BidNip was recently voted the Internet's #1 auction sniping service. Our award-winning service places bids on eBay auctions seconds before the end of an auction - saving you time and money! The purpose of this quick start guide is to quickly walk you through a few simple steps to get you sniping auctions like a pro.
If you have questions that are not answered in our quick-start guide, please check:
- BidNip FAQ - for questions most often asked by non-members
- BidNip Member FAQ - for questions most often asked by BidNip Members
We use the same three steps for sniping eBay auctions as any well-trained military sniper: Ready, Aim, Snipe!
Step 1: Ready!
If you haven't already, sign up now for a FREE BidNip account. It takes less than 60 seconds. We'll give you complete and unrestricted access to our entire site and all our services. And to help you get started, we'll even give you some ammo - five free snipes so you can see just how easy eBay auction sniping can be! When you sign up, we'll ask you to do two things:- Create a BidNip account (we'll need your email address and a password) so you can access the BidNip Member Area.
- Tell us your eBay username and password so we can snipe your bids for you. All data is SLL encrypted and stored in a secure database.
Once you're signed up, you can sign in! Every page on our site as a sign in form, or you can jump directly to our member sign in page.
Step 2: Aim!
Now it's time to "aim" your snipe by telling BidNip four pieces of info:- The eBay Item Number of the item you want to snipe.
- The Maximum Bid you're willing to spend on the item (don't worry, we will try and get it for far less, but we still need to know exactly how high you're willing to go).
- The Quantity Wanted, in case the auction has more than one of the items for sale.
- The Buffer Seconds you want us to use (which means just how close to the end of the auction do you want your bid placed).
Tell us the eBay Item Number
We'll assume for now that you're familiar with browsing and searching eBay to find an item you want. Once you find an item you want to snipe, there are two methods to tell BidNip the eBay item number so we can get things rolling. You can either:
- right-click snipe inside your web browser with auto-snipe extension (available for Internet Explorer and FireFox),
- or, you can manually cut and paste the eBay item number in the Snipe an Auction box on located on every BidNip page.
Right-Click Item Number Entry
To make aiming your snipes easier, BidNip has created an auto-snipe extension for Internet Explorer and FireFox browser users. This small extension adds a "Snipe it at BidNip" menu option when you right-click your mouse while viewing any page on eBay.
Manual Item Number Entry
If you don't use a support web browser, or don't want to install our auto-snipe extension, you can also copy the eBay item number and paste it in the Snipe an Auction form that appears on every BidNip.com page. You can find the eBay Item Number displayed both in the web address:
or you can find it the top of each item's page:
In the above examples, the item number is 3555398090. Select the item number, copy, and then paste it in the Snipe an Auction box that appears on every BidNip page:
Press the Snipe It button, and you'll get the Enter your Snipe Details page (you may be prompted to sign in if you haven't done so already).
Enter Snipe Details
After entering the eBay Item Number, you'll see a form with the final three pieces of information we need from you. The form looks like this:
Verify that this is the auction you wish to snipe, then enter the following three pieces of info:
- Your Maximum Bid: This is the highest amount that you are willing to pay for item you're sniping (the same as if you were to use eBay's Maximum Bid form). This is the bid amount we place for you at the last second, and then eBay's proxy bidding rules of bid increment and price take affect. The currency is the same as the auction's, and you do not need to include a "$" sign in your bids. If you don't understand how eBay's bidding rules work, please review the eBay Buyer's Guide before bidding on any items.
- Quantity Wanted: This is the number of auction items that you are bidding on. For all standard auctions (non-dutch auctions) this value must be 1, and you will not be able to change it from it's value of 1. For dutch auctions, you may enter any number between 1 and the total number of items available for auction.
- Buffer Seconds: This is the number of seconds before the end of an auction that you would like your bid placed. For example, if you set this value to 10, your bid will be placed 10 seconds before the end of the auction. We allow you to set any buffer amount from 1 second to 30 seconds. However: if you set this number to lower than 3 or 4 seconds, you greatly increase the possibility of missing your auction by bidding too late. We do our best to adjust for clock drift and network delays, if there are any delays at eBay, your bid could be placed late or not at all. Values between 4 and 10 are usually sufficient to snipe an auction. A value of 3 seconds is still likely to successfully place your bid to if you're an aggressive sniper, but you must be willing to accept the slighty possibility of missing the auction due to network delays.
Editing Your Snipe
If you need to change any of your snipe details before your snipe is placed, simply click the Edit link in the Pending Snipes list on your My BidNip page. The editing box looks the same as the Enter Snipe Details box shown above. You edit or delete a snipe at any time up to 3 minutes before the end of the auction. Within the last 3 minutes of the auction, however, we lock out any editing so that we can begin the final server synchronizations for a successful snipe.
Cancel Your Snipe
If you decide to to cancel a scheduled snipe, simply click on Delete link on the right side of the Pending Snipes list on your My BidNip page. You will then be asked to confirm the deletion of the pending snipe, and the snipe will not be deleted until you confirm. You edit or delete a snipe at any time up to 3 minutes before the end of the auction. Within the last 3 minutes of the auction, however, we lock out any editing so that we can begin the final server synchronizations for a successful snipe.
Step 3: Snipe!
If your snipe was Ready (you gave us your correct eBay account information), Aimed (you entered in the four pieces of info we needed for the auction), then it's time for BidNip to take over and Snipe!
During the last three minutes of the auction, we lock out any editing or deleting of the snipe. What we do during those last three minutes is proprietary to BidNip, and it's what gives us the advantage over other sniping services. One of the things we do is synchronize our bidding servers with eBay's servers to make sure our clocks are in perfect time with each other, and we make some other final checks to give your snipe the best chance of success. Then, based on the Buffer Seconds you entered when aiming your snipe, we place your bid for you faster than any human can react. As long as your maximum bid was the highest (and met eBay's requirements for the auction) you should be the proud winner of an eBay auction!
Viewing Your Snipe Results
To view the auction results of a completed snipe, simply click on the Results link in the Pending Snipes list on your My BidNip page. To see eBay's official results of the auction, click on the auction's title to link to the eBay Item page. The legally binding results are the ones displayed by eBay.
If You Didn't Win the Auction
Although BidNip users have the highest chance of winning an auction compared to any other bid method, it is still possible for you to not win the auction. If you didn't win, the snipe results in your My BidNip will always explain why (your maximum bid was too low, the seller doesn't allow bidders from your country, or some other specific reason). We have a special section of our BidNip Member FAQ called Why Didn't I Win? that will help you understand the possible reasons for why your snipe didn't win, and what you can do to make sure the same problem doesn't occur on your next snipe.
Ready, Aim, Snipe!
Thanks for reading our quick-start guide to using BidNip. We are proud to be voted the Internet's #1 auction sniping service.
If you have questions that are not answered in our quick-start guide, please check:
- BidNip FAQ - for questions most often asked by non-members
- BidNip Member FAQ - for questions most often asked by BidNip Members