Aero bidding ebay

[pjstrass]

as has been mentioned here by others , I recently missed out on a great deal with an Aero A2 smooth horsehide jacket which in the pic looked almost new in my size...on ebay. I thought that with one click bidding I had a good chance of getting it at a great price. As it happened the more skilled bidder did get it at a great price...I think $360.....which clicked in at the very last second and beat my bids...several one clickers in the last seconds. Any opinions on how to successfully bid would be appreciated. My theory now is to just bite the bullet and put in your very maximum bid and then some till it hurts in the last seconds of bidding .. if it is a great deal on an Aero, Goodwear etc...

 

[Edward]

Bid late - arly bids can encourage competition, IMO. Also, investigate using a sniping software. I used to consider that a bit underhand, but after I lost out on one too many auctions to other folks who were clearly using them, I gave in.

 

[oldcrow82]

The last second snipping thing always loses out to a fellow like me who has bid high on an item. Let's use your example. If I was you what I would have done is figured what I would pay and not a penny more for this item. If that number is $600 I enter that as my maximum bid. eBay won't automatically increase the bid to $600, but it will continue to bid for you. If for example the price is say at $367 with 2 min left in the auction. If someone comes along and wants to try and snipe me by bidding $370 or even $400 at the last moments eBay will increase my bid for me, more than the snipper as i am curretly the high bidder and willing to bid up to $600. So ebay would increase my bid to $401. Here is where people get frustrated. The guy who tried to out bid me at the last second thinks hes lost out by a dollar when in reality my max bid is higher than his. Also, I think a few bids early on also discourages continued bidding on an item, letting it sell for maybe a few dollars less than a hard late push.
I prefer this method also so I don't get into a bidding war with someone and over pay for an item. It's easy to continue to bid $10 more then the current bid and end up way over budget. If I set my price and walk away, I either win the item or someone is willing to pay more than me for it, which is just fine. If it is something as desireable as an Aero in a common size, the market will set the price. good luck!

 

[John Lever]

The last second snipping thing always loses out to a fellow like me who has bid high on an item. Let's use your example. If I was you what I would have done is figured what I would pay and not a penny more for this item. If that number is $600 I enter that as my maximum bid. eBay won't automatically increase the bid to $600, but it will continue to bid for you. If for example the price is say at $367 with 2 min left in the auction. If someone comes along and wants to try and snipe me by bidding $370 or even $400 at the last moments eBay will increase my bid for me, more than the snipper as i am curretly the high bidder and willing to bid up to $600. So ebay would increase my bid to $401. Here is where people get frustrated. The guy who tried to out bid me at the last second thinks hes lost out by a dollar when in reality my max bid is higher than his. Also, I think a few bids early on also discourages continued bidding on an item, letting it sell for maybe a few dollars less than a hard late push.
I prefer this method also so I don't get into a bidding war with someone and over pay for an item. It's easy to continue to bid $10 more then the current bid and end up way over budget. If I set my price and walk away, I either win the item or someone is willing to pay more than me for it, which is just fine. If it is something as desireable as an Aero in a common size, the market will set the price. good luck!

That's a very sound principle. Of course you have to stick to the maximum amount !

 

[Jack Burton]

oldcrow82 raises a good point. I've found if you bid high though, you're still better off waiting until late in the game. Some times when you put a high bid in early, one bidder will hack away at it placing multiple maximum bids. If you wait until the last 30 seconds to put in a high bid, that won't happen.

 

[Edward]

oldcrow82 raises a good point. I've found if you bid high though, you're still better off waiting until late in the game. Some times when you put a high bid in early, one bidder will hack away at it placing multiple maximum bids. If you wait until the last 30 seconds to put in a high bid, that won't happen.

That has been my experience too. Sure, you only "lose" the auction if someone bids more than you were prepared to pay anyhow, no matter when they do it, but my experience has been by bidding the max earlier rather than later you will often find that you end up paying out a bigger proportion of your max than otherwise, especially if you do outbid someone who desperately wants something. Course, some of the best bargains I've had on eBay were things I didn't care that much about, and so was able to just stick a bid on and forget about.

