eSnipe is giving its registered users a holiday "thank you" by offerings free bids Friday night. "It's been a rough-and-tumble year for many of us," said eSnipe president Tom Campbell. "We thought we'd help ease the pain of Christmas shopping by giving away our services for a night."

Snipe bids are last-second bids on an auction. eSnipe allows bidders to place an order for a snipe bid hours or days before the auction ends. eSnipe then goes in and places the bid at the designated time and notifies the bidder if their snipe bid was successful.

eSnipe charges a fee only if the auction is won, normally charging about 1% of the final value. But Friday night from 5:00 p.m. PDT to 5:00 a.m. the morning of Saturday, December 13, all sniping fees are waived.

To take advantage of eSnipe's free snipes for a night, registered users must visit http://www.eSnipe.com/FreeBids2003 between the designated hours and follow instructions to insure they've been properly registered for the evening's free sniping.