Online Guide to Auctioning   

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Guide to Auction Sniping

How to win an auction by bidding at the last moment

Auction sniping is a perfectly legal way of winning auctions by waiting until (literally) the last moment before bidding on your chosen item. This will only work on those sites that don't extend auctions bid near the end (such as eBay)

The idea is to make your one and only bid at the last moment, hopefully before any other bidders have the chance to realize you have outbid them, and therefore winning the auction without anyone else neing able to outbid you!

Preparation (a few minutes before)

A few minutes before the auction is about to end there are a few things you need to do in order to prepare

1. Log in to the auction site using your username and password
2. Find the auction you want to bid on
3. Take a note of the exact time the auction will finish (check your watch also so you know the real time it will end)
4. Decide exactly how much the most you are willing to pay is
5. If you are using a computer, create a second window with the same auction in. This can be done by:
   • Internet Explorer: In the toolbat at the top click on File>New>Window (or just press Control and N at the same time)
   • Opera: Right mouse click in the window and click on Duplicate Window (or press Control, Shift and N at the same time)
6. In one window, type in the amount you decided was the amximum you would pay in the bidding box
7. If the auction site has a confirmation page before your bid is accepted then click on the bid button to go to that page. Otherwise do nothing
8. If you created 2 windows, you can now check on the progress of the auction by refreshing the other window. If not you'll just have to be patient and remember when the auction is due to finish

Seconds to go

With the auction due to end soon, decide how soon before the end you wish to bid (take into account the time it takes your computer to send the bid to the auction site - if you have a slow connection this will take longer). Typically, under 30 seconds is good, although under 10 seconds is better as then noone will have ANY chance of outbidding you. Don't lose your nerve!

When your choisen time arrives, click that Bid button!

If you waited until 10 seconds was left the auction will be all over before you can check to see if you won. If you won, great! If not, then the price will have gone over your maximum anyway.

Remember though: other bidders may also know how to do this, but many don't so this will give you the edge! Good luck!