How Not To Bid On Ebay

[wspohn]

You see the arguments about how bidding at the last minute is somehow a shabby thing to do (usually sour grapes by unsuccessful bidders that simply didn't bid enough), and long time auction bidders like me tell you it is not a good idea to bid early because others will come and peck away at your bid and you'll end up paying more.

 

Case in point. This guy (who may have had a good reason - he might have been away from the computer when the auction ended, for instance) placed one bid and he was the first bidder on March 11. Two other people took minor swings at him and then quit and then our determined bidder started in and bid 9 times, a spate of 7 bids one after the other, then he went away and thought about it and came back and hammered it a couple more times in the last hour of the auction. The first bidder still won it, but if he had waited and bid himself in the last minute of the auction, the runner up would likely have been satisfied with placing a bid above the previous bidders, but nowhere near as high as the final price. Our winner would have still won the item, but would have paid 30% less for it.

 

 

 

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFg5NTU=/$(KGrHqF,!r!E88gTl4g8BP(LnNMFpg~~60_0.JPG

Item Title: WATERMAN C/F FOUNTAIN PEN SET (GoldPlate)Winning bid:US $212.62http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/s.gifBidders:http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/s.gif4Bids:http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/s.gif13Time Ended:http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/s.gifMar-16-12 07:58:02

 

BIDS

 

Member Id: l***7( 58) US $212.62 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

Member Id: t***c( 751) US $210.12 Mar-16-12 07:17:42 PDT

 

Member Id: t***c( 751) US $204.00 Mar-16-12 07:17:10 PDT

 

Member Id: t***c( 751) US $199.00 Mar-16-12 06:55:30 PDT

 

Member Id: t***c( 751) US $194.00 Mar-16-12 06:55:19 PDT

 

Member Id: t***c( 751) US $187.65 Mar-16-12 06:55:07 PDT

 

Member Id: t***c( 751) US $180.18 Mar-16-12 06:54:54 PDT

 

Member Id: t***c( 751) US $165.43 Mar-16-12 06:54:09 PDT

 

Member Id: t***c( 751) US $156.78 Mar-16-12 06:53:56 PDT

 

Member Id: t***c( 751) US $151.51 Mar-16-12 06:53:43 PDT

 

Member Id: 1***y( 4 ) US $139.51 Mar-16-12 06:29:07 PDT

 

Member Id: e***g( 6 ) US $132.50 Mar-13-12 21:54:50 PDT

 

Member Id: e***g( 6 ) US $127.50 Mar-13-12 21:54:27 PDT

 

 

Starting Price US $125.00 Mar-11-12 07:58:02 PDT

[a aa]

I agree with your comments.

 

Bidding early on an eBay auction is a sure-fire way to get your bid topped or get entangled in a bidding war and end up paying more than you need to.

[777]

Funny, and maybe it's just me, but the best deals I score are always the ones were I bid like, a week early.

 

I end up getting the pen for cheap! Not always mind you, but it's happened many more times than me snagging a deal by bidding last minute.

 

I prefer personally to just bid early, and let it slide. I win what I win, and lose what I lose. Stress free for me, as I can easily get swept up in bidding wars if I pay too much attention.

[Sasha Royale]

I guess you are right. Winning is fun, even if it is just

by $1.50 . Most of the time, I am not willing to invest the

time. I decide what the item is worth to me. Then, I bid,

and come back later.

 

I once bid for an hour, in fifty cent increments. I beat

them all. Winning bid : $47.01 . I was king for two days,

until I came across it at Goulet for $32.50. :bonk:

 

It's life. Have fun.

[wspohn]

If paying too much for a pen because you got carried away and hadn't done your homework and checked values elsewhere is fun, I'd like to offer you some 'fun' my way.

 

Do you play poker by any chance........

 

Most of us just want to buy items as cheaply as possible, not waste our time plinking away a bid at a time. My post is aimed at that majority, not the people who plink away for amusement.

[Wikoster]

Funny, and maybe it's just me, but the best deals I score are always the ones were I bid like, a week early.

 

I end up getting the pen for cheap! Not always mind you, but it's happened many more times than me snagging a deal by bidding last minute.

 

I prefer personally to just bid early, and let it slide. I win what I win, and lose what I lose. Stress free for me, as I can easily get swept up in bidding wars if I pay too much attention.

 

My policy. If I win it, great, if not, then it wasn't meant to be. It also keeps me from buying a whole pride of pens. (Because yes, pens are like lions. They swallow your soul)

[subbes]

I like to bid at the beginning, to "mark my territory," then set up a snipe. That way I have plenty of time to reconsider my max bid, and I don't feel like I came in out of nowhere at the end.

 

(Often i end up deleting my snipe and letting it go.)

[wspohn]

I like to bid at the beginning, to "mark my territory," then set up a snipe. That way I have plenty of time to reconsider my max bid, and I don't feel like I came in out of nowhere at the end.

 

(Often i end up deleting my snipe and letting it go.)

 

Yes, that is a handy thing to do sometimes, just to get it on your bid list so you can easily keep an eye on it, then hammer it at the end (or decide not to, as you say).

