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JumpBid FAQs

How do I get started?

Create an account by clicking on the "create an account" link. Once you've created an account, start entering searches for the items you'd like to watch. As soon as one of your items comes within your price range, you'll be notified. It's easy.

Will information from my profile be given or sold to 3rd parties?

No. JumpBid is not even affiliated with any 3rd party companies, so that's not going to happen. Your email address and cell phone information will be held strictly confidential, and only used in the way you intended them to be used when you created your account.

How much does it cost to use this service?

JumpBid is free! Nothing here costs money. We are trying to spread the word, though, so in lieu of paying me, please tell your friends about this website. Of course, we are not anti-money here at JumpBid. If you have greatly benefited from our services, and want to give back a little, your contributions are welcome. Please contact me for information on how you can make a donation.

What happens when JumpBid finds an eBay auction that matches my search criteria?

When you create your searches, you can pick how you'd like to be notified when a match is found. You can be notified by e-mail, pager, or cell phone text message. Email notifications will contain a link directly to the item at its auction website. If you get a text message on your mobile device, a corresponding message will be sent to you by email, so go to your email inbox, find the matching alert there, and follow the link to your eBay auction. And you can always go to jumpbid.com and login to your account to see items that you were notified about recently, or that match your searches right now.

Is JumpBid going to beep me in the middle of the night?

Only if you want it to. JumpBid lets you specify what days and times of day you wish to be notified when matching eBay auctions come around. By default, you will receive notifications every day from 8am to 10pm in your local time zone. Emails will be still be sent 24/7, as items become available.

Is there a limit to the number of notifications I can get?

You can customize your account at JumpBid.com by limiting the number of emails and text messages you receive from us per day. This is to protect you from yourself. If you accidentally set up a search that is too broad, we don't want to drive you crazy with emails and text messages all day! These limits are optional. You can receive as many emails and text messages from us as you like. However, if you are new to JumpBid.com, it's best to keep this throttle in place until you get the hang of setting up good searches. By default, the number of notifications you can received are limited to 10 emails per day and 5 text messages per day. Customize these settings to suit your individual alert preferences.

I'm getting too many notifications for the item I want! What can I do to slow the flow?

If you are getting lots of notifications for the right item, you probably haven't been picky enough about your price range. This is a good problem to have! Little by little, adjust your price range lower, until the flow of notifications is more to your liking. The purpose of JumpBid is to notify you when a rare, exceptional deal comes around. Think cheaper.

If you are happy with your search just the way it is and are still getting too many alerts, adjust your notification limits so that you receive fewer alerts per day. Once you have received the maximum number of email or text message alerts, we'll leave you alone for the rest of the day.

I'm getting a lot of notifications for the wrong item. How can I block false alarms?

It is nearly impossible to completely eliminate false matches to your searches, but there are some things you can do to avoid them.

• Include a minimum price (otherwise known as the "too good to be true" price) if it makes sense to do so. If the price of an item is way too good to be true, chances are it probably isn't the right item. Entering a minimum price will help you distinguish between a DVD and an action figure from the DVD, for example.
• Refine your search. Look carefully at the matches you are getting. What words are showing up in the item description that give it away as a false match? If a certain word or phrase shows up often in your false matches, suppress matches that contain that word or phrase. Are there some words that always show up in correct matches? If so, add those words or phrases to your search.
• If a group of words should only appear together, use quotation marks around them in your search. When you surround words with quotation marks, items will only match if that exact phrase is found in the item description.

There are lots of other great auction sites out there. Can JumpBid search those as well?

While there are lots of other auction sites out there, eBay consistently dominates the auction business in volume, variety, and security. They also provide great support for developers such as myself. Simply put, supporting other auction sites just isn't worth it right now.