Why do people bid on items with days of the auction to run?

Bennie-Mac said:
I was watching a tent with 1 bid on it, put in a much higher bid in the final seconds of the auction but the first bidders autobid beat me in the end. I was the only other bidder though so i bet he was a bit angry that i cost him an extra £120 :)

Goes to show that it does work though.

Edit - regarding your above post it doesn't just automatically put your max bid on if you get outbid, it adds on another £1 ontop of the other persons highest, so if you bid a maximum of £90 but the other bidders highest is only £50, you get it for £51.
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He probably wasnt that ****ed, he evaluated it, put in his max bid and that was it. He probably wasnt even sitting at the keyboard last few seconds, he will just get a nice surprise when he opens his email and has won the tent at or below the value he placed on it.

If something is listed very low, say £1 thats worth a lot more you dont expect to win it for £1, if by some fluke it happens great but otherwise bid early type in what you are will to pay and see if you win, if more than person is interested the person willing to pay most will win every time, its pretty simple really.
 
It's just the way I roll. :p

I always miss the end of auctions, or completely forget about something interesting I might stumble upon. So I'll stick a bid in and then forget about it... Of course this can mean I've triggered off someone else's max bid, but so what? It's only eBay, and there's plenty more rubbish where that came from.

I'm sure the OP will find a nice amp for 0.99p at some point.
 
Raymond Lin said:
If an item has no reserve.

It starts at £0.99.

It is worth £100.

Now, I would consider getting it for £50 a bargain, £70 reasonable and £90 Max.

Who in the right mind would put in a bid for £1 and place a max bid for £90? If I want a chance to get it for around £50 to £70. It would be stupid to place a £1 bid with a max bid of £90, won't it?

Isn't that how max bid works? When someone go over your current bid, it puts in your max bid? Unless of course I put in a £50 bid when it was at £0.99. Then that would be silly won't it? You might ruin the chance of no one else bidding and thus getting it for £1.
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you seem like a smart bloke but seriously?
 
cm1179 said:
you seem like a smart bloke but seriously?
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My wife didn't get the maximum bid thing for ages... She was really cross when I explained the system kept bidding for you up to your maximum amount... I must have had one of those faces on like O_O with maximum "Huh?" because I just couldn't understand what she couldn't understand.
 
I see item. I decide what I would pay for item. I bid on item.

It makes absolutely zero difference whether I do this 10 seconds after the start or 10 seconds before the end, because ebay will only accept my bid to the next increment anyway.

ie if it was an item listed at 99p and I bid £100 and nobody else bids, the item still ends at 99p.
 
robskinner said:
He probably wasnt that ****ed, he evaluated it, put in his max bid and that was it. He probably wasnt even sitting at the keyboard last few seconds, he will just get a nice surprise when he opens his email and has won the tent at or below the value he placed on it.
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Well yes and no, sure he was willing to pay the amount he ended up paying, but my bid was the difference between him paying £31 or £151, just knowing I could have got it for £31 would really cheese me off.
 
Vonhelmet said:
My wife didn't get the maximum bid thing for ages... She was really cross when I explained the system kept bidding for you up to your maximum amount... I must have had one of those faces on like O_O with maximum "Huh?" because I just couldn't understand what she couldn't understand.
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I didn't know it does increment bid!

Then what use are those bid sniping websites are for then?
 
Vonhelmet said:
My wife didn't get the maximum bid thing for ages... She was really cross when I explained the system kept bidding for you up to your maximum amount... I must have had one of those faces on like O_O with maximum "Huh?" because I just couldn't understand what she couldn't understand.
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A lot of people struggle to understand this for some reason.
 
I always bid with 5 or so seconds to go but I understand why some people enter there maximum bid early as they won't be home when the item ends or just incase they forget etc.
 
Bennie-Mac said:
Well yes and no, sure he was willing to pay the amount he ended up paying, but my bid was the difference between him paying £31 or £151, just knowing I could have got it for £31 would really cheese me off.
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Well just because you would be cheesed off don't assume others would as well.
If I was me bidding on said tent I would be happy I won not be worrying that I may have got it cheaper, I would have valued it at the amount I bid, what every one else valued it at I wouldn't give a **** about.

Maybe he had a good snigger at you trying to beat him by leaving it to the last minute to try to beat him and yet he owned you anyway. Always two sides to a coin.
 
Lopéz said:
I see item. I decide what I would pay for item. I bid on item.

It makes absolutely zero difference whether I do this 10 seconds after the start or 10 seconds before the end, because ebay will only accept my bid to the next increment anyway.

ie if it was an item listed at 99p and I bid £100 and nobody else bids, the item still ends at 99p.
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That's not what raymond is saying though (i don't think). edit: ok maybe i was wrong if he didnt know about the incremental stuff but still... Bidding early means the price will get higher earlier on, possibly ending up with a higher overall price due to idiots that just keep bidding. If you just sit back for 7 days and bid your maximum in the last hour or so there's a better chance of getting it for lower assuming it's not a really popular item.

That's my experience anyway.
 
I don't think it makes any difference. 2 bidders put in maximum bids last minute.

eBay's a bit of a joke nowadays anyway I don't shop in there to get a bargain its more for the buy it now on cheaper retail stuff.

And tbh I think some people just outbid just because it makes them feel superior even if its anything but a bargain
 
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Raymond Lin said:
If an item has no reserve.

It starts at £0.99.

It is worth £100.

Now, I would consider getting it for £50 a bargain, £70 reasonable and £90 Max.

Who in the right mind would put in a bid for £1 and place a max bid for £90? If I want a chance to get it for around £50 to £70. It would be stupid to place a £1 bid with a max bid of £90, won't it?

Isn't that how max bid works? When someone go over your current bid, it puts in your max bid? Unless of course I put in a £50 bid when it was at £0.99. Then that would be silly won't it? You might ruin the chance of no one else bidding and thus getting it for £1.
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Proof that nobody understands the system :p
 
Those sites are designed so you don't put ANY bids on until seconds to go.

Thus, the item looks like it's dead until the last moment. If you see someone has stuck a bid on, then you'll likely know someone else will push up your max bid, rather than trying to snipe it for the absolute minimum.
 
Most people don't understand the eBay bidding system, which is why you see the majority of bids in the last 60 seconds.

Heck even some websites have even made money out of people's stupidy with a service which bids at the last second on your behalf for a fee :p
 
weringo said:
Most people don't understand the eBay bidding system, which is why you see the majority of bids in the last 60 seconds.

Heck even some websites have even made money out of people's stupidy with a service which bids at the last second on your behalf for a fee :p
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I was talking about this with someone, mentioned the term "proxy bid" and I could see them having a mental breakdown.
 
Surely to get it the lowest possible bid is to bid at the last second.

Bidding early with a max bid meaning you are more likely getting close to what you are willing to pay, more away from what you want to be paying.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Surely to get it the lowest possible bid is to bid at the last second.

Bidding early with a max bid meaning you are more likely getting close to what you are willing to pay, more away from what you want to be paying.
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That would only work if nobody bid against you. And if nobody bid against you, it wouldn't matter if you had bid in the first second or the last second.
 
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