photosensitive
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posted on November 25, 2003 04:26:06 PM new
Help me before I snipe again...manually snipe, I mean. I missed an item I really wanted today when the shopping expedition for Thanksgiving supplies went longer than I expected. (It is not easy to find everything you need for an Atkins-legal Thanksgiving dinner!) This is the last straw. I thought it was bad when I got up at 4:00 a.m. to snipe a UK auction or when I cancelled my physical therapy appointment for a snipe but I may never see the widget I missed today again.
I am seeking a good snipe program to use with a Mac (yes there really are people using a Mac). Some I found specify Windows only and some seem so convoluted and complex that I don't understand how the price structure works. I don't bid often so the flat rate programs seem too expensive. I also am a little leery of giving my eBay password to a company I don't know much about. These are the programs that seem to work with a Mac: eSnipe, SnipeSwipe, AuctionStealer, AuctionSniper, and CheapSnipes. Can anyone give me feedback on any of these snipe programs or on one that I missed.
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“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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docadoodle
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posted on November 25, 2003 04:43:41 PM new
I've been using Auction Sentry for a couple of months and love it. It is a free download for a seven day trial. After a couple of sucessful snipes I was sold and purchased the registered version for $14.95. It is worth every penny. A great program, reliable, easy to use, updates come regularly and your password is on your computer, not someone elses server.
Do a search on zdnet and read the reviews.
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photosensitive
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posted on November 25, 2003 04:50:52 PM new
Thanks, but Auction Sentry requires Windows so it won't work for my with my Mac.
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“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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max40
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posted on November 25, 2003 04:58:13 PM new
That's what you get for being a rebel. lol
Life is not a dress rehearsal
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lurkyloo
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posted on November 25, 2003 05:09:02 PM new
I have used vrane.com with great success, but they only allow one snipe at a time. I used to use another website, but I can't remember its name. Over a year ago (maybe two?) they started charging for snipes based on the ending price of the auction.
Edited to add that it might have been esnipe.com that I couldn't come up with before....
Not lurkyloo on eBay
[ edited by lurkyloo on Nov 25, 2003 05:12 PM ]
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neroter12
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posted on November 25, 2003 09:56:47 PM new
Photo,
If you are THAT into bidding to miss your appointments etc., what the heck are you acquiring?????????
I think you must need to have some mad wild crazy sex or something and forget about bidding...lol!
Kidding aside, I cant help with this subject although I've had a few buyers who promo some of the sniper programs and I always say I will try one, one of these days.....and I will - when I get caught up, so you will have to let me know  )
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Roadsmith
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posted on November 25, 2003 11:37:51 PM new
Like all the other sellers, I guess, I used to buy a lot of stuff on ebay until I started selling. Even now, I will bid on something I collect (wallpockets), but I almost never even try to snipe (was very good at it) because I've learned that there's always another identical item sooner or later. What I do now is to place a bid the last hour or two, if I'm home, or sooner if I'll be out, for the highest proxy I want to spend, and then forget about it. I got too caught up in sniping fever, adrenaline rush and all.
___________________________________
Junk: Stuff we throw away.
Stuff: Junk we keep.
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Japerton
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posted on November 26, 2003 12:46:06 AM new
LOL
I am glad I am not the only one who has set the alarm for 5am because some East Coaster fuh-gits about us sleepy westcoaster (night owls!)
Oh well.
I tried a service that gives you 30 days for free, then you pay a fee. I won an auction through it, but never followed through with the membership.
I love the "in the trenches" feel of a live auction, well as live as ebay gets...but then I sign up for live auctions just to watch, too!
J
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toolhound
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posted on November 26, 2003 02:04:42 AM new
I have used vrane.com for 2 years with no problems. You can set up one bid a day for free or for a fee as many as you want to bid on.
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glassgrl
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posted on November 26, 2003 04:39:26 AM new
I've used esnipe forever and since they changed over to having to pay a fee, they have gotten a LOT more consistent. I can't remember the last time one of my snipes didn't go through. And the $5.00 bidpoints seem to last me forever, so that isn't a drawback. I like having the esnipe open up with a right click on the auction page too.
My snipe time is three seconds. And it usually hits right on that. But a high proxy bid can still knock you out of the running.
(edited to add: I use a Snipe program because I forget to go back at the end of the auction and Bid!)
I LOVE Endicia! You will too – Click here!
[ edited by glassgrl on Nov 26, 2003 04:41 AM ]
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on November 26, 2003 06:08:00 AM new
Photosensitive,
Glad to see another Mac fan out there! There's some great shareware sniping programs out there right now. The one I've been using, with excellent success, is a program called JBid. It provides you with a lot of customizeable options. Of course... you'll need to have OSX and a constant internet connection. And of course... being freeware... it's FREE!!!! (one of the advantages of an operating system that is an advocate of open source coding!... try getting that from Windows!)Hope that helps!
[ edited by eauctionmgnt on Nov 26, 2003 06:09 AM ]
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on November 26, 2003 06:09:18 AM new
whoops... forgot to tell you where to get it... go to versiontracker.com (if you're not already familiar with this site... it's a great source for freeware!) and type in Jbid. It will pull up the results!
