Do you have a strategy on ebay????

[pennycarrol]

Hello everyone!!! I've got a problem lol!! I' m kind of new with the utilisation of ebay, and everytime I lose my bid.... How do you do? What is your strategy? Do you wait for the end of the sale to start bidding? Ladies and Gentlemen, I need expert advice!! Thank you very much, in advance!!
pennycarrol

 

[cherrypicker]

www.auctionsniper.com

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Regardless of the time at which he bids, my brother makes one bid only at the maximum amount he's willing to pay, and then waits for the email. No muss, no fuss, no stress. He says this strategy works rather well.


Lee
______________________

"If the price is right, you're in business." - Unknown (to me, anyway)

 

[jenny_dreadful]

Using an auction sniper to bid your maximum amount works well. I usually win that way. I think it's better to do that instead of ever bidding during the auction, because then other bidders are unaware of you and what you'd be willing to pay--bidding during just gets you caught up in bidding wars and drives the price up.

 

[Nick D]

I'll usually wait until the last couple days of the auction before I bid. Sometimes things will go up beyond my max by then. If they haven't, I'll make a 'max' bid. Sometimes I'll leave it at that, other times if I'm being outbid in the last couple minutes I might decide to up my max by a few dollars/pounds. It depends on how much I want the item.

 

[Cobden]

I refuse to snipe. I find it unsportsmanlike, and avoid it unless I'm bidding against someone who has won by sniping in the past, or I'm really annoyed.

Although going through the list of other bidders past buys and contemplating blackmail if they have bought a gimp suit is rather entertaining...

 

[David Conwill]

Regardless of the time at which he bids, my brother makes one bid only at the maximum amount he's willing to pay, and then waits for the email. No muss, no fuss, no stress. He says this strategy works rather well.

This is what I do, more or less. I look at (or find out) the cost of shipping and figure that into my total price. I then bid what I would pay for the item less the cost of shipping. If I win, I win. If I lose, it's usually by fifty cents. I got caught up in one bidding war and hated it. I won't do it again, I've got enough stress in my life.

-Dave

PS I should mention - I'm fairly generous with my top price. If the other guy beats me even by fifty cents, I guarantee I feel like he overpaid.

 

[luvthatlulu]

As both a Buyer and a Seller, I confess...I snipe. Why?

Well, why not? In any auction there is going to be a last bidder. In a live auction and just before the gavel falls, if another bid is offered, the auctioneer will continue until no more bids are received. On eBay that isn't possible, but everyone who is interested has the opportunity (and is repeatedly urged) to place their maximum bid prior to the auction end. What matter is it then if someone else comes in at the last second and places a higher bid? Were you willing to pay more? If so, why didn't you offer more?

Sometimes I win this way and many times I lose, too. But I don't get upset with anyone and the way they offered their bid when I do. I simply remind myself that I need to bid more for a similar item next time.

 

[cherrypicker]

The reason I snipe is to try and avoid 'shill bidding'.If you bid early,there is a chance that some unscrupulous sellers can get friends to bid the item up and find your maximum bid.I have seen this happen.

 

[ShortClara]

The reason I snipe is to try and avoid 'shill bidding'.If you bid early,there is a chance that some unscrupulous sellers can get friends to bid the item up and find your maximum bid.I have seen this happen.

A seller can shill regardless of when you bid. Bidding early will drive up the price whether you are bidding against real or fake bidders. Most sellers are not unscrupulus, though

I love to be in the thick of it in the end, but I do find I tend to spend more than I wanted that way. That's why I have been sniping as of late as well, putting in my max and waiting.

 

[Twitch]

I bid the maximum I want to bid early or late in the auction. I stick by it because getting involved in bidding wars is silly, counter productive and costs more money. I can't tell you the times I've seen items get bid way up to double their value then the next 7-10 days there's another item just like it that no one bids on and I get it for reasonable money.

For me I don't care if it's .50 more. I'm not bidding it. If I lose it for that amount so be it. You may have to wait a few weeks but you will see a duplicate or very similar item soon and you will snag it. Patience.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

This is what I do, more or less. I look at (or find out) the cost of shipping and figure that into my total price. I then bid what I would pay for the item less the cost of shipping. If I win, I win. If I lose, it's usually by fifty cents. I got caught up in one bidding war and hated it. I won't do it again, I've got enough stress in my life.

