# Auction sniping - safe to give your eBay details?



## onekeano (29 Oct 2006)

Just wondering if many people have signed up with this http://www.auctionsniper.com/RegisterNew.aspx?reftrackid=1088302

by private eBay providing details to a 3rd party are you exposing yourself to being seriously ripped off and being entered into contracts by other parties?

Roy


----------



## june (30 Oct 2006)

wow that is very sneaky! 
could you be up to them?


----------



## ClubMan (30 Oct 2006)

Yeah - how would you be up to operators who ask you to hand over to them your username and password for another site. Surely people should be protected against this sort of scam? Maybe by being prevented from using computers until they learn some sort of sense or something like that.


----------



## CharlieMcC (30 Oct 2006)

onekeano said:


> Just wondering if many people have signed up with this http://www.auctionsniper.com/RegisterNew.aspx?reftrackid=1088302
> 
> by private eBay providing details to a 3rd party are you exposing yourself to being seriously ripped off and being entered into contracts by other parties?
> 
> Roy


 
Hi, I've never used auctionsniper but regularly use justsnipe.com and have yet to be ripped off! I was very nervous about giving them my Ebay details but did a bit of research and they came highly recommended. No problems so far and I've won just about every auction I've used them for. Auctionsniper could be just as reliable, but make sure you check them out (eg how long have they been around) before taking the plunge.


----------



## MugsGame (30 Oct 2006)

> 've won just about every auction I've used them for.



And a few more besides no doubt!


----------



## CharlieMcC (30 Oct 2006)

MugsGame said:


> And a few more besides no doubt!


 
  How could I win an auction I hadn't bid on?


----------



## ClubMan (30 Oct 2006)

Call me old fashioned but passing login credentials for sites to third parties seems like a really dumb idea.


----------



## CharlieMcC (30 Oct 2006)

ClubMan said:


> Call me old fashioned but passing login credentials for sites to third parties seems like a really dumb idea.



No, you're not old fashioned, probably just sensible  The established sniping sites 'claim' that your ebay password is stored with them in encrypted form (and not readable to the human eye), but of course you're still taking a chance. Although....if they use your password to bid on something (against your wishes) they still have to pay for the item, and short of having your PayPal password I can't see how they'd get _you_ to pay for it (or am I missing something really obvious here?)

But for some peace of mind it's best to change your ebay password after using the sniping site, at least from then on they can't get up to no good!

So, yeah, there are risks, but if you're desperate for a particular item on ebay sniping is your only man


----------



## ClubMan (30 Oct 2006)

Do _eBay _have a poicy on auction sniping? Could they ban you if they figure out that you are engaging in this sort of activity (wouldn't be too hard since they can probably detect that bids are coming by proxy from a sniping site).


----------



## CharlieMcC (30 Oct 2006)

ClubMan said:


> Do _eBay _have a poicy on auction sniping? Could they ban you if they figure out that you are engaging in this sort of activity (wouldn't be too hard since they can probably detect that bids are coming by proxy from a sniping site).


 
Third party auction snipers are legal on all ebay sites except the German one - but that seems to be a law onto itself (eg all feedback comments on the German site are kept private, presumaby because of their more stringent privacy laws).

(Article about the German ban here: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y02/m10/i25/s02)


----------



## ClubMan (30 Oct 2006)

OK - thanks for that info.


----------



## tiger (31 Oct 2006)

You can also get sniping tools that you down load and run from your desktop.  Have a look at [broken link removed].  You're not giving your details to a website, but of course the tool could be sending it to someone without your knowledge!   For this to work, your PC has to be on & connected at the time the auction is due to end, and you need to make sure it's clock is accurate...


----------



## bankrupt (31 Oct 2006)

I have used bidnapper.com successfully in the past.  I don't know why eBay don't extend the length of an auction when a bid is placed in the last few minutes to combat this tactic.   If I want to be sure to get something on eBay I put the lot in my "watched items" list and bid at the last possible moment.


----------



## propertyprof (1 Nov 2006)

CharlieMcC said:


> Hi, I've never used auctionsniper but regularly use justsnipe.com and have yet to be ripped off! I was very nervous about giving them my Ebay details but did a bit of research and they came highly recommended. No problems so far and I've won just about every auction I've used them for. Auctionsniper could be just as reliable, but make sure you check them out (eg how long have they been around) before taking the plunge.


 

i am a justsniper - never had any problems with them in the 100's of snipes I have done


----------