[heineda]

I have seen many used items sell on ebay for a lot more money than it would cost to buy it brand new. Especially wood carving and turning tools. For me, I decide what I would be willing to pay for an item and I bid accordingly. There are a lot of really foolish people out there. Do your homework and bid with knowledge. That is the key to making smart buys on ebay.

[Chrissy]

I am going +1 for these last 2 replies.

 

You need to be really careful about buying on eBay, and check out everywhere else so that you know the price of an item.

[professionaldilettante]

What you didn't show was that there were automatic bids put in,

Bidder Bid Amount Bid Time

l***7( 59) US $212.62 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

t***c( 751) US $210.12 Mar-16-12 07:17:42 PDT

 

l***7( 59 ) US $206.50 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

t***c( 751) US $204.00 Mar-16-12 07:17:10 PDT

 

l***7( 59 ) US $201.50 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

t***c( 751) US $199.00 Mar-16-12 06:55:30 PDT

 

l***7( 59 ) US $196.50 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

t***c( 751) US $194.00 Mar-16-12 06:55:19 PDT

 

l***7( 59 ) US $190.15 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

t***c( 751) US $187.65 Mar-16-12 06:55:07 PDT

 

l***7( 59 ) US $182.68 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

t***c( 751) US $180.18 Mar-16-12 06:54:54 PDT

 

l***7( 59 ) US $167.93 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

t***c( 751) US $165.43 Mar-16-12 06:54:09 PDT

 

l***7( 59 ) US $159.28 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

t***c( 751) US $156.78 Mar-16-12 06:53:56 PDT

 

l***7( 59 ) US $154.01 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

t***c( 751) US $151.51 Mar-16-12 06:53:43 PDT

 

l***7( 59 ) US $142.01 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

1***y( 4 ) US $139.51 Mar-16-12 06:29:07 PDT

 

l***7( 59 ) US $135.00 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

e***g( 6 ) US $132.50 Mar-13-12 21:54:50 PDT

 

l***7( 59 ) US $130.00 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

e***g( 6 ) US $127.50 Mar-13-12 21:54:27 PDT

 

l***7( 59 ) US $125.00 Mar-11-12 15:04:11 PDT

 

Starting Price US $125.00

Mar-11-12 07:58:02 PDT

 

The winner,l***7( 59 ), seems to have popped up there all along, but they have put their max in the very start and every bid up till the last from this person is an automatic bid. Not really an example of a bidding war per-se, but more of what if you put in a high bid and two others start a bidding war over your item. Are you prepared to pay for their follies?

Edited March 17, 2012 by professionaldilettante

[torstar]

No no no no no...

 

You can't run around after the fact and state what might have happened with an auction, if only this or that happened.

 

An auction takes place with real time decisions and real time results.

[wspohn]

No no no no no...

 

You can't run around after the fact and state what might have happened with an auction, if only this or that happened.

 

An auction takes place with real time decisions and real time results.

 

What a silly idea - of course you can. If the winning bidder had put his maximum bid in at the end, the second bidder would have put in his own maximum much earlier and then waited to see what happened. Given his obvious indecision (all those small bids) he would have never bid as much as he did in the end, because he wouldhave come out on top of the others, maybe added a modest increase to be sure and would then have lost at the last minute with no time to try more chipping away.

[inBOIL]

Putting in a safe, super-high max bid at the very beginning is an absolutely awesome way to waste all your money. i've done it myself on many an occasion. (It's the kinda' fun that never wears off.)

[rakka]

Some may crucify me for this, but I put items I'm interested in into my Watch List and monitor how the bidding goes on them until the very end. If I feel like jumping in on it, I put my max bid in in the last couple seconds. If someone has a higher max bid, or outbids me on a snipe, no big deal. But I don't get involved until the very end, and I research out my price ceiling ahead of time.

 

It's a bidding war, I see no reason to make myself known until absolutely necessary.

[FarmBoy]

As far as I can tell the high bidder still gets the item, even if the bid was placed on the first day of the auction.

[beak]

As far as I can tell the high bidder still gets the item, even if the bid was placed on the first day of the auction.

Exactly. You will never know if any bid you see already there is not merely a fraction of the bidder's already-entered maximum bid.

 

SO many think that sniping somehow defeats a higher bid. It doesn't, it can't, and it never will. There may be slight advantages to bidding late, but the highest bid always wins. How could eBay operate otherwise!

[rakka]

The benefit of sniping is trying to outbid the highest bid without providing someone else enough time to outbid you, because the auction is ending in a matter of seconds. The downside is everyone thinks you're a jerk. Just in case anyone wasn't clear on that.

[eckiethump]

Sniping effectively turns e-bay from an auction site, to what in construction here in the UK, used to be known as a Dutch auction. I sometimes I bid high and early, others times, watch the sale and bid in the the last minute, but haven't used snipe tools for a few years now. Pen wise there s nothing I "want" enough, but on occasions e-bay throws up pen parts I do "need", where the bid high and early has stood me in good stead.

 

 

et

[pajaro]

I know some people who, when out bid as t***c was, will put in bids to see how much they can make the winner pay for the item. Of course, sometimes those people end up accidentally winning the auction.