advice for ebay auctions

[builder22]

never tried to buy anything from an ebay auction before (used buy now, but not quite the same)

found an item that I really want but want to minimize the chances of someone else getting it at the last second

tips ?

 

[bainbridge]

Work out in your mind the max you are willing to pay, then enter that amount about 20 seconds before the auction ends.

 

[Efour]

link item ?

As said just bid exactly what you are willing to pay for it... that way you know you won/lost fair and square.

If you mean you want to "snipe" it at the last second to get it as cheap as possible thats a whole 'nother ball game.

 

[pooley]

Work out in your mind the max you are willing to pay, then enter that amount about 20 seconds before the auction ends.

This is the method i use.

 

[peige]

As above, don't get caught in the auction element, read up on the item, decide what you will pay max, place that bid at the last moment pratical and then do not bid again.
You will still only pay the hightest incrament up to your bid necessary to get the item.

Oh and read the sellers feedback before you get involved.

 

[builder22]

cheers people, that seems like a sensible approach

will still be gutted if someone gets it for 50 pence more than I put my max bid at tho

 

[dirtychinchilla]

Definitely use a sniper, and put a weird number on the end so like if you want to pay 7.50, put 7.63 so that any similar bids are basically ignored. Try Auction Sniper though, and wait until 10 seconds before the end, not 20

 

[Jonno02]

If you REALLY want it, use a bid sniper.

 

[bitslice]

I use two screens, one to refresh the time, one to complete the bid. Normally get it down to 5-10 seconds.
I really should get an automatic bidder program, I miss quite a lot just by forgetting they were about to finish.

 

[thep02]

My gf always adds a few pence over the natural high bid, rather than £10.50 she'd put £10.57 thus beating all the folk who put the obvious £10.50 and she bids in the last 3/4 seconds by counting down and having multiple tabs open with different high bids set ready to fire and other counting down tabs, it's her hobby I guess. I mock her but frequently benefit.

 

[peige]

cheers people, that seems like a sensible approach

will still be gutted if someone gets it for 50 pence more than I put my max bid at tho

It may appear to go for 50p more but if they have put in a bid of £20 more it would have autobid up to that and before you know it your in an auction and paying over the odds. Stick to the amount you pick, bid at last moment ether manually or using a sniper thingy, although even with sniping an autobid will still get you, it just stops the human at the other end having time to reconsider their highest bid...

 

[pooley]

My gf always adds a few pence over the natural high bid, rather than £10.50 she'd put £10.57 thus beating all the folk who put the obvious £10.50 and she bids in the last 3/4 seconds by counting down and having multiple tabs open with different high bids set ready to fire and other counting down tabs, it's her hobby I guess. I mock her but frequently benefit.

Ebayin like a pro

 

[413x]

yes! the random figure thing

if you put in 24.51 and they have to be at least 50p above then they put in 25 they miss it

 

[builder22]

ahh, making sense now, sniping only works if you're bidding against other snipers, if someone's put in a high enough bid it's no use

yes! the random figure thing

if you put in 24.51 and they have to be at least 50p above then they put in 25 they miss it

surely if it's just 1 pence over that would be the winning bid ?

if not, how do you know how much over you have to be to win the auction?

 

[Jonno02]

But if you put in your maximum bid 1 second before the auction ends using a sniper, then you can't get caught up in the ebay mentality of "it's now £35 over my maximum but I'm caught up in the moment and I'm gonna outbid them."

 

[Deleted member 66701]

I use http://auctionsniper.com/

I really like the bid group function - set up a group of similar items, as soon as you win one item in the group, it will not bid on the other items.

 

[builder22]

ok, just did a test on a fairly cheap item and lost by £1,
winning bid was £18, I had my max set to £17 so....the user who won might have had their max bid at £50 for all I know? it's just that nobody else had a higher bid, right ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/iRig-Guitar-Bass-Adapter-Use-iPod-iPhone-iPad-/281146620777

I'm the 2nd last bid, that's using auctionsniper

 

[Caged]

Exactly. If you get carried away trying to outbid at the last minute you will end up paying more than you want for the item.

 

[Christmas themed thank]

If you can get the highest bid in the last 1.5 seconds, you literally cannot lose the auction.

 

[bainbridge]

The thing to bear in mind with Ebay nowadays is people are much more clued up, both the sellers and the buyers.

OP's post says there is an item he/she really wants. If this is the case then be prepared to bid higher if you really want it.

Simply bid the max you are willing to pay just before the auction ends. Sometimes I get pipped at the post by a quid or 2 but its just a case of trying again in another auction and being strict about what you are prepared to pay.

You'll soon get what you want a a fair price, might even grab a real bargain if you are lucky but IMO the days of buying stuff at a fraction of what they are worth are long gone.