Ebay Tactics

[beren]

I was cruising through the camera accessories pages on ebay last night and come across a lowepro mini trekker packback used and put in a bid and limit to what i was prepared to splash out for it . I was getting pretty excited towards the end of the auction with the price staying below half the retail cost but got snipered in the final run for home . Even though I think its scumbag behaviour i didnt mind losing because i wasnt going to go any higher and as luck would have it a new listing come up for new ones {from HK} and the difference worked out to be 3 bucks ...you beauty :) Anywhy whats everyones opinion on ebay Tactics and strategies :)

[Striker]

Mike...you reading this...another Lowepro bag...lol

I bid in the last 20 seconds trying to hold off till only seconds left.

[beren]

C"mon Tony dont tell me you engage in cowardly tactics ...grrrrrrrr

PS:BTW to maintain composure i cleaned my corrector plate :)

[davidpretorius]

have never bought or sold, so can't comment, but boy is it popular with so many people!!!

[frogman]

i find the item i want then place a "watch" on a few of the same item , take note of how much they go for and place the average bid (or a little below) as my maximum bid....... around the last 20 or 30 seconds.... (depends if you have a quick connection)
OH YEAH ... know the store prices before you go to ebay...... and WATCH THE POSTAGE PRICES... thieving ****** ! :)

[Starkler]

Its the law of the jungle and you want to get the item for the minimum price.
Just shoot your max bid in with about 20 seconds to go and people dont have a chance to react.
Some people use sniper bots which gives an unfair advantage but if you bid what your really prepared to pay then thats that.

[acropolite]

I'm with Tony, wait until the last few seconds then bid.

[RAJAH235]

I now keep 2 tabs open to watch what transpires. Got gazumped 2 or 3 times before I woke up..:D L.
ps. Odd amounts of say, $xx.36 may confuse their final bids too. Tip from eBay.
pps. Don't buy much now tho! & you're right re; watch the postage...

[beren]

Still think there should be a controlling mechanism to stop that form of bidding , say the last 5-10 minutes only those who have played/revealed there hand can bid/outbid :confuse3: .....anywhy least i have the satisfaction of pushing the price up for the scumbag with postage included its near enough to the price of a new one imported :P

[barees63]

I've used a (paid) sniping service on Ebay for years (bidnapper.com), if you use Ebay much it soon becomes apparent if you really want something, especially in competetive areas (various collectables areas for example), you will be bidding against software and you can't win by bidding manually.. IMO, sniping is standard practice on Ebay, not a case of a few "scumbags" spoiling it for others..

[ving]

I only consider bidding in the last few mins if i am at home (56k) or last few seconds at work... its just standard practice. if you dont do it you miss out, its that simple.

yeah its wrong i know, but if you put in your highest bid and someone else is prepared to pay more then why not let them.... maybe your highest wasnt high enough?

[barees63]

Really? how about a "real" auction? does anyone complain if you hold off and bid near the end? IMO, most people I know hold off bidding till the last minute on Ebay or Trademe here in NZ, otherwise you simply drive the price up, on Ebay you don't really have a choice, if you want to compete against automated bidders you either pay over the odds or use the same tools as everyone else..

[Starkler]

Its really the seller who looses out. If you bid in the final 20 secs the highest max price you are willing to pay for the item, you either win it at a price you're happy with, or somebody else bids more than you were prepared to pay anyway :confuse3:

I guess the dissapointment is the illusion of a potential bargain evaporating between page refreshes :sad:

[beren]

Well there you go I didn't know about Bidnapper etc :P .....In a real "auction" as far as i know {or could be naive again} least you have chance before the hammer closes the deal to respond if your willing to go higher.In the Ebay arena I understand the method but still think its a unsavoury practice

[ving]

if it were left the the seller to close the auction after the last bid was made the auction could last forever... going once, going twice, going three times.... sold to the man who stuck around the longest....

what really is the best way? surely not like a real auction, it'd be too disoragnised IMO.
:)

[jjjnettie]

You can't say it enough, WATCH THE POSTAGE CHARGES.
You think you are getting a bargain, and then they charge you $70 for postage.

[barees63]

TradeMe (NZ's big auction site) has a good scheme, auctions can "Auto-Extend" which means so long as there is bidding within so many minutes (5 minutes or something) the auction stays open past the original closing time , probably "fairer" for the bidder and definitely better for the seller, I don't use sniping tools on TradeMe (don't know if there are any), only on Ebay where I got frustrated early on by the impossibility of bidding against machines (if you can't beat 'em...)



Amen to that, I've been caught out on Ebay in the past with sellers basically making up the price with ridiculous postage.. very rude! I always ask in advance now.

[Starkler]

Now thats a great idea !

[DRCORTEX]

Totally agree, leave your bid till the last 20s or so ( there is software around that intergrates with Ebay for this but I've never used it ), and bid the most your willing to pay.

Only thing you might promote by bidding early is a war, $10 more than you wanted to bid earlier, can become, 20, 30, 40, etc. all because your ego can get hold ( that so and so isn't going to get me ).

Oh - and buyer beware - always ask questions, and if the answers don't satisfy you ask them again in blunt language. If it sounds like your getting something for a price to good to be true - it probably is. The seller may be an idiot, but there are plenty of bidders out there that know exactly what a specific item is worth.

Then again - sometimes your lucky ( I don't tend to fall into that category )


ciao!

Lance