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photosensitive
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posted on November 26, 2003 07:31:54 AM new
Thanks all. I have been off line since last night when my DSL connection disappeared. This morning the help line said it was back on but of course we could not connect again without hanging on the phone for an hour, plugging and unplugging everything except the kitchen sink, and repeating incantations over the network! Thank goodness nothing was closing I needed to bid on!
Eauctionmgnt, I will look into JBid but it sounds like you snipe from your computer and I don't trust Verizon to keep the connection.
I had been looking with interest at eSnipe. Does anyone use it with a Mac?
Neroter12, we have been collecting several styles of widgets for over 30 years. We have most that are easy to find. Only occasionally do I see one we don't have and may never see again. There are other collectors of these widgets that are as crazy as we are (maybe crazier) so I don't bid too early.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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lurkyloo
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posted on November 26, 2003 08:04:26 AM new
Photo,
Vrane and esnipe are both websites, NOT programs that you download onto your computer, so it'll work with Windows, Mac, Linux, etc. You simply enter your eBay ID and password into their website, and they take care of the snipe for you. You don't have to have your internet connection active or even have your computer on. The only drawback is that you're giving someone else your eBay password, but I've never had a problem with it so far. If you're concerned about security but still want the convenience of using these websites, set up a new buyer ID to use when you snipe, and if that account ever gets hijacked it won't screw up your regular buying or selling account.
Not lurkyloo on eBay
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photosensitive
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posted on November 26, 2003 08:12:58 AM new
Thanks Lurkyloo. I was aware that it was online but I have found some sites that don't like Macs and things like jump menus just don't work. I was only concerned about the password on some of the sites that I had never heard of. I think eSnipe has been around long enough. Think I will give it a try.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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coffeemug1
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posted on November 26, 2003 08:15:17 AM new
BidSage FREE software for eBay buyers This program works great and its FREE !!!
http://www.auctionsagesoftware.com/bidsage/about.htm
AWESOME auctions by Coffeemug1
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photosensitive
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posted on November 26, 2003 08:22:25 AM new
Coffeemug1, the site does not say anything about Mac and it is a downloaded program. I don't think it will work for me.
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“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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coffeemug1
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posted on November 26, 2003 08:30:35 AM new
It is a downloaded program, but when I posted I didnt see you neeeded Mac sorry, I dont know if it will work with Mac.
AWESOME auctions by Coffeemug1
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coffeemug1
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posted on November 26, 2003 10:18:43 AM new
I found out it will work with Mac' windows emulation mode what ever that is
AWESOME auctions by Coffeemug1
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glassgrl
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posted on November 26, 2003 11:06:51 AM new
Here's what I haven't heard for everybody that is promoting this or that snipe program.
My esnipe goes in at 3 seconds. I could probably go to 2 as reliable as it's been.
What kind of time are ya'll talking about with yours? I had somebody brag to me that they used snipe whatever and it sniped at 5 minutes before the auction ended. Wow, a whole 5 minutes?
3 seconds. Think about it.
I LOVE Endicia! You will too – Click here!
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idoebay2
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posted on November 26, 2003 11:28:26 AM new
I use esnipe everytime I bid on something on ebay. I have never had a problem and their price is so cheap I figure why not.
alana
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photosensitive
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posted on November 26, 2003 11:30:45 AM new
Think eSnipe will be what I try.
Thanks all
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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glassgrl
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posted on November 26, 2003 11:42:06 AM new
Too funny! From the cover page on esnipe: (I was looking for a free month with a recommendation like endicia)
"Comedy Writers Up for Grabs
Comedy Writers Up for Grabs STORY: The BidPoints radio show is only one of many covering the sale of four comedy writers, cheap. Ending the day after Thanksgiving, the Ebay Auction is for a 1 hour meeting with four gifted and hilarious comedy writers laid off from the National Lampoon website. Bid high and bid well, because eSnipe's CEO will be bidding against you!
I LOVE Endicia! You will too – Click here!
[ edited by glassgrl on Nov 26, 2003 01:54 PM ]
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lurkyloo
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posted on November 26, 2003 10:54:06 PM new
Glassgrl,
Vrane consistently snipes at either 7 or 8 seconds before the auction ends (I can't change that--it's determined by them). The best snipe I ever did manually was 1 second before the auction ended!
Not lurkyloo on eBay
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dejapooh
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posted on November 27, 2003 12:17:15 AM new
I've been using Auctionstealer for ever. They are free for limited use. When I go through my buying phase (going into the olympics) I sign up for a 3 month subscription... Pays for itself. Very relyable. I've never had a bid NOT placed.
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. B. Franklin
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fenix03
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posted on November 27, 2003 03:49:48 PM new
Coffemug - Just so that you know... Mac users can use a program called Virtual PC that will allow them to run PC programs on their far superior systems. Being the Mac snob that I am I always considered this the equivalent of adding peddle power to a Porsche but that's just me  . When Virtual PC or a similar program is used it's considered emulation.
Photo - I feel your pain - I have a line of widgets I collect - there are 15 pieces in the line - I have 14 of them. After three years of searching I found and then missed out on the 15th about two years ago - I have yet to see it again. 
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
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photosensitive
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posted on November 28, 2003 06:12:37 PM new
I did it! Joined eSnipe and did a practice 5 second snipe on something I wanted to check it out. I won so now I can start to snipe like a pro.
Thanks for all the advice!
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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