eBay blocking snipes?

[Slaton]

My last few snipes using automated bot service, auctionsniper, appears to have been blocked by eBay with a "more verification for authentication needed" response. When I bid without using auctionsniper, the bid goes in fine without any authentication request. Anyone else had this happen lately? I know that sniping is an emotional topic with people on both sides of whether it is fair or not to use snipes...hopefully this question won't degenerate to that discussion but rather on the topic of whether eBay has figured out a way to monitor IP address of known sniper services and blocking them.

Anil

[Zwebie]

I have used esnipe in the past, and have not had any problems.

Bob S.

[MicaMonster]

It is highly possible that eBay is noticing that the IP address of the service making the bid does not match your typical IP address which you use when making a bid manually.

I have used VRANE successfully, by Amherst Robots. Haven't missed out on a good Blue Amberol in quite some time!

Best, Wyatt

[TinfoilPhono]

I've used esnipe within the last week with no problem.

[mattrx]

I stopped using auctionsniper late last year. I missed out on a VV CD-20 because the snipe wasn't placed successfully. Switched to auctionstealer and haven't had a problem since. I wanted the CD-20 pretty bad, but it went to a forum member so at least it went to a good home.
Matt

[Skihawx]

I have experienced the same error on two auctions last week and a few times a few months ago. All were place from the same computer and at the same time. Some went thru and a few didn't. "Requires Authentication" I emailed auction sniper and never received a comment.

[EarlH]

I called ebay a few weeks ago and asked them what the heck was going on as I've been using the same program now for over 10 years and now all of a sudden 3-4 snipes weren't placed. The guy told me that they are 'randomly' not accepting snipes now and they want people to "just bid" on items. I told the guy I spoke to "Good luck with that and haven't you alienated enough sellers yet?" He said they preferred not to think of it that way. I told him that was fine, if I didn't win an item, I would get over it. But I would also email the sellers that this happened with, and let them know what is going on. It hasn't happened again since, but I would guess it will. I don't know who does the thinking for that company, but they sure don't seem to understand collectors very well.
Of course now that much of it's been turned into some sort of a weird outlet mall, I don't even try to find anything much for my '41 Buick as I get about 12,000 hits for floor mats, stereo systems, and hundreds of other things that have nothing to do with the car at all. And dozens of each item to weed through so I don't waste much time looking. It's kind of sad. But look at what all those stupid fake phonographs they allow to be sold with the old one's? They need a Pre-1935 category for phonographs I suppose. I haven't sold much for the last few years because they have gotten to where they almost act like sellers are the enemy. They even called and asked me about that, and I doubt they cared much for that conversation either. Call them and get on their case about it. They don't like you pestering them about this sort of thing and it seems to be the only feedback they listen to. Well good luck with your collecting. Ha!

[Steve]

It's hard to sympathise with anyone losing out on auctions solely due to the failue of sniper software. I say this as someone who has also used sniper software in the past with mixed success. It's hardly entering the spirit of an auction to join and attempt to steal something in the last second from potential buyers who might have been battling gallantly over something for a week, and all the while you're using a piece of software to do it for you. Your presence at the computer is not even required.

When I used to get outbid in the last few seconds I could never understand how anyone could so accurately place a bid in the last second to win it. I used to be furious about losing auctions this way and cursed all the winners. When I discovered sniper software I thought I'd encountered the lowest of the low. Then I realised how devious and cunning most collectors were and it all made much more sense.

I do not support eBay in general but this is one instance where I do sort of agree with it.

With that said, these days if I really want something on eBay my final bid will be placed in the last second, even after most sniper programs have submitted bids - they tend to go in about 5-7 seconds before the end normally. I do this manually. It is easy now that eBay includes a count-down clock within the "Submit" and "Confirm Bid" windows.

[Starkton]

Located in Germany, I remember the times when my alarm clock often rung at 3 o'clock in the morning to remind me of an auction end on US ebay. I will never forget when I was outside home for a week without internet access, having no possibility to raise my bid on the stereo photo of a tinfoil phonograph.

For me, esnipe changed all that 15 years ago.

[Curt A]

Just my two cents for what it's worth - eBay is NOT an auction. It may appear to be, but only the highest bid, placed at the last possible moment or by proxy counts - then the "auction" ends. True auctions don't end at a specified time, they only end when bidders have reached their limit, which means that whoever pays the most gets it, whether it takes two minutes or 20 to reach that limit. eBay's timed ending is the reason that sniping makes sense... It does not make sense to bid on an eBay item that has days to go until it ends, it is an absolute waste of time. If you prefer to set an alarm and manually bid at the last minute or use some sort of sniper, then that makes sense - if you are the high bidder at the last second, what difference does it make if you choose to set your limit price and send it in right at the end? If you set your limit price and place it at the start of the auction as a proxy bid, then you have lunatics who spend days bumping your bid up by a dollar or two just to find out what your limit is... I have lost a fair amount of eBay items using a snipe, because I set my limit - if you are willing to pay more, then good for you. I have never lost an eBay item to someone who wanted to pay less than me. You may think that you lost by a dollar, which seems aggravating, but you have no idea if the person was prepared to pay $100 more with his snipe, so if you want to win, the simple answer is bid more than anyone else.