The (not so) Secret Life of an Auction Sniper

Why not so secret? Because more and more people are using snipers and it's driving me insane! What was once my domain, my all powerful weapon against the other bidders is now being used by just about everyone and their grannies.

If you're one of the uninitiated you might as well jump on the bandwagon. It's not use me keeping it quiet so here's the deal.

An auction sniper is a programme that bids on your behalf several seconds before the end of the auction. It bids in increments up to your max bid. You're thinking, "Big deal, I can do that." Yes, you can but no where near as fast as the bid sniper programme can.

So why don't I just use the auction's own auto bid tool? Because it auto bids every single time someone else bids. So the competition know that you're bidding and will continue to up their bids. It's a vicious cycle that will seriously inflate the final price.

The benefits of using a bid sniper are:

• Secrecy - you do not place a bid until the last few seconds so other bidders don't know you are competition.
• Reduces Inflation - because you haven't started bidding on the item way before the end of the auction other bidders aren't forced to up their bids, forcing you to up yours, and so on. Reduces Computer/Internet Connection Risk - have you ever been waiting for the last minute to bid only to have your computer crash or NTL turn off your internet connection at that exact moment (no joke, that is a real life story!).
• Solves Time Zone Problems - if you're bidding on an auction from an overseas seller chances are the end time will be in the middle of the night for you. Using a sniper means you don't have to get up at 4am to place the bid (another true story, are you starting to see why I use a sniper?).
• Reduces Bidding Frenzy - come on, we've all done it. You just can't stand to see someone else win that item and you don't care how much you have to pay, it will be yours!!! Using a sniper means you find the items you want, put them on the sniper with your max bid and then walk away. If you don't win it, you don't win it. No bid deal. It wasn't you who lost, it was the sniper, so who cares.

In short, an auction sniper will save you time and money. Now, where the heck do you find one?

I personally use BidNapper. That is not because it's the best, I honestly have no idea which is the best. BidNapper was the one I decided to use after a very brief look into snipers and I've stuck with it. As a serious online auction user, I have no complaints and am convinced it is worth the money. Having said that, if anyone knows of a sniper comparison I'd be happy to hear about it.

What happens if it's something you really, really, really, really want and you can't afford the sniper to lose it due to technical problems? Well, I have been using BidNapper for over a year and to my knowledge there has never been a technical problem that adversely affected one of my auctions. However, to avoid this hypothetical situation you could simply put the item on the sniper and ask a trusted friend to put it on their auction account at the last minute. This means you are in effect trying to outbid yourself but at least you're sure that one of you will get it (unless someone else is willing to pay more, of course).

If you want to try a sniper have a look at these sites. One thing to remember is that all of the snipers will require your Ebay login details in order to bid on your behalf. If you are not comfortable giving that information out then you shouldn't use a sniper.

• Aution Sniper - Web based tool, no download. Sniper for Ebay only. First 3 wins are free after which they charge a percentage of the final price.
• BidNapper - Web based tool, no download. First 10 days are free after which you can subscribe on a 1, 3, 6, or 12 basis (for hard core auction users) or buy 10 or 25 snipes (for the occasional users).
• Power Snipe - Requires a download. 30 money back guarantee with a yearly fee of US$45.99 (sale price, normal is US$59.99).
• Auction Stealer - Web based tool, no downloads. They offer a limited free service which allows you to snipe 3 items a week as well as a paid service with 1, 3, 6 and 12 month options.
• Auction Sentry - Requires a download. 10 day free trial. Standard edition costs US$14.99 and deluxe is $29.99 for the first year with a $9.99 yearly fee thereafter.
• Bidding Scheduler - Web based tool, no downloads. This is a completely free service.
• Auction Raptor - Web based tool, no downloads. 30 day free trial after which the cost is US$4.95 per month or US$52.95 for a year.
• Bid Solid - Requires a download. 10 day free trial after which there is a one time fee of US$19.95.
• EZ Sniper - Web based tool, no downloads. First three wins are free after which there is a 1% of final price charge up to a maximum of US$10. They have a price comparison chart http://www.ezsniper.com/compare.php3.