After you’ve placed bids on a few things on eBay, the chances are good that, at one point or another, you will be beaten at the last minute by an eBay sniper. While this can be an extremely frustrating experience (and while it’s a reportable offense on eBay), the administration at eBay rarely acts on the report.



Unfortunately, there’s only one way to beat the sniper: you need to become the sniper yourself. The great news, however, is that once you understand sniping, you can use these skills to win auctions at prices far lower than you would otherwise have thought possible.

Manual Sniping

Winning auctions through manual sniping is not very difficult. This is true especially if you have time to spare and a reasonably fast Internet connection. You must begin by writing down when each auction you are bidding on ends, and then make sure you’re sitting in front of the computer at the bidding page at the last possible minute. In this position, you will be able to outbid the current winning bidder or defend your own winning bid.

It’s important to remember that, for manual sniping, you must set your maximum bid very high. If you don’t, you may be automatically outbid and the auction will have ended before you can bid again.

In addition, it’s not possible to compete against someone who is using an automated sniping service. If the service is good, it will outbid you nearly every time. In the competitive world of online sniping, you’ll need to find a sniper of your own.

Automatic Sniping

Begin your search for an automated sniping service by typing the words, “eBay sniping� into your favorite search engine. You’ll find multiple online services that will snipe for you for a small fee. These services will often provide you with a free trial period, so it’s worth giving it a try.

There is also software available that will do your sniping for you. Such software can be purchased online in programs like iSnipeIt at http://www.isnipeit.com or SnipeRight at http://www.sniperight.com. The advantage to these programs is that you can pay for these once and use them for as long as you want. After you’ve installed the software on your computer, you will be able to enter which auctions you want sniped as well as the maximum amount you’re willing to pay. The software will then place the bid you requested whenever there are only a few seconds left in the auction. The primary disadvantage of this type of system is that you will need to leave your computer on for much of the time so that you don’t miss the end of your auctions.

A Sniping Alternative

If sniping in the ways described above seems too clandestine and unfair, there is another, less technical way to avoid sniping. You can simply email the seller and tell them that you were the victim of a last-minute sniper and really like the item. If the seller has another item to sell, they’ll often agree to sell it to you for the auction closing price.

The beauty of eBay is that it involves more than just bidding. The auction site offers a wide variety of tools to help you manage your auctions. Let’s take a look at these helpful tools in our next email.

About The Author:
For a collection of articles and resources about bidding on Ebay visit http://shopping-questions.com