Don't know about tools i do it the old fashioned way and try and get in the last bid, doesn't always work. It did on Accidental Tourist this week. And at home I use a dial up connection. I was stunned I pulled off that one. But then again, I lost out on Die Hard and Predator recently because of a lack of high speed access at home, so maybe it balances out.

Gary
NP at home Saturn3, in the car Extreme Prejudice expanded.

ragar01, September 28, 2006; 7:27 PM

Am I missing something here ...?

I, too, have attempted to win in the last few seconds so am as guilty as others but when it comes down to it, surely it's a case of how much you are willing to bid.

If you want an item for a set value - and no more - then that has to be your bid. To sit waiting for the last few seconds hoping you get a bid in slightly higher than the others only leads to you bidding more than you really wanted to - very dangerous.

Or ... am I missing something?

Mitch, September 28, 2006; 7:34 PM

I seems kind of risky since one might end up paying much more than they intended in the first place or for what the item is really worth. The old fashioned way is best and more fun!

serifiot, September 28, 2006; 8:45 PM

I didn't know that sniping activities are illegal on ebay? Sometimes the problem is with the different time zone, if the end of the auction is 3am my local time, that means I will have to stay awake!

matngkl, September 29, 2006; 12:55 PM

Also the connection speed its very very important.

Happend with me in the past, I placed a bid in the last 5 seconds, but the bid page was too late to reload, and I couldnt get the confirmation of my bid, and the auction ended without process it.

Unfortunelly, there is no good method rather to do this, and hope the page goes fine in the process.
Also you can put your payroll of two months about a minute before the acution ends, but well.....its a hard living for the soundtrack collectors!!!

nicolas28, September 29, 2006; 3:44 PM

There are some steps one can take before they bid. It simply takes a little bit of organizing on one's part and an alarm clock if the auction ends in the early morning hours and of course a fast internet connection speed with a reliable provider who does not decide to shut down during the last minutes of the auction.

This happened to me not that long ago as I was getting ready to bid on a brand new and sealed Psycho II by Jerry Goldsmith.
I was really determined to win the damn soundtrack no matter what but unfortunately my provider decided to have a coffee break during the end of the auction and I missed it.
It sold for USD$80.00 or something like that which made it even more painful since it is an awfully great price for this cd in this condition!

DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!

I just wanted to share that with you guys and get it off my chest!... Thank you!!

If I only had known of this sniper tool business shearer0973!

Anyway, enough said...

I just chatted with Jennifer, an eBay customer service representative and as far as sniper tools, no they are not illegal and it is not against eBay's policy to use one but it is not recommended by eBay for the obvious reasons of inflated auction bids one might encounter.
It is better to place a maximum affordable bid of choice and let eBay do the rest or play the war biding games oneself which can be aggravating and nerve wracking at times!

Perhaps this Psycho II opportunity for this psycho S.C. fellow member might pop up down the road once more but for now I'll let it go and perhaps settle for a brand new great sounding old fashioned LP.

serifiot, September 29, 2006; 4:31 PM

They're not illegal but it seems unfair for those who can't get one!:-(
I have Psycho if interested. Excellent condition.

rubyZ, September 30, 2006; 7:30 AM

I am really tempted to sign up for one of these auctioning tools, it's going to save me some money to avoid unnecessary bidding war with others. Apparently there are two different type of tools, one is using a web server (where you don't need to keep your pc on), the other are those that you set a price but have to keep your pc on for the bid to be placed at the last seconds.

matngkl, October 1, 2006; 1:21 AM

I don't use sniper tools. Somehow I managed to win without such tools auctions for both Die Hard and Predator as well as Pihrana and The Bride. Filling 4 of the 7 holes in my Varese Club collection.

Can't wait to listen to those 4.

