Actually, I'm one. Snippers use automated clients to bid for them. Costs pennies to do. You buy "lots" of bid capability and use them for whatever you want, one by one.
I've been a very happy sniper for quite a few years. Originally it just meant not bidding until the last moment. But pretty much anymore, I can't see the point in that. Makes you hover over your auction.
I use Bidnapper. I put the auction number I'm interested into Bidnapper and it follows it for me. I can see from my Bidnapper page what the current bid is, and if my bid won't win it, I can shrug and let it go or change my secret bid. No one knows I'm even interested in the auction. I automatically appear within the last few seconds from out of the blue.
The goal of sniping is actually the opposite of paying more than you're willing to pay, to get it at the lowest price possible and still win, rather than by putting an exorbitant amount in and clobbering everyone -- which would probably beat all the snipers anyway, since they weren't trying to pay an exorbitant amount. I put in what I'm willing to pay and no one sees anything. I win or I don't, but it allows me to walk away and let what happens, happen. I don't have to pay attention to it.
By contrast, simply putting a large amount in eBay and letting eBay bid for you 1) jacks up the price too high as people try to "fish" for your highest bid and 2) doesn't let you lower or cancel your bid without a lot of explaining.
If another sniper has his/her eyes on the auction, too, and is lurking robotically, whoever of us had the highest amount typically will win. I say "typically," because if it's still going back and forth, it may end before all the snipers clients have gone their full amount. But I can't lose because of a slow server on my end or my shaky fat fingers. It goes flick-flick-flick back and forth by itself in the last couple of seconds. Anyone with their hand on their keyboard doesn't really have a chance. I'll get the usual eBay email telling me I won, or that I lost.
The beauty for me is, I can make one auction contingent on others. If I win one, the others disappear. And I can change bids up to the last moment if I want. Or cancel. eBay never knows unless I leave a bid active through close of auction.
If this is old news for everyone and I look like an idiot for describing it in such detail, sorry for that. I just thought, maybe someone didn't know? They might not know what we're talking about? Well, if there were anyone who didn't know, now you see what is probably happening when you lose an auction if you aren't a sniper yourself?
I've been a very happy sniper for quite a few years. Originally it just meant not bidding until the last moment. But pretty much anymore, I can't see the point in that. Makes you hover over your auction.
I use Bidnapper. I put the auction number I'm interested into Bidnapper and it follows it for me. I can see from my Bidnapper page what the current bid is, and if my bid won't win it, I can shrug and let it go or change my secret bid. No one knows I'm even interested in the auction. I automatically appear within the last few seconds from out of the blue.
The goal of sniping is actually the opposite of paying more than you're willing to pay, to get it at the lowest price possible and still win, rather than by putting an exorbitant amount in and clobbering everyone -- which would probably beat all the snipers anyway, since they weren't trying to pay an exorbitant amount. I put in what I'm willing to pay and no one sees anything. I win or I don't, but it allows me to walk away and let what happens, happen. I don't have to pay attention to it.
By contrast, simply putting a large amount in eBay and letting eBay bid for you 1) jacks up the price too high as people try to "fish" for your highest bid and 2) doesn't let you lower or cancel your bid without a lot of explaining.
If another sniper has his/her eyes on the auction, too, and is lurking robotically, whoever of us had the highest amount typically will win. I say "typically," because if it's still going back and forth, it may end before all the snipers clients have gone their full amount. But I can't lose because of a slow server on my end or my shaky fat fingers. It goes flick-flick-flick back and forth by itself in the last couple of seconds. Anyone with their hand on their keyboard doesn't really have a chance. I'll get the usual eBay email telling me I won, or that I lost.
The beauty for me is, I can make one auction contingent on others. If I win one, the others disappear. And I can change bids up to the last moment if I want. Or cancel. eBay never knows unless I leave a bid active through close of auction.
If this is old news for everyone and I look like an idiot for describing it in such detail, sorry for that. I just thought, maybe someone didn't know? They might not know what we're talking about? Well, if there were anyone who didn't know, now you see what is probably happening when you lose an auction if you aren't a sniper yourself?
