What is a snipe?
Why should I snipe an auction?
Is it bad auction etiquette to snipe?
What makes Katsnipe different than other auction snipers?
What does Katsnipe cost?
Why do I need to give my eBay user I.D. and password?
I forgot my username or password. What can I do?
How do I change my username, password or e-mail address on Katsnipe?
Is Katsnipe secure?
What is your privacy policy?
What auctions does Katsnipe work on?
What is the best bidding strategy?
Do you guarantee my bid will win?
How does it work?
How do I add an item to be sniped with Katsnipe?
How do I delete or change a bid?
Will my bid be raised to just beat the previous high bidder or will Katsnipe bid everything?
Bidding in my auction is not in US dollars. Will Katsnipe work for me?
What happens if two people are sniping the same auction?
I didn't win the auction. What went wrong?
I bid more than the winning price. Why did I lose?
What do the terms mean that I see on my auction page and archive?
Who should I contact if I have problems or questions?

What is a snipe?
A snipe is a last-minute, or last-second auction bid.

Why should I snipe an auction?
To win auctions, and save money. Sniping blocks competitive bids, except by proxy. It prevents other bidders from discovering your proxy bid. It keeps your interest in an item private. It protects you from being shilled. And, it's fun. See what independent university studies have found about the effectiveness of sniping

Is it bad auction etiquette to snipe?
On the contrary. Sellers recognize that snipers are enthusiastic, knowledgeable buyers that commit to a maximum bid and use the proxy system. Buyers like to snipe because it gives them more control over the purchase and price. And eBay says, "Sniping is part of the eBay experience." The only people who don't like sniping are incremental bidders, like "lowballers" and "nibblers." We feel each bidder should be able to find the bidding style that works for them.

What makes Katsnipe different than other auction snipers?
There are several differences between Katsnipe and other snipers. First, there are two kinds of auction snipers: software and online services. Katsnipe is an online service. There is nothing to download or install, no updating of the software required when you use Katsnipe. Your computer doesn’t have to be on, or online, to use our service. Second, Katsnipe is better than other sniper services because of our advanced bidding application, system reliability, and customer support . Finally, Katsnipe is a great value. A fair price for a solid, easy-to-use website with many dandy features.

What does Katsnipe cost?
Get complete information on our Prices page.

Why do I need to give my eBay user I.D. and password?
Katsnipe is not associated with eBay in any way. Katsnipe acts as your bidding agent. To do so, your username, password and email address must be in our database.

I forgot my username or password. What can I do?
Click the "Forgot Login?" link in the top right corner of the site. Enter your email address on the page that opens. Your username and newly generated password will be emailed to you. If you have a spam blocker enabled on your computer, be sure it allows emails from support@katsnipe.com through.

How do I change my username, password or e-mail address on Katsnipe?
There are links in the upper right corner of the site that will take you to the CHANGE pages. Just enter your old login information, then your new login information, and click UPDATE. We verify your Katsnipe login matches your eBay login when you make the change, so your eBay login must be changed first. If they do not match, you will get an error message.

Is Katsnipe secure?
Submitting a bid with Katsnipe is as secure as doing it directly with eBay. No one else will ever use it or see it. Our servers communicate securely via ssl with eBay with all actions using your account.

What is your privacy policy?
Attorney/client...doctor/patient...Katsnipe/bidder. The information you provide will be kept in the strictest confidence. It will not be sold or distributed to third parties. And everything you bid on is between you and the seller. Read more about our privacy policy here. What auctions does Katsnipe work on? Katsnipe is optimized to work on all of the eBay general auction sites, eBay Motors, eBay Premier, and all of eBay's international sites. We have the capacity to use other auction sites, if you have an auction site you wish to add to be used on Katsnipe send us an email support@katsnipe.com.

