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How do you ensure that your clock is synchronized with eBay's?
We synchronize with an atomic clock which calibrates our servers. We also monitor eBay's response times and compensate automatically. So rest assured that we are doing all we can and are giving you the highest chance of winning because of our automatic adjustments to compensate for eBay's current speed.
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Why do you require my eBay password?
Auction Sniper is not associated with eBay in any way. AuctionSniper acts as your bidding agent. In order to log into eBay to place your snipe, we must sign in using your username and password.
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How secure does my password need to be?
If you do not have a secure password, eBay may reject your bid when we place your snipe with a message saying: "Security Alert: The password you are using can be easily guessed by others....". For more information on creating a secure eBay password, please visit eBay's help page at http://pages.ebay.com/help/newtoebay/account_protection.html. Please note that if you change your password on eBay, you will need to update your password on Auctionsniper.
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Can I use my email address as my username?
eBay currently doesn’t allow for email addresses to be used as usernames: http://pages.ebay.com/help/newtoebay/user_id.html
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What are eBay bid increments?
Although subject to change at any time, this has been their increment structure for some time. This is straight from their (U.S.) site:
Current Price |
Bid Increments |
$0.01- - $0.99 |
$0.05 |
$1.00 - $4.99 |
$0.25 |
$5.00 - $24.99 |
$0.50 |
$25.00 - $99.99 |
$1.00 |
$100.00 - $249.99 |
$2.50 |
$250.00 - $499.99 |
$5.00 |
$500.00 - $999.99 |
$10.00 |
$1000.00 - $2499.99 |
$25.00 |
$2500.00 - $4999.99 |
$50.00 |
$5000.00+ |
$100.00 |
The higher increment takes effect when the price is greater than or equal to the start of the range. For example, a current price of $4.99 has a bid increment of $0.25, but $5.00 has a bid increment of $0.50.
Here are some links related to bid increments--
Increments
Bidding Overview
UK minimum bid increment
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Should I bid my maximum?
eBay will accept just the next increment over the previous bidder‘s max. Remember that eBay doesn‘t show a bidder‘s max, just the next increment needed over the previous bidder.
Or, we‘ll jump to a reserve. This would happen if you bid directly on eBay. We follow all eBay rules in bidding.
Another one to watch out for is bidding on all of a Dutch auction. eBay‘s minimum bid increments don‘t apply to those, and by bidding on all of an item (in a Dutch Auction) you become your own lowest bidder.
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How do I bid on Dutch Auction bids using Auction Sniper?
A Dutch Auction is where a seller has multiple items to sell, and you can buy 1 or more of them at a time.
If the highest winning bid was $200 for one and the lowest winning bid was $25 for 3 of them, the highest winning bidder pays $25 for his one, and the lowest winning bidder pays $25 each for his 3. All the winners pay the same price.
Which sounds great. Problem is, let's say our top winning bidder bid $200 each for all 10 of them, and the next bidder bid $25. Our winning bidder pays $200 for EACH of them: he was his own lowest bidder. So carefully think about this if you want all the items of a Dutch Auction!
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How do I bid using Auction Sniper on Reserve Auctions?
In a Reserve auction, the seller has placed a minimum bid he’s willing to take for the item. You will know this by the words Reserve met, or Reserve not met next to the current bid amount.
If your snipe meets the reserve, your bid will jump to that reserve. This happens the same way when you bid directly on eBay: we follow all eBay rules in bidding.
If your snipe doesn’t meet the reserve (and you were the last or highest bidder), eBay will only display the next increment over the previous bidder. They will not display your max.
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Why must I be verified on amounts higher than $15,000?
You must be verified by eBay on amounts of $15,000 or greater. Find out more:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/bidding-ov.html#bigtix
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What is The eBay System Announcement Board?
eBay has a system status board that tells you important information about their site and any problems or planned outages or maintenance:
http://www2.eBay.com/aw/announce.shtml
You should check here on any eBay site issues. As an experienced eBay’er and sniper, you should check here periodically. You should also be aware that this board does not show every minor problem or glitch in their system.
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Why does the picture not show up when the auction has a photo? (or)
Why is the picture on my Snipe page different than the picture on eBay?
Picture sizes vary greatly, and we can’t identify the specifications of each photo. Note that eBay doesn’t parse every picture either: generally if they can, we can. When they can’t, you’ll see a little camera denoting a picture is there, but unable for them to display it. Since we’re pulling the information from eBay, if they have a problem with it, we will too.
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What does eBay Germany’s ban on sniping mean?
eBay Germany has banned sniping from that site.
- Germans may not snipe eBay Germany auctions. There are potential repercussions, including account suspension.
- Germans may snipe any other non-German eBay site.
- It’s unlikely you have any recourse with eBay if you snipe an eBay Germany auction and the seller refuses to sell to you because you sniped.
- We encourage anyone in doubt concerning the eBay policy on this to explore the eBay Germany site to confirm this information.
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What is the eBay proxy system?
A proxy bid is eBay‘s system. Remember that eBay doesn‘t show the max amount in the bid, only the next increment needed over the previous bidder. So during an auction, the bid might show $23, but in fact that bidder’s max could be $100. Be sure to put your real max in your bid ---you won’t have time once the snipe fires to bid again!
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