EZ sniper FAQ's

What is a snipe?

A snipe is a last-minute, or last-second auction bid.

Why should I snipe an auction?

To win auctions, and save money. Sniping blocks competitive bids, except by proxy. It prevents other bidders from discovering your proxy bid. It keeps your interest in an item private. It protects you from being shilled. And, it's fun. See what independent university studies have found about the effectiveness of sniping.

Do sellers or eBay object to last second bids?

No. In fact, sellers recognize that snipers are enthusiastic, knowledgeable buyers who commit to a maximum bid and use the proxy system. Buyers like to snipe because it gives them more control over the purchase and price. And eBay says, "It's perfectly fine to snipe", and, "Sniping is part of the eBay experience." The only people who don't like sniping are incremental bidders. And, sniper services help to level the playing field for bidders who want to snipe and have to go to work or get some sleep. We feel each bidder should be able to find the bidding style that works for them.

What is the best bidding strategy?

Bid the highest amount you think the item is worth, and let the proxy system and EZ sniper do their jobs. If you need more information, please go to our Tutorial page on Bidding Strategy, or check out our Bidding Tips.

What makes EZ sniper different than other auction snipers?

There are several differences between EZ sniper and other snipers. First, there are two kinds of auction snipers: software and online services. EZ sniper is an online service. There is nothing to download or install, no updating of the software required when you use EZ sniper. Your computer doesn't have to be on, or online, to use our service. Second, EZ sniper is better than other sniper services because of our advanced bidding application, system reliability, and customer support . And, EZ sniper is the only bidding service to offer your choice of commission service, flat-rate snipes, or subscriptions. Finally, EZ sniper is a great value. A fair price for a solid, easy-to-use website with many dandy features.

Why do I need to give my eBay user I.D. and password?

EZ sniper is not associated with eBay in any way. EZ sniper acts as your bidding agent. To do so, your username, password and email address must be in our database.

Is EZ sniper secure?

Submitting a bid with EZ sniper is as secure as doing it directly with eBay. No one else will ever use it or see it. Read more about security here.

What is your privacy policy?

Attorney/client...doctor/patient...EZ sniper/bidder. The information you provide will be kept in the strictest confidence. It will not be sold or distributed to third parties. And everything you bid on is between you and the seller. Read more about our privacy policy here.

What does EZ sniper cost?

EZ sniper costs as little as 10 cents per snipe, and that is only charged when you win your auctions. But EZ sniper offers other payment options. EZ sniper is the only bidding service to offer your choice of commission service, flat-rate snipes, or subscriptions. Get complete information on our Prices page.

What auctions does EZ sniper work on?

EZ sniper is optimized to work on all of the eBay general auction sites, eBay Motors and all eBay's international sites.

How does it work?

EZ sniper is synchronized precisely with the official eBay clock and is continuously monitoring the connection between our servers and eBay. When the optimum time to bid arrives, EZ sniper submits your bid. EZ sniper takes the guess work out of sniping.

Do you guarantee my bid will win?

Of course not. But we will submit your bid so that you have a better chance of winning. Enter a proxy bid for the most you think the item is worth and let EZ sniper do the rest.

How do I add an item to be sniped with EZ sniper?

There are two ways to add items to EZ sniper for sniping. First, after logging in with your username and password, you can copy the item number from eBay's site and paste it to EZ sniper in the designated space. Enter you maximum bid, and press "SNIPE". EZ sniper does the rest.

Or, Netscape and Internet Explorer users can add the Snapper icon to the browser interface. When you find an item you want on eBay, simply click the icon. EZ sniper's Snapper window opens on top of the eBay auction page. Snapper will have the item number already filled in. Just enter your username, password and maximum bid, then click "add". EZ sniper does the rest. It's a snap!

For international bidding, EZ sniper makes no currency conversions. Just bid in the currency of the auction. That means, if the auction is in GBP's, you should value your bid in GBP's. The currency of the auction is the bold number displayed on the auction page. Any other value there is for your convenience. For example, if you are looking at a UK auction by way of the eBay US auction site, you might see a conversion into USD's. That conversion is only there for your convenience. Value your bid in GBP's. Also, do not enter any other characters other than numbers and a single decimal. DO NOT ENTER a comma, USD's, CAD'S, $, �, i, �, or anything other than the numbers of your bid with the single decimal in the proper place. All additions, deletions, and changes to your Pending Auctions list must be done prior to six minutes before the end of the auction.

If you need more information, please go to our Tutorial page on bidding or check out our Trouble Shooting pages.

