We are looking to build an eBay sniper service such as [login to view URL] and JustSnipe.com.
Since this is considered a “sniping” service, it cannot use any eBay API’s.
Design Features:
Using CSS for all pages so there is a customizable look and feel for everything
Having a look and feel familiar to the eBay experience
Quick and light interface
The important features of the sniper are:
Using SSL for member login and bidding
A method of delivering high reliability 95% successful sniping and also a method of delivering 100% sniping reliability using multiple servers (such as in [login to view URL])
Sign up & login with just eBay username and password (the sniper pulls email address, name etc from eBay) and confirms
Testing login / password on snipe to make sure they are correct and working
Customer Area
Snipe auction
Pending Snipes
Ended Auctions
Snipes available
Membership type
Turn on of email notifications for each item
Manage payment methods
Change contact details
Watch list integration
Administration area
General features:
Customizable referral URL to push to eBay when sniping
Upgrade/downgrade memberships
Membership creation and features and [login to view URL] mailing list
Membership auto upgrading page (diverted after payment) with [login to view URL] mailing list subscription integration -> this can just be system generated piece of code to put on a page with validation
Monitoring status of the eBay sniper posting a system status to a webpage with customizable messages from the administration area
Member messages (to be displayed on their login console)
Customizable email notifications for different actions (ebay server problems, out bid, did not win, ebay login not working)
Customizable default email notifications (which ones to send by default)
Manage memberships and different membership types and their features:
Sniping Group bid that takes advantage of eBay’s bid assistant feature
Adjustable lead time range before bid
Customizable ad support (Adbrite or adsense) on site and member area (on/off)
Monitoring eBay to see if their having server speed problems
Ability for members to use a bookmarked button in their browser to snipe quickly from eBay (like in [login to view URL])
Number of snipes per week, month, lifetime with an unlimited option
A quick way to implement the actual sniper could be by using ruby on rails,
ScrubyT, Mechanize and BackgrounDrb.
Using Mechanize to script the login and bidding pages and BackgrounDrb to set up timed events to trigger scheduled bids.