Looks like E-bay is going to kill off the sniper sites

MadMarty

I like phantom bidder, checked some snipes I have set up and got this message!
PhantomBidder.com will cease operation on March 1, 2004. Please read message below.


<< <i>Important News:

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
The past 3 years has been exciting for PhantomBidder. We have one of the most complex and efficient bidding agents in the market that produced an astounding 99.9+% bid placement rate (excluding this week) with 39.26% of those bids placed actually winning. It is apparent that our PhantomBidder users really wanted to win their auctions. On Monday 11/17/03, eBay change the way bids are accepted and we had to change our agents to support the new method. Unfortunately, we are unable to maintain the high levels of accuracy with the new changes that our users expect. The current success rate is 97.1%. Please be aware of this quality issue. If your bid was not placed, it will have the 'eBay Not Available' status. We will continue to work on this agent to improve its performance and success rate. Please do not bid on 'once in a lifetime' auctions using the current system until further notice. Also, mature auctions and feedback are not currently supported.

These issues have caused our company to re-evaluate the PhantomBidder business unit. TuHorn Enterprises was started with the desire to create quality products and quality customer support. However, these goals are expensive to maintain. In our 3 years of operation, the PhantomBidder business has not produced enough income to maintain the high levels of quality required by TuHorn Enterprises and the growth is not fast enough to meet our future goals. PhantomBidder.com will cease operation on March 1, 2004. We will continue to support the site as best we can, but we are not confident of raising the success rate back to 99.9%. All reoccurring PayPal subscriptions will be cancelled on Jan 31, 2004 however bid purchases will still be accepted Feb 21, 2004. No refunds can be provided for past or future purchases. We will maintain your privacy and not sell your email information to any competing service.

Thank you for trusting PhantomBidder to place your important eBay bids the past 3 years. We apologize for any inconvenience you may experience from this decision. Have a safe and wonderful holiday season,

Michael Horn
TuHorn Enterprises

>>

Russ

<< <i>Looks like E-bay is going to kill off the sniper sites >>



That's not what I read in that announcement. Here, let me translate it for you:

We've been looking for an excuse to shut down this money losing dog, now we have it.

Russ, NCNE

howie08

Hi ; I've been using E-Snipe , for a couple of years now , and while they've had some problems with it , they're working on correcting them , and seem to be in it for the long haul. I've been very happy with their program.
Howie

Deadhorse

It wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if ALL sniper programs were eliminated.

Just my opinion, don't flame away.

clackamas

I use auction sniper and its been working fine for me.
<<whack whack whack>> - beating a dead horse

lordmarcovan

Like howie, I use esnipe, and like it so far, though I haven't used it that long- only a few months. I used to feel like Deadhorse, so no flames for that point of view, but back when I was collecting Irish coins and had a key date shilling snatched away from me for about the seventh or eighth time, I decided it was time to take countermeasures.

Deadhorse

Clack,

Nobody beats a deadhorse, don't ya know.

BTW, I beat those damn sniper programs on a regular basis. They don't have the ability to adjust prices accordingly and I'm just as good with a clock as they are.

I'd just like to level the playing field and go one on one with other bidders. Call me old fashioned, I guess.

AmericanSilverEagleCoins

If you're going to snipe at least do it like a real man and do it in person, not some automated program you set up in advance.

Dollars

I snipe in person. If I snipe you feel free to whine

Dave
In Laurel
MD

jonesy

I still snipe the old fashion way!!

BDP

snipers are people who are insecure with their sexuality.

Rampage

I use auctionsniper.com and have not had any problems with it and win all my auctions except for those where my bid is not high enough.

Russ

<< <i>It wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if ALL sniper programs were eliminated.

Just my opinion, don't flame away. >>



No flames from me, I agree. It would get rid of the wienies.

Russ, NCNE

fishcooker

Can't believe we don't have more sellers here......

supercoin

I'm a seller, and I'm all for sniping software. I'd much rather have someone set up their snipe in advance than forget to do it manually.

I can't tell you how many times a potential buyer has told me they forgot to come back to bid at the end of the auction. Don't tell people that, by the way, doesn't make them feel any better about their auction going too cheap.

paigowjohnny

<< <i>If you're going to snipe at least do it like a real man and do it in person, >>


If you guys would quit ending your auctions in the middle of the night on Sunday night or weekends or holidays, I might quit using the programs.

Russ

<< <i>If you guys would quit ending your auctions in the middle of the night on Sunday night or weekends or holidays >>



I'm very courteous to my buyers. I end my auctions at a reasonable hour and space the ending times far enough apart so that they can be manually sniped.

Russ, NCNE

paigowjohnny

Yes Russ...I like how you run your auctions...even though I haven't won one yet
Unlike most of the rest of the world (and like Russ) I don't have a computer at home..I have to depend on work and the benevolence of friends..who wouldn't want me camped out in the middle of the night waiting to snipe.
If I had a machine at home, then I would most definitely have no life

BAJJERFAN

They aint killed em off yet.

jacktheknife

Russ and Deadhorse, where were you guys a couple nights ago when I got absolutely torched for an anti-sniper thread. Deadhorse mentions going "one on one", I guess when I said "going toe to toe" must have been a bit too strong for some board members. I wouldn't be too upset if ebay found a way to kill sniper programs.

JoeHolt

I would like to see another min added to a auction when a outbid is received in the last min of the auction

hamiltonjh

I have to agree with those against sniping. Do it in person. Yeah, the times are hard sometimes being late or inconvenient to log on. But, if there is something that someone wants, it should be important enough to do what you have to do to win.
I personally dont think I could go to bed and wonder if my sniping program will win me the coin or not..I'd probably get up anyway to see if I won it. So, might as well do it online.

AmericanSilverEagleCoins

Whatever happened to the rumor about ebay offering an option that a final bid must stand for at least 30 seconds or it gets extended? Or that they were going to eliminate the seconds countdown in the last minute?