Are the sniping websites safe and secure?

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I also use biddingscheduler.com and love it.

And yes all the services need your ebay password- how else would they be able to bid on your behalf if they can't access your account?
 
Guilty....I use auctionsniper too and have not had ANY issues with security or what-not. I won my latest Legacy satchel that way. I know it drives people who bid the regular way crazy to be sniped at the last minute, but sometimes a gals gotta do what a gals gotta do to get that dream bag! :p
 
I sometimes use a sniping program but here's the thing. If you enter the highest amount, whether it be in the auction or in a sniping program, you will win the item. The sniping people win because they enter a higher amount they are willing to pay from the get go. If you enter the highest you are wiling to pay (not what you hope to pay) then you may beat the snipers. Snipers win because they enter a high amount and then count on people not being able to re-enter a higher bid in the 6 seconds remaining in the auction.

Sometimes I snipe, sometimes not - it really depends on the auction.

eta i have not had any security problem with sniping programs. Plus (and someone correct me if I am wrong) but they need your user id and password in order to place the bid in your name
 
I use esnipe.com. I've never had a problem. I've won all my auctions with esnipe. And it kind of keeps me in check. I see the auction I put my highest bid in with esnipe and then I don't check the auction again. That way I'm not constantly making my bid higher and higher as I see the auction progress.
 
I sometimes use a sniping program but here's the thing. If you enter the highest amount, whether it be in the auction or in a sniping program, you will win the item. The sniping people win because they enter a higher amount they are willing to pay from the get go. If you enter the highest you are wiling to pay (not what you hope to pay) then you may beat the snipers. Snipers win because they enter a high amount and then count on people not being able to re-enter a higher bid in the 6 seconds remaining in the auction.


That's very true, but it's not the whole story, of course, because there is a massive problem with shill bidding (i.e. bidding up one's own items, or the items of a friend) on eBay.

Sniping doesn't stop a seller shill bidding before you snipe, to ensure they get the minimum they are willing to accept; but it does stop them nibbling up the price, after you have bid.

Sometimes they do this to try to find out your maximum bid and then they pretend that the 'winner' has dropped out and offer you a second chance offer for your maximum bid amount.

That's why you should never accept second chance offers.


Plus (and someone correct me if I am wrong) but they need your user id and password in order to place the bid in your name


Yes, also true. :yes:

They wouldn't be able to bid for you, if they didn't have your eBay details; including your password, to log into your account. :smile1:
 
I use biddingscheduler as well and I love it. My only problem is that sometimes I close the page before I click 'confirm bid' because I forget to do that when I'm in a rush (sometimes I do this when I'm on my way out if the auction is going to end before I can get to a computer)

I don't know about other sites but this one is free.
 
I use ESnipe and have had very good luck with them. You buy "points" from them (at a penny a point) and you have a balance of points in your account. ESnipe charges 25 points for auctions that end under $25, and a point-per-dollar for auctions over $25. So basically, 500 points will cover a $500 winning bid on an auction. When they win an auction for you, they just deduct the points from your account and show your balance.

Also, you can set the time you want ESnipe to check your auction to place an initial bid, and also the time to "swoop" in and snipe it at the end of the auction.

The other advantage to ESnipe is that it prevents that last minute "bidding up" where you end up paying $100 more for a bag than you wanted to because you got caught up in the fever of the auction.

~Nancy
 
Yes, please fill us in....I've been curious about that too...

Ebay always leaves me pissed off for that reason, and then I end up buying whatever it was at the store for full price to fulfill my sadness...awwww.:crybaby:

This just happened to me twice on Monday! I lost out on two pairs of Chanel shoes and a pair of Louboutins. I think sniping stinks, but unfortunately, is totally acceptable. It defeats part of the fun of the challenge (I am thinking of the Ebay commercials running now).
 
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