[LMB] AKICOT:L - eBay bidding

[James]

Actually, the term is "sniping". The program I use is JBidWatcher, and
I suggest you use that too. First, it's free (both meanings), and
second, it works.

Sniping is basically the art of bidding at the last minute. The
problem with eBay proxy bids is that you get people who "test" how
high you're willing to go on an item. The best strategy, if you don't
want to use a sniping program, is to monitor the auction (and several
similar items), and only bid near the end. If you bid days in advance,
all it takes is someone more desperate to bid. They'll just bring up
the bid until they feel they can't spend any more, or beat you. The
only way to beat snipers is to bid higher or snipe yourself (i.e., bid
in the last hours with your absolute maximum).

And of course, don't feel bad if you don't win.

Personally, I use JBidWatcher. First, I'll never spend more getting
into a crazy bidding war since I only bid once with my bid revealed at
the very end. If someone out bids, they win, and I go on. Sucks for
rare and collectible items, but it's eBay. Eventually it'll come
around again.

And you don't need to set your computer clock with JBidWatch - the
program actually will talk to a time server itself and maintain an
offset between your computer's time and the server's time. You'll
notice it's usually a few seconds off compared to your computer's
time. (I find it's only around 1-2 seconds from the eBay time, which
is good enough. You never snipe shorter than 5 seconds before the end
unless you're really daring. I use 6 seconds, which gets me near the
end even if the clock drifts 5 seconds, as well as the time in making
the bid - it could take a few seconds to do that as well!).