What Snipe Lead Time Should I Choose?

When you choose your lead time, remember that the high snipe always wins, as long as you meet the minimum bid increment.

Rule of thumb: The more important an item is to you, the higher the lead time you should use, with a max of 6-7 seconds. The higher price of the item, the more likelihood of a tie, which means you want your bid to come in later.

At low-dollar values, the MBI doesn't matter much. But at higher-dollar items over 1000 (in any currency), you always want your bid to be first. Yes, that is right.. you want the bid to be earlier!

So, the lead time is only relevant when there is a tie situation (or close to a tie). In this case, you actually want your bid to come in earlier.

At low-dollar values, the MBI doesn't matter much. But at higher-dollar items over 1000 (in any currency), you always want your bid to be first. Yes, that is right.. you want the bid to be earlier!

The distance from our servers to eBay doesn't matter, as we place each snipe from multiple locations.

There is a good example of this situation posted on our minimum bid increment help page.