial on bidding strategy and bid increments, and a straightforward interface that allows users to see current and previous bids at a glance. After every auction Bidnapper sent an email to us explaining why we had lost, (usually the bid was too low,) or telling us that we had won. Although Bidnapper won two auctions against manual bidders, it failed to even register a bid when facing off against other test snipers. Silent Snipe, available for Mac (OS X) and Windows 98 and higher can be downloaded from www.silentsnipe.com. The program won one auction where the bidding was heated but, because of the time between each bid, appeared to be manual rather than automated bidding. It didn't fare well against our other snipers at auction. Auction Sniper, at www.auctionsniper.com, turned out to be the sniper to beat, winning three out of four auctions against our other snipers and charging only for the winning auctions. Logging in and entering auction information was quick and easy, but Auction Sniper also has a feature called Snipe It Now! that lets users install a button on their browser. When they find an item they want to bid on, Snipe It Now will automatically enter the item number in a pop-up box and set up the snipe automatically, making it the easiest sniper to use. Powersnipe, available from www.powersnipe.com, is both a Web-hosted sniper and downloadable browser tool for Mac and PC that will help you search eBay and collect auction information for sniping. Powersnipe won one out of four auctions against our other snipers. Powersnipe had the simplest interface, but under previous auctions that were not won, no reason was listed so it was hard to know if we were underbidding or bidding late. The last Web-hosted sniper we tried, Phantom Bidder, is available at www.phantombidder.com and works with eBay Motors as well as all international eBay sites except Korea. Phantom Bidder offers two pricing plans, a monthly fee for unlimited bidding or bid credits that can be bought and are only used up when an auction is won. Although Phantom Bidder has some helpful features, like a Black List option that remembers sellers that users have had bad experiences with, it didn't win any auctions against our other snipers. Our experience taught us that snipers can be helpful for bidders who are managing a lot of auctions close together, and for those bidding in an auction that ends when they can't be online. Write to cranky (AT) wsj (DOT) com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEB SITE PRICE OPERATING SYSTEM AUCTION COMPATIBLE COMMENT auctionsniper.com Three free auctions then 1% of each winning auction, up to a cap of $9.95 Platform independent. eBay The most consistently successful, and made it easy to manage multiple bids. bidnapper.com One year unlimited service, $46.95 or 10 winning snipes, $19.95 Platform independent. eBay and Yahoo auctions Archived complete auction info so users can track favorite sellers. phantombidder.com $9 a month to subscribe or $6 for 10 bid credits. Platform independent. eBay, eBay Motors and international eBay sites (except Korea) Black List feature avoids preset sellers in individual auctions and bid groups. powersnipe.com One-year subscription $59.99 Platform independent U.S. and international eBay sites. It didn't let us change timing of the bid to make it closer to auction's end. silentsniper.com $19.95 to download version 2.0 Mac OS X and Windows 98 and higher. U.S., U.K. and German eBay sites Sign-in screen opened behind the auction-management tool, causing confusion at first.
I love Sniper programs. I have used several of them. HARVEX is in my opinion the best. http://www.xellsoft.com/HarvEX.html You control the software and bids. Not a percentage of purchase deal. Fair pricing and free updates for two years. AND I win lots of auctions. Sniper software will NOT let you win If someone else is willing to pay more than you. Just keeps people from following your bidding and then buying it out from under you. It may not be for everyone. But I won things while I was on vacation...and at my price. Just my .02 worth on the subject. Jim ----- Original Message ----- From: Dan Drury To: CARMEMORIES Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 7:48 AM Subject: When 'Snipers' Do Your Online Bidding for You I thought you guys might find this interesting...... When 'Snipers' Do Your Online Bidding for You By HANNAH KINNERSLEY January 5, 2006; Page D3 If you've ever lost out in an online auction at the last moment, chances are you were sniped. That is, the winning bid was probably placed by so-called sniping software and the actual bidder might have signed off hours earlier. Sniper software isn't illegal and it has developed a following among online bidders. But the practice isn't encouraged by auction sites such as eBay and Yahoo. The main advantage is that a sniper can enter the bid data faster than most people can type, allowing a bid to be placed at the last second after all other bids have been set. Snipers also make it unnecessary for the bidder to be physically present at the time of the bid -- a big bonus if the auction for your desired item ends at midnight, Pacific time, and you live in New York. There are two main types of snipers: Web-hosted ones that require users to log in, and downloadable software