E-BAY STRATEGY

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paplinker

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Well,Newer to E-bay, I just lost on some of nocones grips on ebay with a 4 second left bid.i thought they used GBs format with extending time after a bid. Seems like a better way to me. I would have bid higher earlier but wanted to take it one bid at a time.How does anyone here use ebay bidding wisely? Any help for future would be appreciated .Im very sure i would have bid more. Seems like the lister also loses out on more bidding by at least one more person.Does everyone else know their limit they will be willing to bid but me, before auction end? Im a little turned off by ebay right now. maybe sad too.
 
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1) Decide what your absolute maximum buying price will be.

2) Wait to bid until just before the auction ends.

This keeps you from getting into a bidding war with the newbs. And if you get outbid, oh well, that was the max amount that you were willing to pay anyway.
 
If someone outbid you with 4 seconds left they were probably usiing a proxy bidding program. It's called bid sniping.

EBay does NOT use the same "15 minute rule" that GB does.

Black_Talon and madmikeb hit the nail right on the head.
 
Google "auction sniper".
A sniper is a service that will place your bid in the last few seconds for a few cents. You can program a bid tonite that will be placed in the last few seconds of an auction ending Saturday or any other day.
You don't have to sit there waiting for an auction to end.

auctionsniper<dot>com is a good one.
 
Another strategy for success-

Bid early.
Bid often.
Bid High.
Bid Again!

:D
 
I don't know that there is any magic strategy for winning eBay auctions --- there are some outfits that will "snipe" bids for you, i.e., place last second bids incrementally higher than the about to be closed bids --- but when all is said and done, you should establish a price/bid above which you are not willing to pay, and figure that if you lose the auction, you avoided paying too much. I've seen instances in which competitive bidders work themselves into some sort of bidding frenzy, and the "winner" becomes a "loser" after bidding more than the item is worth. That said, if you're bidding on antiques, collectibles, other rarities, who's to say what something's "worth"? I once paid the long dollar on a Gunbroker auction to insure that I "won" an extremely rare (out of limited production, new-in-box rifle) much desired (by me) item, about which price was not, for me, the ultimate issue. But generally, eBay items are like buses --- one just left, but another will be along shortly...
 
Black_Talon said:
1) Decide what your absolute maximum buying price will be.

2) Wait to bid until just before the auction ends.

This keeps you from getting into a bidding war with the newbs. And if you get outbid, oh well, that was the max amount that you were willing to pay anyway.
Click to expand...

I agree completely I never used any sniping programs and have been very successful on E-bay. I never bid until the last ten seconds and on many occasions my bid has gone in at the last second or 2.
 
Thanks, i will take everything into consideration. it still means that i will need a predetermined number before auction end.this means a lower number for sure as last minute changes of your mind are not available. It still seems the best prices for a product are not brought by this policy. also bid early and bid high did not get plinker the worm. LOL I guess i have to learn to snipe?,3 Second bid or other. Seems like a lot of work to get an honest chance at a item.I have gotten some great things here and GB without feeling abused...I may be venting a little. I would assume Im not the first here to get a 4 seconder. live and learn i guess.Tomorrow is a new day. :)
 
Have you ever gone to a ballgame and you told your boys that we will not be paying 4 dollars for a hotdog. thats more than i want to pay only to get there and i end up paying it for all of us because of last minute i really want that hotdog. E-bay doesnt get that. How many times at a gunshow have you decided that a gun wasnt worth the price only to think on it while walking and you go back for it because now you will take it but a hour ago it was too much money. at 5pm grips were worth one number to me but at 9pm my number got 25% higher but i only have 3 seconds left..darn E-bay does not get that...sorry Im still venting. Im kind of picky and those alves got my attention.
 
BaldEagle1313 said:
If someone outbid you with 4 seconds left they were probably usiing a proxy bidding program. It's called bid sniping.
Click to expand...

Bidding programs are unnecessary if you have a reliable internet connection.
I've won ebay auctions with a bid with only 1 second remaining.
I'll admit, that was pure luck, but was exciting too.
I've won a few others with less than 5 seconds to go.
Depends on how badly you want the item.
As a general rule, the later you bid, the better.
 
paplinker said:
Have you ever gone to a ballgame and you told your boys that we will not be paying 4 dollars for a hotdog. thats more than i want to pay only to get there and i end up paying it for all of us because of last minute i really want that hotdog. E-bay doesnt get that. How many times at a gunshow have you decided that a gun wasnt worth the price only to think on it while walking and you go back for it because now you will take it but a hour ago it was too much money. at 5pm grips were worth one number to me but at 9pm my number got 25% higher but i only have 3 seconds left..darn E-bay does not get that...sorry Im still venting. Im kind of picky and those alves got my attention.
Click to expand...

I don't like popcorn bidding on GB. It just extends the auction past its scheduled closing time, and bids the price higher.
This is good for the seller, but not the buyer.
I wish GB did away with it and copy ebay.
 
