This bidding strategy goes hand in hand with sniping and involves testing the bidder's proxy amount by increasing the high bid in very small increments. Its entire purpose is to gain information about the proxy bid, and to perhaps get an exact fix on the maximum amount. This strategy is also dependent upon how EBay handles proxy bidding. When a counter bid is placed against an auction with a proxy bid, the system automatically increases the proxy bid to the next increment. When the proxy bid's maximum is almost reached, then the system simply matches it by the amount remaining on the proxy bid. This is an important facet of the bidding process and by simply increasing the maximum bid by the minimum increment and then watching how the proxy bid reacts, bidders can often uncover the proxy maximum rather quickly.

Since this is a risky maneuver, most bidders try this very late in the game, perhaps with only an hour or two left in the auction. If done correctly, the proxy push will approach the high proxy bid, but not exceed it. Once the proxy bid increases by less than the required amount, the bidder has essentially divined the proxy limit without going over. Thereby no “you have been overbid” email will be sent to the current high bidder and sniping will be much easier. This method also allows the bidder to tell rather quickly if the proxy bid is much too high, and then back off.

Like any other strategy, this one can backfire in a few ways. First of all, there may not even be a proxy bid in place and the first incremental bid may be greeted by a “you are the top bidder” message. At this point the bidder has become the hunted and not the hunter, and it is then time to either cross your fingers and hope you win, or employ a secondary strategy to hold the bid. To make sniping much harder, many bidders also use unusual proxy bids such as $11.37, and this can also hamper the proxy pushing game. To counter this, bidders also use unusual counter bids and then see how the proxy bid reacts.

EBay auctions go on twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and by using this information wisely, bidders can really make hay. It is logical to assume that the most bidding takes place during the Internet's peak usage times and just by watching the closing auctions, it is easy to see the correlation. Between 7 and 11 PM EST, the auction action can get pretty wild and sniping can reach epic proportions. After 11 PM, it does slow down a bit, but the West Coast is still going strong so most auctions remain relatively active.

If one auction is ending at 8 AM EST on a Wednesday and another is finishing up on a Saturday at 8 PM EST, which do you think will get the most attention? Less traffic means fewer snipers and also a lower potential winning bid. The early-morning, late-afternoon times seem to be best, since this is when most of the North American population is either on the way to, or home from, work. The middle days of the week (Tues-Thurs) are also especially dead during these periods, owing perhaps to less vacations and sick days. Prime auction ending times include the last day of holiday weekends (when everyone is on the road), as well as any other time that a good percentage of the population will be away from the PC. Placing a proxy bid on these auctions, or even following them if you are able to, can often be a great investment.