What is the best bidding strategy?
Bid the highest amount you think the item is worth, and let the proxy system and Katsnipe do their jobs

Do you guarantee my bid will win?
You are guaranteed to succeed when you use Katsnipe.com. We do not guarantee you will win every auction you bid on, but we do guarantee you will win during your free trial and your subscription to Katsnipe. If you do not win an auction any time during your free snipe trial, we will extend your free trial. And, when you subscribe, if you do not win any auctions during your subscription period, we will extend your subscription. Either way, you are guaranteed to succeed with Katsnipe.com. (this infers a minimum attempt amount on snipes, and a minimum percentage bid on snipes, bidding 0.01c for a $1000 item you will have very little chance of winning your auction, for more information email us support@katsnipe.com)

How does it work?
Katsnipe is synchronized precisely with the official eBay clock and is continuously monitoring the connection between our servers and eBay. When the time to bid arrives, Katsnipe submits your bid. There is generally no need to bid directly with eBay manually. Katsnipe takes the guess work out of sniping.

How do I add an item to be sniped with Katsnipe?
Click here for a guide on adding items

For international bidding, Katsnipe makes no currency conversions. Just bid in the currency of the auction. That means, if the auction is in GBP's, you should value your bid in GBP's. The currency of the auction is the bold number displayed on the auction page. Any other value there is for your convenience. For example, if you are looking at a UK auction by way of the eBay US auction site, you might see a conversion into USD's. That conversion is only there for your convenience. Value your bid in GBP's. Also, do not enter any other characters other than numbers and a single decimal. DO NOT ENTER a comma, $'s or GBP, or anything other than the numbers of your bid with the single decimal in the proper place. All additions, deletions, and changes to your Pending Auctions list must be done prior to six minutes before the end of the auction.

How do I delete or change a bid?
From your Katsnipe auction list, simply press the "Remove Snipe" button on the bid listing to eliminate that auction. To change a bid, click the "Set a Snipe" button at the top of the page. All additions, deletions, and changes must be done prior to two minutes before the end of the auction.

Will my bid be raised to just beat the previous high bidder or will Katsnipe bid everything?
In most cases your bid will be adjusted one bidding increment above the previous high bidder. Katsnipe uses the proxy bidding system to bid just enough to make you the winner, up to your maximum bid. In reserve auctions, that may mean raising your bid more than one bidding increment to meet the reserve. The proxy system is not used on Dutch auctions. So, on Dutch auctions only, when Katsnipe submits your bid, eBay will generally apply the full amount of your bid. Get more information on Dutch auctions here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/buyer-multiple.html

Bidding in my auction is not in US dollars/GBP. Will Katsnipe work for me?
Katsnipe works with any currency. Just enter numerals, a decimal, then two numerals. Your bid will be interpreted in the auction's currency whether it's USD's, GBP's, EUR's or any other currency. Katsnipe makes no currency conversions. Just bid in the currency of the auction. That means, if the auction is in GBP's, you should value your bid in GBP's. The currency of the auction is the bold number displayed on the auction page. Any other value there is for your convenience. For example, if you are looking at a UK auction by way of the eBay US auction site, you might see a conversion into USD's. That conversion is only there for your convenience. Value your bid in GBP's. Also, do not enter any other characters other than numbers and a single decimal. DO NOT ENTER a comma, $'s or GBP, or anything other than the numbers of your bid with the single decimal in the proper place. All additions, deletions, and changes to your Pending Auctions list must be done prior to six minutes before the end of the auction.

What happens if two people are sniping the same auction?
If two people are sniping the same auction then the highest bid will win. If they bid the same amount the first bid to reach eBay will win the auction.

I didn't win the auction. What went wrong?
Probably nothing. Usually when a Katsnipe user doesn't win, bidding just went past the maximum the user set. Sometimes the difference between the current high bid and the user's maximum bid is less than the minimum bid increment and Katsnipe is unable to bid. Occasionally the seller ends the auction early. There are a variety of outcomes that will result in not winning an auction. Katsnipe tells you what happened in your auction with the Completed Snipe List at the bottom of the snipe list page.

Why did I lose?
Usually it is because your bid was below eBay's minimum bid increment. There is a sliding scale of minimum bid increments, and they are different for each currency. The increments increase as the bidding gets higher. Find out more about this by searching ‘bid increments’ on your eBay Help page.

Who should I contact if I have problems or questions?
Contact us. Our e-mail address is support@katsnipe.com