Ebay is a fabulous resource for so many people. Not only can you find almost anything, but you can usually get it a whole lot cheaper. Usually.
There are, of course, many ways for the savvy shopper to turn that ‘usually’ into an ‘always’ and in the case of Ebay, it’s sniping an auction using Bidnip.com.
So, what is sniping? Well, it’s a nasty word but the explanation is simple. In a regular Ebay auction you place a bid (up to your max) and Ebay will bid on your behalf up to that amount. If other parties are interested in that item, you get into something called a bidding war. And for the frugal shopper, that’s your basic nightmare. The price rockets, and before you know it, you’re almost paying the cost of retail. Ouch.
With sniping, you place a bid on a proxy client, like bidnip.com , stating the maximum amount you want to pay and the time you’d like the bid to be placed. I usually choose 3 seconds before the close of the auction. Then, you sit back and relax. As far as Ebay is concerned, you haven’t yet placed a bid. You bid doesn’t appear in the system. Thus, no bidding war. And 3 seconds before the close of the auction, your bid sneaks in at the last second and you pay a whole lot less for it than on a regular Ebay auction. The opposing bidder has no time to place a new bid on the item and bingo, it’s all yours.
Sneaky? Well, yes. But this technology is out there for everyone, so I’m certainly not the only one using it. I recently won an auction for 99 cents, on an item that usually goes for $20-$25. How much does it cost to snipe an auction? Just 25 cents per snipe, and ONLY if you win the auction. If you lose (and it can happen, but it’s very rare) then you don’t use a snipe credit. And on average, you’ll save around 25-35% on every auction.
Bidnip.com gives everyone 5 free snipes when they open an account, and it’s free to sign up and use. No credit card details, none of that hassle at the start. Once you’re happy with the service, you just buy extra snipes and add them to your account. Easy.
Do yourself a big favor, and learn the art of sniping. It’ll save you a ton of money, and you can avoid the bidding wars forever. Happy sniping.