that manages bids and snipes on a user's computer. Web-hosted snipers work with any operating system and have a reliably fast Internet connection, a step up for bidders still accessing the Web from dial-up connections. Snipers can be preprogrammed to bid at the latest moment, and automatically synchronize with eBay's clock. And because bidders can input the item number and bid amount at any point before the end of the auction, they don't need to be online, or even have their computer on, at the time of the bid. Users enter their maximum bid and the sniper will bid in increments up to that amount. The drawback of Web-hosted snipers is that unlike a one-time purchase for a piece of software, users pay either a monthly fee, a set fee for each bid, or a percentage of each win when they use it. For regular eBay users the costs can add up. Prices for sniper software range from $14.95 to around $50. For users nervous about giving out information online, it can be preferable to a Web-hosted sniper, which requires your eBay user name and password. The software, however, will only be as fast as the bidder's Internet connection, and when eBay changes any part of its auction software, sniping software will often require an upgrade or patch. To find the best bet for successful bidding, we tested five snipers for ease of use, and in a nail-biting grand finale had them bid against each other in four auctions to see if we could find a consistent winner. All the auctions were for girls' party dresses, and each one ended at 10-minute intervals over the course of an evening. This gave us time to adjust our maximum amounts and how many seconds before the end of an auction to bid. Bidnapper, a Web-hosted sniper at www.bidnapper.com, had a helpful tutorial on bidding strategy and bid increments, and a straightforward interface that allows users to see current and previous bids at a glance. After every auction Bidnapper sent an email to us explaining why we had lost, (usually the bid was too low,) or telling us that we had won. Although Bidnapper won two auctions against manual bidders, it failed to even register a bid when facing off against other test snipers. Silent Snipe, available for Mac (OS X) and Windows 98 and higher can be downloaded from www.silentsnipe.com. The program won one auction where the bidding was heated but, because of the time between each bid, appeared to be manual rather than automated bidding. It didn't fare well against our other snipers at auction. Auction Sniper, at www.auctionsniper.com, turned out to be the sniper to beat, winning three out of four auctions against our other snipers and charging only for the winning auctions. Logging in and entering auction information was quick and easy, but Auction Sniper also has a feature called Snipe It Now! that lets users install a button on their browser. When they find an item they want to bid on, Snipe It Now will automatically enter the item number in a pop-up box and set up the snipe automatically, making it the easiest sniper to use. Powersnipe, available from www.powersnipe.com, is both a Web-hosted sniper and downloadable browser tool for Mac and PC that will help you search eBay and collect auction information for sniping. Powersnipe won one out of four auctions against our other snipers. Powersnipe had the simplest interface, but under previous auctions that were not won, no reason was listed so it was hard to know if we were underbidding or bidding late. The last Web-hosted sniper we tried, Phantom Bidder, is available at www.phantombidder.com and works with eBay Motors as well as all international eBay sites except Korea. Phantom Bidder offers two pricing plans, a monthly fee for unlimited bidding or bid credits that can be bought and are only used up when an auction is won. Although Phantom Bidder has some helpful features, like a Black List option that remembers sellers that users have had bad experiences with, it didn't win any auctions against our other snipers. Our experience taught us that snipers can be helpful for bidders who are managing a lot of auctions close together, and for those bidding in an auction that ends when they can't be online. Write to cranky (AT) wsj (DOT) com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WEB SITE PRICE OPERATING SYSTEM AUCTION COMPATIBLE COMMENT auctionsniper.com Three free auctions then 1% of each winning auction, up to a cap of $9.95 Platform independent. eBay The most consistently successful, and made it easy to manage multiple bids. bidnapper.com One year unlimited service, $46.95 or 10 winning snipes, $19.95 Platform independent. eBay and Yahoo auctions Archived complete auction info so users can track favorite sellers. phantombidder.com $9 a month to subscribe or $6 for 10 bid credits. Platform independent. eBay, eBay Motors and international eBay sites (except Korea) Black List feature avoids preset sellers in individual auctions and bid groups. powersnipe.com One-year subscription $59.99 Platform independent U.S. and international eBay sites. It didn't let us change timing of the bid to make it closer to auction's end. silentsniper.com $19.95 to download version 2.0 Mac OS X and Windows 98 and higher. U.S., U.K. and German eBay sites Sign-in screen opened behind the auction-management tool, causing confusion at first.
