One of the most versatile packages that I have come across recently is Auction Sleuth. This software will work with the following eBay sites, USA, UK, Australia and Canada. It also works with Yahoo USA, Canada and Singapore.

As well as offering the usual last minute bidding facility the software also lives up to its name of being a sleuth. It can be set up to advise you when Buy It Now items appear that meet criteria you have previously set. This means that you can often discover Buy It Now bargains before others see them.

You can also set it up to search for auctions that meet your criteria that are ending shortly. When they are found you are notified by an alarm and you can then place a sniping bid for the item.

I have found this a versatile piece of software and having recently missed out on three auctions when manually bidding I was keen to try Auction Sleuth. I took advantage of the free 15-day trial to test the software and found it very easy to set up. I discovered that Auction Sleuth can search for up to 200 different items, and can notify you when an item is ready to be purchased, either as a new Buy It Now, or an End of Auction item within a few minutes of the closing.

The program worked well for me and I think that for $19.95 (about £10.61) represents good value. Even so it is still worth taking the 15 day trial first just to make sure that the program is suitable for your needs.

Rating : ( out of 5)

Effectiveness: ****
Value: ****
Ease of Use : ****

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