peppermint

I was reading on the board regarding bidding on E-bay. There was a web site that bids for you and I don't remember the name. If there is, how safe is it.
I was watching a sewing machine and it was down to the last min and all of a sudden there was another bid. I was wondering if they had help from the web site.

AlwaysQuilting

Probably. It's called "sniping". There are several websites that can snipe on ebay.
You can Google "ebay sniping" and will see several.
I've never used them so I can't tell you anything about them.

KarenR

Just wait to bid until the end.

clauskr

It's sniping. I did it once a long time ago when I really wanted something - actually twice. Once I won and once I lost. There really isn't any danger that I can see. You put in your highest allowable bid and it will bid up to there. It seemed to do a good job of keeping it low. I think on the one I lost, it was at a bid higher than my high bid. I don't recall the website but I found it through googling.

amma

What is the difference between putting in an amount in ebay for the most you are willing to bid, and using one of these other programs? Doesn't ebay keep increasing your bid until it reaches the amount you have entered?

ssgramma

Yes! Just put in your MAX bid and it will stop when no one bids higher than you. So, you get it for often much less than what you are willing to pay.

MTS

I use:
http://esnipe.com/

Some advantages:
If you want to bid at the last minute, then you don't have to stay up until 3AM groggily poised over your machine watching the clock go down 8 seconds, 7 seconds, 6 seconds. etc. until the auction ends.

By putting a proxy bid in on eBay during the listing, you're actually encouraging clueless bidders (and there are a lot of them) to keep bidding up your proxy. So it's entirely possible that you'll be paying more than you would have if you just kept silent and out of it, and came in at the last second or two.

You possibly could still be outbid (and often will be) with a snipe by a higher snipe, or even someone's proxy that will go up when your snipe bid hits the system.

But if you put in your HONEST highest-you're-willing-to-spend amount for the widget, then it's gonna end however it's gonna end.

kraftykimberly

www.bidnip.com is a good one if you wanted to go that route. I've gotten lots of items using them, works great by getting in a bid in the last second or two. if you put in bids early on ebay, that gives ample time for other bidders to run up the bid to your max. good luck with your bidding. hope you get some deals.

countrycottage

I usually just put in my top bid and let it go. I DON"T trust my memory. I've been know to wait til the last few hours to bid, then forget about it and lose to someone with a bid lower that I was willing to pay.

Lacelady

The free sniping co. I have bid through will bid up to the last 10 seconds. If I was willing to pay a fee, they bid to the last 3 seconds. In other words, I could be out bid by a higher bid before the last 10 secs., or by another bidder who pays their fee and her bid would be placed just after mine.

I have won quite a few like this wheras beforehand I lost quite a lot after the last 30 secs because I couldn't get another bid in quickly enough.. The snipe company informs me if my bid has been successful, then I go ahead and pay as usual.