eBay

I HATE ebay! Everytime you try to win something somebody comes up at the LAST SECOND and outbids you before you have time to bid again and the time runs out. I was just in an auction where I was the ONLY bidder until the auction was down to 1 SECOND. I actually got lucky that I could even watch this auction, usually because of time I have to just out in my high bid and come back to it after the auction is over. I guess what they do is put in their high bid, because they see what you've bidded and hope that theirs is just a little more than yours, and when the auction gets to 1 second they click bid knowing no one else has a shot! arg! Anyway I am just venting, these guys keep getting excelleant deals because of this and I know that eventually becasue I don't have the time to sit in fromt of ebay all day long to click the last second I will get ripped off by paying the Buy it Now.

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msteinhilber

If there is something you want on eBay then you should either place a bid if it's a buy-it-now and you want to remove the buy-it-now feature (assuming it's not a reserve auction, buy it now remains present until reserve is met in those cases) or if it's not a buy-it-now you should watch the listing. Only bid when the auction is nearly completed and input the highest amount you are willing to pay (automatic bidding).

I try to not bid on auctions that have a lot of time left and instead swoop in as close to the closing time as I can and bid my maximum I'm willing to pay. If you bid too soon, you risk getting into a bidding war with somebody else - some people will get into a "not losing" mindset and bid more than it's worth at times.

You just have to learn the tactics the others are using and use them yourself, just part of the system.

Paul Boz

Dude its how auctions have worked for hundreds of years. You want it bad enough bid more than the next guy. Sniping is a way of life for hard core ebayers.

tiersten

You can get services/software that specifically monitor your auctions and then place a bid at the last minute etc...

As msteinhilber said, bid the maximum you're willing to pay. If somebody snipes the auction then they've gone over your maximum anyway.

joey74055

Thanks guys.

Again, I was just frustrated and venting as I had my heart set on a nice switch. I am not a hard core ebayer so I don't know all the tricks. I guess I will just have to learn to play the game if I want to start winning. I had no idea there was software aimed at bidding for you at the last second. But you are right, I need to just start setting a max and if it gets outbid the very last second then I wasn't going to pay more than that for it anyway.

joey74055

Paul Boz wrote: »

Dude its how auctions have worked for hundreds of years. You want it bad enough bid more than the next guy. Sniping is a way of life for hard core ebayers.

Well I tried to bid more but didn't have time with the one second. Guess I should have set a max bid before it got down to the second. I need one of those programs tiersten is talking about

dynamik

I usually watch an item then put in my first bid with under 10 seconds left. I rarely lose. Sorry for being an a-hole

tiersten

joey74055 wrote: »

Well I tried to bid more but didn't have time with the one second. Guess I should have set a max bid before it got down to the second. I need one of those programs tiersten is talking about

Try JBidWatcher. You'll need to leave a computer on though.

Aldur

dynamik wrote: »

I usually watch an item then put in my first bid with under 10 seconds left. I rarely lose. Sorry for being an a-hole

Don't be sorry dynamik, you were just born that way

But seriously, I understand the OP's frustrations, it does suck to get something snipped from ya at the last second. Granted this usually happens with me when I'm trying to snipe something so I shouldn't complain

If its something that I really want then I usually suck it up and hit the buy it now option. I can't stand the tension of waiting till the last second to bid

joey74055

dynamik wrote: »

I usually watch an item then put in my first bid with under 10 seconds left. I rarely lose. Sorry for being an a-hole

LOL, your not an a-hole. As other posters have posted its part of the system.

joey74055

tiersten wrote: »

Try JBidWatcher. You'll need to leave a computer on though.

Ok, thank you tiersten!

dynamik

joey74055 wrote: »

LOL, your not an a-hole.

Oh, how little you know. You must be new here

RTmarc

dynamik wrote: »

Sorry for being an a-hole

No you aren't.

Oh, and sniping is the name of the game when it comes to eBay. You put a bid in several days/hours before the bidding stops and expect it to last, well, I wouldn't hold my breath. That's what that little "add item to watchlist" link is for. Swoop in a few minutes before it closes and then start bidding.

Kaminsky

Once someone makes a bid on an item, everyone else backs off and just "watches" it. This is because once something has a bid, it cannot be retracted by the seller so there is no point in keeping bidding on the item as you are only driving the price up. That's why everyone waits until the last minute and that is where the real auction starts. A little while back, I was in a 4-way sniping contest in the last minute and eventually won through max bid. Exillerating feeling. Quite exillerating as the seller too watching your money suddenly start leaping up.

Thing about this though, especially for networking equipment, is that you really do have to be there at the last minute and already worked out what you are prepared to go up to. Never usually gets to your max bid but you have to be prepared to pay that for what you are after. If you try to get it for just £$1 more than the other guy, you will get sniped by other people's automated max bids. If you don't want to use max bid but de new bids each time, allow yourself 5 seconds or so for your bid to go in depending on your connection.

miller811

joey74055 wrote: »

Thanks guys.

Again, I was just frustrated and venting as I had my heart set on a nice switch. I am not a hard core ebayer so I don't know all the tricks. I guess I will just have to learn to play the game if I want to start winning. I had no idea there was software aimed at bidding for you at the last second. But you are right, I need to just start setting a max and if it gets outbid the very last second then I wasn't going to pay more than that for it anyway.

Never get emotionally involved in an e-bay purchase.
I do the following
Determine what I want to purchase
Tag several items over a period of a week to watch and see what the actual closing price is.
Determine how much I am willing to spend.
Bid at the last second when it is convienant for me to bid at the last second.
If I do not get the purchase, I move on to the next item.

I have made at least 20 purchases in this fashion, and never over paid once for my purchase.

You know what they say, it is not the deal you got..... It is the deal you thought you got.....

cbigbrick

Sniping is the only way I have been able to get most of my car parts unless there is a buy now price.

joey74055

Cool, thanks guys for all of the advice! You have all helped me immensely. Now I know how to actually start winning some of these auctions. I had never really used ebay before until now because of buying cisco equipment for my labs. Again, thanks for all of the advice!

Kaminsky

joey74055 wrote: »

... Now I know how to actually start winning some of these auctions. ...

Not if we get there first ... mwuahahahahahaha!

Tyrant1919

I remember using auction snipper back in the day. Imagine if you only had 1 chance to bid...