Currently listening to in the car The Professionals by Jarre and at home How The West Was Won by Newman (the 2 cd Ryko release)

Gary

ragar01, October 2, 2006; 2:02 PM

I have the oldest dial up connection on earth and frequently (about 90%) win the auctions I set out to win. I find it most often boils down to the purchase price. You have to decide how much that particular piece of music is worth to you personally. You have to throw out the factors of collectors value or resale value. I buy what I like for me. If I get it home and don't like it, I resell it. Sometimes I lose money, sometimes I don't. Bottom line, I got to hear that music and decide if it had a place in my collection. I go high on what I want intending for last minute bids, and I am comfortable on my bid. If it goes over, then I am content knowing I didn't pay too much (and usually other ones will come around). If I get it for less, then yippee! :)

Kim

emt8134, October 2, 2006; 7:08 PM

An eBayer registered as fsfsf obviously uses them. I have had the high bid in many an auction where his bid kicks in with precisely 3 seconds left and snipes my bid. Sometimes other snipers get in there too with last minurte bids, and fsfsf outsnipes them too, unless they bid really high. He must be a dealer, because he buys many of the same titles repeatedly. No one could so consistently get in a bid with precisely 3 seconds left without using sniping software.

I'm not aware of eBay objecting to sniping software. After all, their goal is to sell items at the highest possible price, so why should they object? eBay is providing a service to sellers, not to buyers (sellers pay all the fees). We can grumble and curse about it to ourselves, and I do, but technicallywhat is wrong with it? It's an auction, not a lottery, so it may be aggravating but it is not unfair.

betenoir, October 3, 2006; 9:31 PM

Yeah man, I have been "stung" by fsfsf also many times.

matngkl, October 4, 2006; 1:03 PM

I dont get stung by anyone. When I bid, its the highest I will pay up front. If someone bids more, good for them. I cant believe that people would screw around with a computer until the last 5 seconds. Put in your maximum folks, and then dont worry about it. If everybody did that there wouldnt be a need for sniping software.

dspin24358, October 11, 2006; 3:44 AM

I often snipe on ebay (I use www.consumersniper.com) and don't see anything wrong with it - never had any problems with the safety side of things.

I don't feel it's unfair ether - sniping doesn't magically make you win, the person who is prepared to bid the most still wins. Sniping does take advantage of people who don't fully appreciate the ebay proxy bidding system though.

So use a sniping service if you want, or just bid your maximum bid straightaway

pcs, June 5, 2009; 3:46 PM

SORRY Guys- Sniping should be and probably is illegal but NO ONE cares. Just like no one really cares about anything but their own ass. I have found that no matter how much you may want to bid for and win a particular item that has snipers on it, like high valued stuff (art for ex.), the stakes go higher and higher.
The biddder does not have a chance/time to increase a bid when the auction is ending because you are competing with a software/server-a robot!!! So how is that not a dumb waste of time!!!! How can you bid when the sniper software ROBS YOUR TIME? How about fairness? Forget about that !How is that not stupid? To make it fair:Everyone should have free snipers offered to them by ebay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If there is cheating, then everyone should know and be allowed to cheat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The whole idea behind an auction is that transparency. Otherwise, why call it an auction? Come on guys. TIME IS the only commodity we have. I am new to this but not stupid.
E-bay sucks!!!!They are forcing us to play dirty because that is what is easiest for THEM.... Either play dirty or don't play because we live in a world of lawlessness? There is a choice. Don't play.But don't pretend it's ok.
The seller does not get more money necessarily but certainly those really low bids get ananonymously "taken care of" if you know what I mean. So the seller is no saint and protects himself too. Instead he/she should have a higher starting bid instead of playing dirty. Sorry the whole thing is dirty because both the sellers and buyers are playing the sniper game!!!! That is BULLSHIT because not revealing the rules of the game is the same as theft. THEFT OF TIME!!!!!! Whoever thinks sniping is ok, is really DUMB and complacent. So click fraud is ok too? The whole thing makes me sick. I rather go to my own estate sales and be free of these sophisticated bullshit sellers!
I think we are in such trouble in this country because no one wants to do the right thing- let's go to the bars, drink and drive, We have already allowed multinationals to ROB our country from us. I can see why!!!! Sorry. I am so disgusted at us. At our narcissism and selfishness and greed. Now go the the bar. If you drink and drive I just hope you still have some brain cells left
to consider who you really are as a human being and why you are where you are!!!!!!! If I sound mad, I am.Disgusted at our complacency.

fidelityrealty, November 25, 2009; 12:31 AM