Is it really possible to win an auction -

[Fubsy]

Or is it just a myth?

I've just started to use ebay, but have only been able to buy items that are "buy now". Everything else suddenly gets outbid at the very last second meaning I cant re-bid.

DP thinks there are programmes that automatically step in at the last second with a marginally higher bid, as he was outbid for something by 1p!

It does seem a little unfair for those of us that are a little less technical.

There are.

Hammersnipe is one.

you need an auction sniper. google for one. .

I have won loads of auctions on e-bay some of them at only a couple of £.

You need to be on the ball for bargains and watch the last 5mins of the auction and put in a bid in the last 20-30secs if you need too.

auctionstealer.com has won me 3 auctions today

I have won loads probably lost 10 things out of 100

you just need to be there right at the end and bid an odd amount in the last 20 secs

And put your highest bid in as an odd amount like £5.86

I love the snipers but nothing really beats the buzz of doing it manually so to speak

viper software

I think the only thing to do is decide what your top price is and stick to it, otherwise you get caught up in the excitement of last minute bidding and end up paying more than you wanted to. If you lose, let it go.

I have won loads but admit they tend to be in the last few minutes. I havent used snipers but will watch an item ending and bid myself.

i tell you what i do and i buy load from ebay and sell too don't tell dh!!

i decide what i want to spend and then wait until it is showing one min left (you need to press refresh, my frien was watching smoehting for ages once becuase she didn't refresh and when she finally did it had ended..lol) after it is showing 1 min i press the bid button count to 30 and then bid my highest bid

i think if you bid earl into the auction it just jumps the price right up

Thank you everyone for your advice - what a sneaky lot you are!

Soupy, youre a crafter - you didnt win three quickcutz dies yesterday did you? {{{stares daggers into computer}}}

I wait until 30 seconds and then put my highest bid in slowly and usually win if it doesn't go over my maximum bid, it is a fantastic buzz!

This is quite a good site, it's not a sniper but it lists all items with less than an hour to go and under £1.

Open the ebay page in two windows, keep refreshing one window to track the time left. In the other window have your max bid (an odd number as Soupdragon suggested) set up ready to hit the confirm button about 20 seconds before the end.

Well, I tried the refreshing and odd number bid, and I got something!

Think I might try a sniper though, easier on the nerves.

No, Funsy, I didn't win any dies

Fubsy.

Hurrah, well does Fubsy