How Can I "Bulletproof" My Snipes?

Take these steps to increase your success rate dramatically.

For Your eBay Account

• Ensure that your eBay authorization is valid.
• Ensure that you do not have more than 2 Unpaid Item Strikes in one year.
• Ensure that you have a feedback rating of at least 10.
• Ensure that you are not using a PO BOX for delivery.
• Ensure that you have a PayPal account in case sellers require it.
• Ensure that your PayPal account is linked to your eBay account.
• Ensure that you have confirmed your primary PayPal address in case sellers require it.
• Ensure that you have a credit card on file with eBay in case sellers require it.
• Ensure that, if you changed your eBay password, you have logged into our site at least once since the change.

For Each Snipe

• You accounted for the minimum bid increment.
• You bid high enough to beat any proxy bids that may be waiting.
• You selected an appropriate lead time for the auction value and activity level.
• You did not win another item in the same Bid Group.
• You did not get blocked by the seller by asking obvious or silly questions, and were not argumentative.
• Item does not have a reserve price.
• Item is not a Buy It Now where you bid too high; overbids on BIN's are rejected by eBay.
• The seller allows more than one purchase per buyer (if you bought from them previously).
• The seller ships to your country.
• The seller did not end the item early.
• The listing is not an Immediate Payment listing.
• The listing does not have country-based export regulations.
• The seller ships to PO Boxes (if you are using one).
• The listing is not private auction (blocked to general public).

Note: Rapid or high-value activity may prompt eBay to pause more purchases or bids on your account. If you're bidding on many items in a short period, consider spacing out your activity.

See Also

• Why Did I Lose? My Bid Was Higher
• What's the Best Lead Time?
• All Known Status Messages