I use a sniping program. You can do the same thing manually, but you have to be sitting at your computer when the auction ends to do it.

If you just put in a bid early on in the auction, all you do is give somebody a chance to nibble away at it and drive your final price up.
 
My strategy is to bid with 20-30 seconds left but I bid high enough that if someone elses tries to jump in at the last second with a slightly higher bid, I will still be higher. I usually double or triple the minimum bid plus a penny. Doesn't work if the other guy "really" wants it and ups the bid a good amount.
 
They wore me out - Now I pretty much stick to the *Buy It Now* stuff.
Otherwise I bid what I think the whatever is worth to me sometime in the last hour, or minutes if I remember to be here then.
 
Some of you guys just aren't getting how convenient the sniper programs make bidding.
You can see an item that will end a week from now at 3:30 am, and place a bid now with the sniper. The sniper doesn't place your bid till about 7 seconds before it ends.
So, your bid can be placed at the very end of an auction while you are at a wedding or funeral, asleep in bed, or taking a shower.
Why sit there waiting?
 
Do these automatic sniper programs have a way to cancel your bid once entered? Some of us don't have "unlimited" funds and once we commit to a possible high bid, we are out of the game until the auction is over. What if something else comes along in the meantime that we would rather have, but our money is tied up elsewhere?
 
deadin said:
Do these automatic sniper programs have a way to cancel your bid once entered? Some of us don't have "unlimited" funds and once we commit to a possible high bid, we are out of the game until the auction is over. What if something else comes along in the meantime that we would rather have, but our money is tied up elsewhere?
Click to expand...
Yes.
With auctionsniper, you can cancel, lower, or raise a bid up to the last few seconds.
It is the only one I've used.
I imagine the others are the same.
Take a look at them. They are quite sophisticated, but mine is easy to use and navigate.
 
Just remember: most bid sniper programs cost money per auction used.

Been a while so I don't remember the fees, but they cost.
 
I've been sniped a couple of times, but then I have successfully sniped other items at the last second. Some days you eat the bear, some days...

Seven seconds from a sniper program won't always do it. I remember one instance -- can't remember the item, just the warfare -- where another guy tried to get something in the last five seconds that I wanted, and that triggered a shootout. We each got additional bids in before the timekeeper rang the bell, and my mouse click was last. You just have to fill in the blank as fast as you can and put the cursor over the bid button and be ready to move like Thell Reed if you see your last bid trumped.

Of course if you put in your worst-case bid days earlier and go out for dinner, you could save yourself all this drama. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, but if you lose you still have all your money and you get to play again on something similar.

The worst part about being sniped is the feeling that somebody is cutting in line or being disrespectful: "You talkin' to me? I don't see anybody else here, so you must be talkin' to me." That's an illusion. Don't let it get to you.
 
I used to regard auction sites as a game of chance, with the last-second bids, etc. Nowadays, I look at an auction as a place to buy
something. I still find ways to play with the heads of other bidders,
for my own enjoyment, that's just me. If I Really want something,
I'll either use Buy It Now, or place a really high bid on it. Now I don't
have to fret with anticipation, while I'm on the road. TACC1
 
Seriously???

deadin said:
Do these automatic sniper programs have a way to cancel your bid once entered? Some of us don't have "unlimited" funds and once we commit to a possible high bid, we are out of the game until the auction is over. What if something else comes along in the meantime that we would rather have, but our money is tied up elsewhere?
Click to expand...

Don't place a high bid you are not willing to pay it, or even bid at all if you are waiting for "something else" to come along in the meantime. I think they call it PRIORITIZING. You must have lots of money to be bidding on multiple things you "want" but might not want if "something else" comes along. Sounds like you are auction surfing out of boredom with excess cash. I think I just might envy you......(with the cash, anyway).;) Lee has made it clear on several posts about the convenience of sniping or proxy bidding. I'm not out to get over on anyone, but I'd like a good or at least fair price. I set the price I want to pay and not a cent more. If I win it, I'm happy. If someone else pays more to win it, then I'm still happy as I didn't want to pay that much anyway. If you are selling, do you want the buyer to get a total steal of a deal? I'm guessing you want what is fair for your item as a seller. JMO
 
It was interesting to see all opinions on a deadline format for Ebay.All auctions i have ever been to in person or on tv allow the best price to come forward. But on ebay its more luck and who snipes better.Is it the larger amount of people using ebay that gets people to list their items, because its been proven on this thread that people still wanted to bid more money on their auctions but couldnt beause of time restraints.Or does GB ask for a bigger cut? I have no issues with a higher bidder, they are playing by the rules that are given. Are there any other sites that go by time limit?
 
I really can't see any reasonable comparison between a real live auction and an Internet auction.
Any live auctioneer that waited 15 minutes for another bid before gaveling the sale wouldn't be in business very long.:rolleyes::eek:
 
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