Bidding in my auction is not in US dollars. Will EZ sniper work for me?

EZ sniper works with any currency. Just enter numerals, a decimal, then two numerals. Your bid will be interpreted in the auction's currency whether it's USD's, GBP's, EUR's or any other currency.

EZ sniper makes no currency conversions. The currency of the auction is in bold type. Don't be confused by the conversion in smaller type that eBay provides. It is only there as a courtesy to help you value your bid. Do not enter any other characters other the numbers of your bid and a single decimal. Do not enter USD's, CAD'S, $, �, i, �, or any other currency-related characters. Do not enter a comma anywhere in the number, even if bidding in Euros. They will result in errors in your bidding. Enter only numbers and a single decimal in the appropriate place. Because you are entering only numbers and a single decimal, your bid is not any particular currency, and allows us to bid in any currency on any of eBay's international sites. Confirm your bid is correct in the listing that appears immediately after you click the SNIPE! button.

If you need more information, please go to our Tutorial page on bidding in international currencies.

Will my bid be raised to just beat the previous high bidder or will EZ sniper bid everything?

In most cases your bid will be adjusted one bidding increment above the previous high bidder. EZ sniper uses the proxy system to bid just enough to make you the winner, up to your maximum bid. In reserve auctions, that may mean raising your bid more than one bid increment to meet the reserve. The proxy system is not used on Dutch auctions in which there is more than one of the same item up for bid. So, when EZ sniper submits your bid on Dutch auctions only, eBay will apply their rules for this type of auction, and it may means the full amount of your bid is used.

How do I delete or change a bid?

From your EZ sniper auction list, simply press the DELETE button on the bid listing to eliminate that auction. To change a bid, click the CHANGE BID button. All additions, deletions, and changes must be done prior to six minutes before the end of the auction.

If you need more information, please go to our Tutorial page on how the 'My Auctions' page functions.

What happens if two people are sniping the same auction?

If two people are sniping the same auction then the highest bid will win. If they bid the same amount the first bid to reach eBay will win the auction.

I forgot my username or password. What can I do?

Click the "Forgot Login?" link in the upper right corner of the homepage. Enter your email address on the page that opens. Your username and password will be emailed to you.

How do I change my username, password or e-mail address on EZ sniper?

Click the appropriate 'Change' link in the upper right corner of the homepage for a simple interface to make the changes.

How do I set the time before the auction close when my bid will be submitted?

The adjustment to the bidding interval is on you My Account page. The default setting is about 5 seconds. We do not recommend a bidding interval any shorter than that, and there may be good reasons to have a longer bidding interval. Check out our Bidding Tips page for more information.

What do the terms mean that I see on my auction page and archive?

The status of your bid changes as the auction progresses until you get the final response to your bid. These are the status reports you will see, and what they mean.

Pending - your bid is in the database awaiting the end of the auction.
Queued - EZ sniper is preparing to submit your bid.
Won - Congratulations!
Done - The auction is over, all necessary follow up is complete.
Bid Too Low - Your bid was lower than the minimum bid when it was submitted.
Reserve - The auction's reserve was not met.
BIN - The auction ended with eBay's® Buy It Now feature.
Early - The auction ended early. Refer to the auction page.
Late - The bid was submitted, however it arrived or was confirmed after EOA.
Error - The bid was submitted, but an interruption prevented the bid from being accepted.
Password - Login information was incorrect.
Blocked - The user is barred from this seller's auctions.

If you need more information, please go to our Tutorial page on Bid Responses.

I didn't win the auction. What went wrong?

Probably nothing. Usually when an EZ sniper user doesn't win, bidding just went past the maximum the user set. Sometimes the difference between the current high bid and the user's maximum bid is less than the minimum bid increment and EZ sniper is unable to bid. Occasionally the seller ends the auction early. There are a variety of outcomes that will result in not winning an auction. Just click the bid response button on your bid listing to get more information.

If you need more information, please go to our Tutorial page on Bidding Strategy, or check out our Bidding Tips.

I bid more than the winning price. Why did I lose?

Usually it is because your bid was below eBay's minimum bid increment. There is a sliding scale of minimum bid increments, and they are different for each currency. The increments increase as the bidding gets higher. Each currency has its own scale of bidding increments. Find out more about the increments using these links:

For USD's
For GBP's
For EUR's
For AUD's
For CAD's

What is EZ sniper's Contingency feature?

Select this feature to automatically cancel bids on later auctions after you have won an earlier one. This way you don't win more auctions than you want.

Who should I contact if I have problems or questions?

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