 

[oldcrow82]

One thing I think people tend to forget is in our "hobby" a lot of the items are not available down at the local walmart, as such when an item does become available it will sell for a premium. Good deals are to be had sometimes, but most of the time they are selling at market driven prices.
I have been attempting to buy some LVC items and they are selling at around retail prices. There are no deals on these items as they are not readiably available. I am going to if I want them, have to shell out big dollars.

 

[Edward]

One thing I think people tend to forget is in our "hobby" a lot of the items are not available down at the local walmart, as such when an item does become available it will sell for a premium. Good deals are to be had sometimes, but most of the time they are selling at market driven prices.
I have been attempting to buy some LVC items and they are selling at around retail prices. There are no deals on these items as they are not readiably available. I am going to if I want them, have to shell out big dollars.

Also true. A niche market only equates to high supply / low demand if the items are plentiful. The trick is in finding the god stuff that has been poorly listed... as opposed to the dealers who list really well stuff that isn't entirely that great, shall we say.

 

[Tadite]

Also true. A niche market only equates to high supply / low demand if the items are plentiful. The trick is in finding the god stuff that has been poorly listed... as opposed to the dealers who list really well stuff that isn't entirely that great, shall we say.

I've never had that much luck with Ebay using this method but have had a huge amount of success at secondary stores or consignment places. It's just hard to look through hundreds of leather jackets hoping to hit an Aero!

 

[ButteMT61]

I used to have a trick where I searched for misspelled items. They have an auto-correct feature now that took that fun away.
I scored HUGE in the early years doing that. Now, I have other ways, but you guys are competition, so I know nussing - nussing!

 

[Edward]

I've never had that much luck with Ebay using this method but have had a huge amount of success at secondary stores or consignment places. It's just hard to look through hundreds of leather jackets hoping to hit an Aero!

I've owned six Aeros in the last two years, only two bought new. The best bargains were on the military jackets, including the A2, and a mc in steer. I put this down to Aero not being regarded by the cognescenti as among the very most accurate replicas of the military stuff, and the reputation of their superlative fqhh overshadowing all their other wonderful hides. My Aero A2 was as new and about half the price that it would have then cost to buy from Aero. It was, of course, the goat model, which many A2 fans turn up their noses at in favour of the horse. That sort of thing, I find, brings price down. That and buying out of season - I paid only GBP300 for my ELC 42 pattern Irvin (worn once, if that, by the original owner). No bids against me, won for the start price. I believe in large part this was because I bought it in early September or late August, a time of year when no sane person would be even thinking about shearling jackets. Buying out of season can net the bargains.

 

[Damon Falzone]

I have gotten some excellent deals on hats and leather jackets right here on our Fedora Lounge Classifieds.

 

[Forrest]

I'll enter my maximum bid at the last possible moment. Also, look for auctions that end at weird times. Auctions that end on Sunday evenings will kill you, because everybody and their grandmother will remember to check back in and put in a last bid. Auctions that end on say a Friday at 8 pm? Most people have better things to do than remember to put in that last bid.

 

[Phantomfixer]

I'll enter my maximum bid at the last possible moment. Also, look for auctions that end at weird times. Auctions that end on Sunday evenings will kill you, because everybody and their grandmother will remember to check back in and put in a last bid. Auctions that end on say a Friday at 8 pm? Most people have better things to do than remember to put in that last bid.

To chime in that... auctions ending on a holiday. I scored a USAAF seatpack parachute with jungle survival kit(empty) for pennies on July 4th a few years ago. Greatest score on ebay at that.

 

[Tony B]

Must admit I dont even look at stuff that ends on a sunday evening, but as I work at home I can do the midweek ones a treat without much competition.....best result was my aero long halfbelt in brown fqhh (not listed as aero) for £31 less than 2 years ago........but I did have to get up at 6 in the morning to find out nobody else had bid and put mine on at the last second. Second best was a mint condition billingham 550 bag for £20 at some unearthly hour as well.