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Frequently Asked Questions


Need some help understanding how our eBay online auction software works? Here are the most common questions about our BidSlammer auction sniper Software.

How much does this cost? Are you really a free eBay sniping program?

   You may use it free indefinitely, but with a limitation of 1 scheduled at one time. There is also a bid maximum for free snipes of 1,000 (for all currencies). You may also use our Bidding Manager as much as you want, which means you can import your Watch List regularly. See our comparison table for more information.

Am I charged if I do not win a snipe??

   If you don't win, it is always free.

Do you bid the minimum amount necessary?

   Snipe bids are the same as proxy bids. That is, they work exactly as if you were doing the bid yourself "live" on eBay. As an example, let's say someone already bid $100. The price shows as $100. If you snipe $200, you will pay $100 plus the minimum increment (in this case, $1.50). Therefore you pay $101.50 although you sniped $200.

Helpful Tip: For auctions, eBay always calculates the price by taking the second-highest bid and adding a bid increment.

What are Bid Groups?

   Bid Groups let you bid on similar auctions to win only one item per group. Once you win an item in a group all remaining bids in that group are cancelled provided that the auctions are at least 5 minites apart. You can use Bid Groups to spread multiple bids around for similar items and help lower your purchase prices.

Does the sniper work with foreign currency?

   You don't do anything differently to bid for foreign auctions. Snipes are placed in the same units as the auction is listed. We also place the bid on your "home" site; for example, if you live in UK, we'll place the bids on eBay.co.uk. Also, our built-in search engine is tuned to automatically search your home eBay site.

Is sniping better than just submitting the bid myself?

   People usually bid more emotionally when they know someone else is interested. When you bid on an item, the public knows of your interest and the sense of competition heightens. When you outbid someone, they find out immediately and usually drive up the price. Monitoring the auction is stressful and time consuming. Why not let someone else do it?

Can I bid against myself?

   Contrary to popular belief, you can actually bid against yourself if another bidder comes in between you and your second bid. In other words, if you snipe an item with a proxy bid waiting, it is very likely another bidder will intervene and raise your price. If you insist on bidding both ways for a must-have item, contrary to our advice, then make sure you manually "snipe" close to the end about 10-15 seconds prior to closing, as opposed to several days before. This will minimize any pricing escalation. Also make sure you understand how timing matters in What Snipe Lead Time Should I Choose?

In this case you are much better off spending your time protecting against human error than you are worrying about the very-unlikely chance you would miss due to lag.

If someone else also has a snipe in on the item will I automatically be outbid?

   The highest bid always wins, as long as it is one bid increment higher than the next-highest bid. This rule supercedes all others. Read more about choosing sniping lead times and the Minimum Bid Increment.

For reserves, will you post only the minimum bid required to win?

   A bid will be placed at the minimum price needed to meet the reserve. Example: Starting bid is $50 with an undisclosed reserve of $100. Your maximum bid is $200. You will win for $100, if you are the only bidder.

Can BidSlammer help me manage my purchases?

   BidSlammer sort of doubles as a "My eBay", with one very cool improvement - we manage items you are planning on winning in addition to items already won.

Do you support all known browsers and platforms?

   BidSlammer has been tested by thousands of users of Windows, Macintosh (Intel/non-Intel), and Linux. You will need to have javascript enabled as well as pop-ups enabled for bidslammer.com.

Does BidSlammer require any software downloads or upgrades?

BidSlammer is completely web-based and will work with whatever browser you use and whatever computer you are on. So if you are on a Mac, PC, AOL, or even a PDA or cell phone, you'll be able to use BidSlammer products and services.

Is BidSlammer a better sniper than others?

   Any sniping service can place your bid near the close of the auction. What makes BidSlammer the best out there? Double-system Protection that fires two snipes at the same time from two locations. If one system fails, the other system executes the bid. A single system has a 99.9% success rate. Our second system raises it to a 99.98% success rate (only 1 miss every 50,000 snipes).

Do you support eBay UK or other eBay sites?

   BidSlammer supports all eBay sites, including sniping eBay Motors, sniping eBay.UK and eBay.de.

Can I change or remove my bid prior to closing?

   You can modify or delete your snipes 120 seconds (or more) before closing.

Can I track auctions without setting snipes for them?

   Set the bid amount to zero. The bid will be rejected by eBay but the auction closing information will be tracked. You can always update your minimum bid if you want to actively participate in the auction.

Are there security risks with BidSlammer?

  

BidSlammer uses 256-bit encryption (a truly secure site). Also our Privacy Policy is very strict.

Sniping Newsletters

Here is a list of newsletters we have written in the past.

Top 10 eBay Tips for Newbies
So you just a signed up for an eBay account. You've located several items that you might want to buy, but you aren't sure what to do. There are so many listings to choose from, and so much fine print. How can you possibly decide what to purchase?   click here

Is Sniping Ethical?
s sniping ethical? The term "sniping", when used in the auction industry, refers to the act of placing last-second bids on eBay, thereby masking your interest until it is too late for other people to bid.   click here

Using Sniping to fill a Collection
If you are like me, you rely on eBay to complete your collection. Here's a story about how I used a sniping service to complete a full collection of my favorites!   click here

Using Sniping for Reselling
I have been buying and re-selling on eBay since 1995. I have been with them through the changes and have learned quite a bit over the years, refining my tactics along the way. I would say that, each year, I get about 20% better than the year before.   click here

Using Sniping to Win Buy-It-Now Auctions for Cheap!
By Norman Kindle. There is a neat trick for legally "cheating" Buy-it-Now auctions, here is how to do it.   click here