-Dave

PS I should mention - I'm fairly generous with my top price. If the other guy beats me even by fifty cents, I guarantee I feel like he overpaid.

This is what I do as well. Pretty much the same as Lee's brother and Twitch. If I play the waiting game, I might forget to bid! I also need no more stress in my life, and I have waited years for some items I now own, so why not a few more weeks until another one comes up for auction? And if by me bidding early the seller gets a huge price, good for the seller, also the wealthier person who outbid me is happy, and I'm a gal who was taught to put the needs of others first and blah blah blah and maybe I can't figure out how to use a sniper after all anyway.
If I have favorite sellers I look for their Buy It Now items and if it's a price I want to pay I do that and be done with it.

 

[Miss Brill]

I never bid until the last minute. It seems like once something gets a bid, or several, it gets more attention.

 

[dnjan]

Regardless of the time at which he bids, my brother makes one bid only at the maximum amount he's willing to pay, and then waits for the email.

Lee
______________________

"If the price is right, you're in business." - Unknown (to me, anyway)

I'll admit that I snipe, mostly because I do not have the willpower that your brother has. I have lost items because my less-than-a-minute-left bid was not high enough, and if I had had more time I would have got caught up in it and raised my bid. To more than I had decided my maximum was.

And I don't mind winning something away from a person who thought they were going to get it cheap, because I won the item based on what I was willing to pay.

 

[ScionPI2005]

And I don't mind winning something away from a person who thought they were going to get it cheap, because I won the item based on what I was willing to pay.

That's the way I view it. The auction is still going, regardless of whether it has two hours left, or five seconds. It's not over till its over. I have won many things on the bay by sniping that way; but I have also lost several things as well to others.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

I ask myself, what is the absolute maximum amount I am willing to bid on this item, then I bid it and sit back.

Or...if I definitely want to win it, I will snipe. I wait until there is about 30 seconds left and then put in a bid quite a bit higher than the top bid. That way, they don't have time to catch me. Also, I put in an odd bid, i.e. $45.32 or some such amount. I win a lot doing that.

If I really want something and it is available on a "buy it now," I just buy it if the price is right. No hassle that way, no guessing, and I don't have to wake up at 3 in the morning to snipe.

karol

 

[pennycarrol]

Thank you very much for all your answers!!!! You are going to laugh but I didn't even know that you could have snipers, or even I didn't know what it was!!!! Ahh la la, I need more practice with e bay!!! That's the key!!lol lol!!!

 

[jenny_dreadful]

If I really want something and it is available on a "buy it now," I just buy it if the price is right. No hassle that way, no guessing, and I don't have to wake up at 3 in the morning to snipe.

karol

I prefer Buy It Now, too. I don't wake up at 3 AM to snipe, though--I do it way ahead of time so I don't forget about it. I just put in the highest highest highest amount I'd conceivably pay, usually higher than I expect anyone to go. If I still lose then, I just think it went for way more than it was worth, considering my high bid is also sometimes more than I think it's worth (I just don't mind paying more if I really really want something. Unless it's just insane).

 

[Rhofal]

I once stumbled on a technique by accident. It was for an item I was prepared to pay around 30€ for, which was set to open at 1€. Now I usually type in a bid ending two places after the comma to confuse snipers (like 30.73€).

But because of a misplaced decimal separator I had bid 307.x€ on that item, so other bidders got notified that their maximum bid was not high enough all the time and I got the item for 1€... I hadn't paid any attention to the confirmation mails so I wasn't aware of the ridiculous bid I made until the auction was over

But I haven't used the trick again. The items I buy are usually things sold by people who share my intrests and I feel it's taking away their opportunity to catch a fair price on their item. I still have a 100% positive feedback score and always get nice comments about communicating clearly and paying lightning fast. And I would love to keep it that way.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[Adele]

You are going to laugh but I didn't even know that you could have snipers....

I didn't know of it either and I've been bidding on ebay for quite some time, so if anyone was going to get laughed at, it would be me! lol

Nonetheless, my method includes first checking the item and how the bidding is going throughout the week, and if it isn't ridiculously high, then I'll pay attention to when the bid ends. Moreover, once it's down to the last seconds, I make my move. Indeed, rather risky, but that is what I have done.