I Like Soup Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 So I finally joined eBay to bid on an item. What is the best way to win an item...to come swooping in at the last minute or...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 (edited) Hurry, you only have a few minutes left! Edited June 18, 2006 by CaP'N GRuNGe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Another must have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goopster24 Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 (edited) It doesn't hurt to come in at the last minute but just be weary of what you want to actually pay for the item. Sometimes, the opposite can be true and if you put in your high price early, others won't bid on that particular item. See how many views the item has gotten too. Edited June 18, 2006 by Goopster24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Auctionsniper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 A must have for Vikings fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxfactor Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 First you have to decide what you're willing to pay for an item and don't go over it. Ebay can be addicting to people and there are tons of people on eBay who I say have more money than sense. I usually put the minimum bid down and then just sit back. Sometimes you get lucky and end up winning with the minimum. Other times you might have to snipe and wait till the last 30 seconds to put in your top price. DON'T FALL INTO THE TRAP OF WINNING AT ALL COSTS!!!! You may end up overpaying for something which sellers love. Don't get into a bidding war either. If someone outbids your minimum, don't fret it. Just wait till the end. It could end up over your price anyway so in that case just say goodbye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 With Box and Manua, this is a great find! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramhock Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 3.11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJoTheWebToedBoy Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 First you have to decide what you're willing to pay for an item and don't go over it. Ebay can be addicting to people and there are tons of people on eBay who I say have more money than sense. DON'T FALL INTO THE TRAP OF WINNING AT ALL COSTS!!!! You may end up overpaying for something which sellers love. Don't get into a bidding war either. If someone outbids your minimum, don't fret it. Just wait till the end. It could end up over your price anyway so in that case just say goodbye. Good info here My advice is don't bid early. put it on your watch list and come in at the last minute. There has been many times that I've put my bid in only to have someone(with 0 - 1 item ever bought) show up on the day the auction ends and either bid up to just under your max bid, or a little over to get you to bid again. Too me it stinks. Feles like the owner is having a friend bump it up so he can get a better payday. I see this a lot on ebay. So if you bid early you are leaving yourself wide open for this bull. Also watch the shipping costs. That is ebay's dirty little secert. Most people make half of their profit on bloated shipping costs. They are outragous and can make your "Deal" more expensive then what you would of paided if you bought it elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Another must have. For grunge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 I like to wait until near the end of the auction because of the ferver some people get into by watching the bid increase. You can put in you maximum bid very early and you will only pay whatever amount the next incremental increase takes you too (so if your max you will pay is $100 you can enter that amount early in the auction, if nobody runs the price that high, you may win the auction for $35). The best way if you don't mind paying a small premium is to use one of the sniping services available like Randall pointed out. I suscribe to esnipe. You can also put in your maximum bid on their site but they won't place that bid until seconds before the auction ends. That way you won't help run the price up in advance. Doesn't mean you'll win because someone else may have entered a higher maximum bid. Oh and welcome to the wonderful world of Ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 For grunge. There are actually 13 bids on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 If you're looking at items being sold by a business, I usually watch what the items I want are selling for. Then I contact the seller and offer them 5-10% less than the winning bid for the same item. Sometimes they accept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 For grunge. For Big John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Soup Posted June 18, 2006 Author Share Posted June 18, 2006 Thanks for the advice. I've looked around eBay at some stuff I am familiar with and people are certainly paying more for items than they should be...especially with shipping costs added. I bid on one item and each time I bid, the message came up that I had been overbid...I guess the person's max bid was bumped by eBay automatically or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 I bid on one item and each time I bid, the message came up that I had been overbid...I guess the person's max bid was bumped by eBay automatically or something? Yep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Soup Posted June 18, 2006 Author Share Posted June 18, 2006 Yep. So...sounds to me I can make a first and only bid with a max right before the end of the auction and if I win...I win. I won't get caught up in a bidding war...I am too frugal for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxfactor Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Good info here My advice is don't bid early. put it on your watch list and come in at the last minute. There has been many times that I've put my bid in only to have someone(with 0 - 1 item ever bought) show up on the day the auction ends and either bid up to just under your max bid, or a little over to get you to bid again. Too me it stinks. Feles like the owner is having a friend bump it up so he can get a better payday. I see this a lot on ebay. So if you bid early you are leaving yourself wide open for this bull. Also watch the shipping costs. That is ebay's dirty little secert. Most people make half of their profit on bloated shipping costs. They are outragous and can make your "Deal" more expensive then what you would of paided if you bought it elsewhere. Forgot about the shipping charges. That can be another scam. I've confronted sellers about it before and they don't take too kindly me. I guess the truth hurts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 For Big John. What's that place like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckB Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 And ALWAYS check the sellers feedback rating, it speeks volumes towards there trustworthiness(?) as a seller. I tend to steer clear of anyone with a feedback rating less than 99% or higher. I do make exceptions however if I read there feedback and make a case by case decision. Also stay away from anything out of the country, ESPECIALLY China, if the deal seems to good to be true because you WILL get screwed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 all good info... i was hot & heavy into autographed football cards, a couple i really wanted i payed to much for, then i was doing sleeper picks trying to by low on an unknown in hopes of them bustin out, did all that as a fun hobby.......now if i buy anything i look 1st at Feedback / shipping price / then i do my max bid and walk away......... sleeper picks - Brandon Stokley..... Lamar Gordon.... BJ Sams........ Mike Cloud....... .........that hobby didn't work out real well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Forgot about the shipping charges. That can be another scam. I've confronted sellers about it before and they don't take too kindly me. I guess the truth hurts. I actually just sent a rather non-threatening message to a seller that just sent me an old-school Nintendo game. $4.50 for "shipping and handling", and the game was sent in a regular manila envelope and wrapped in newspaper. The postage was $1.35. I don't think the "handling" and the envelope/newspaper are worth $3.15. I won't leave negative feedback or anything, but sent the guy a message to say that inflating his s&h costs to make a few extra bucks is a no-no. Perhaps he'll send me a free game or something. Perhaps he'll tell me to stick the game up my cornhole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaf Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 sniping is common. I usually have two windows open. One window shows the clock ticking down (with constant refreshes) and the second window has my bid ready for me to "place bid now". If I really want the item, I'll have three windows open in case my one bid wasn't high enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slambo Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 I usually start my bid process with about 20 seconds left in an auction, never earlier. Sometimes, I put phone time on speaker and time it that way. I usually get my bids confirmed in thae last few seconds, no sniping software used. I usually win the auctions I bid on and I rarely overpay. When I sell I always search for closed auctions of the item I'm selling. I then email all the losing bidders of the closed auctions letting them know another item they were interested in but lost out on is back on the market. I usually get quick action from this and the watch count always goes up. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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