How to win Ebay?

[Guest db99wj]

Bidding on something. I have placed my bid, and set my high limit. I'm winning. 4 other bids, but they haven't come in and bid since yesterday. Auction ends tonight.

What's the in's and out's on this and how does it work other than someone coming in and out bidding me. Is there a time cut off, or what.

I might be overthinking this and being paranoid. I want what I am bidding on, and would probably pay a Buy it now deal, but the store ain't got it.

[Guest nicemac]

Bidding on something. I have placed my bid, and set my high limit. I'm winning. 4 other bids, but they haven't come in and bid since yesterday. Auction ends tonight.

What's the in's and out's on this and how does it work other than someone coming in and out bidding me. Is there a time cut off, or what.

I might be overthinking this and being paranoid. I want what I am bidding on, and would probably pay a Buy it now deal, but the store ain't got it.

Before doing anything, decide the maximum you will pay and stick with it. This is the most important thing to remember on ebay. Don't get caught up in the emotion of bidding.

If there is something you really want, don't bid on it until the auction is almost ended (sounds like possibly too late on this item, but don't bid anymore on it). I mean SECONDS before it ends. All bidding before that does is drive the price up.

If the auction is almost over and your price has been exceeded, walk away. Another item will come along soon.

To insure you win at the last possible second, consider using a service to bid on your behalf. I have used eSnipe with great success.

eSnipe - Bid on eBay Automatically - eSnipe 3.0

When you do bid, bid your absolute maximum. If you win, it will automatically be for only enough to win, but if you lose, you will know somebody didn't beat you with money left on the table.

As a seller, I always love for people to bid all week (it drives the price up), but the winner usually only bids a few seconds before an auction ends.

[Guest db99wj]

Good info, that is what I am needing. I don't buy much, and have only bid a few times in the past.

[Guest spoolie]

bid within the last 15 seconds...have multiple screens open in your browser so you can change back and forth during the last few seconds.

[Guest db99wj]

I'm willing to pay about $6 more than what my maximum bid, which is about $20 more than my current bid. Should I go ahead and bump up my max, or wait 6 hours and 28 minutes, 13 seconds beforehand, to adjust it?

If I lose it, I'm going to contact the store directly and see if they have any buy it now deals on what I want. They do have them on similar items.

[Guest tnxdshooter]

Bidding on something. I have placed my bid, and set my high limit. I'm winning. 4 other bids, but they haven't come in and bid since yesterday. Auction ends tonight.

What's the in's and out's on this and how does it work other than someone coming in and out bidding me. Is there a time cut off, or what.

I might be overthinking this and being paranoid. I want what I am bidding on, and would probably pay a Buy it now deal, but the store ain't got it.

The last couple minutes you will have alot of people bidding against you if it is a popular item especially in the last 30 seconds. I normally wait until there is about 10 seconds left to bid and usually win that way.

[Guest nicemac]

I'm willing to pay about $6 more than what my maximum bid, which is about $20 more than my current bid. Should I go ahead and bump up my max, or wait 6 hours and 28 minutes, 13 seconds beforehand, to adjust it?

If I lose it, I'm going to contact the store directly and see if they have any buy it now deals on what I want. They do have them on similar items.

Wait.

[Westwindmike]

I bid my maximum and don't worry about the "snipers".

That's why I like GunBroker. They have a "15 minute rule" that defeats the snipers. Wish Ebay would do that too. Sniping is not very fair or ethical in my opinion.

[Guest friesepferd]

everyone is going to be putting in their bids within seconds of it closing. The only thing you can do is wait as long as possible and putting in your absolute max bid just as it closes, and hope that what you put in is higher than other peoples.

If you put it in earlier, people will just get an idea for how high they need to go. If you dont get it, well then it went for more than you are willing to pay... so its good you didnt get it. Thats just the way it is.

[Guest db99wj]

Can they see my "maximum bid" or just my current bid?

[gregintenn]

I insert my max bid and don't usually even look again until the auction is over. The only time I've overpaid for something on Ebay is when I've sat and kept bidding right at the end of the auction.

[bubbadavis]

Only you can see your max bid.

[gregintenn]

Can they see my "maximum bid" or just my current bid?

Just your current bid. Your max bid is hidden. There isn't any scam or trickery that I'm aware of. I've bought a lot of stuff from ebay. Having patience is the sevret to a good deal there. You might bid on 10-15 items, and then one day one of them will sell for half the others. I've found no rhyme or reason for it.

[Guest db99wj]

Good, You can see that I have "bid" multiple times, but it only shows the current amount that I am bidding. Which kind of sucks, it would appear that I am moving my max bid amount. Hopefull the other couple of people will forget about it! They are not big power buyers either, one has had 333 transactions, the other 34. This would be my 10th!

[dou44]

just stick with your max bid ,that way if they have a friend bidding on it you will not get stuck with paying more than you want. you will see the same item being relisted sometimes because someone stuck with their bid .

[Guest TargetShooter84]

I used to do alot of bidding on Ebay....I alway wait til the last minute but sometimes I didn't win so its a gamble either way.

[Guest packingheat]

If there are more than one of the same product up for bid, I always pick one that will end at the most inconvenient hour. Such as 3 to 5 a.m. That way fewer bidders will be placing that last second bid. Also I go ahead and enter my maximum bid early. That way, if I am automatically overbid when I place my bid, I will not be wasting my time waiting for the bidding to end. I move on to another item.

[laktrash]

If there are more than one of the same product up for bid, I always pick one that will end at the most inconvenient hour. Such as 3 to 5 a.m. That way fewer bidders will be placing that last second bid. Also I go ahead and enter my maximum bid early. That way, if I am automatically overbid when I place my bid, I will not be wasting my time waiting for the bidding to end. I move on to another item.

+1 I noticed when bidding on something like a " cheap knife " they are set up to end like on sunday afternoon or early evenings. I got my best deal like maybe weekdays in the mid mornings and bidding the last second

" A time when people should be working instead of surfing Ebay":rolleyes:

[gregintenn]

I just bought a Redfield scope on there for beans! You just place a low bid on a lot of stuff, and every now and then you'll get one. The problem is, however, that theey usually come in waves....nothing for a month or three, and then you win a dozen auctions all in one night.

[DaveTN]

Don’t ever bid on an item you want to buy, it just drives the price up. Bid the most you are willing to pay in the last 10 seconds. Sit back and see if you got a good deal.

[Chazmr]

I'll also usually check the "completed" auctions for the same item to see what they have sold for in the past. As others have said, if it's a popular item or if it is unique it can be tough. But if there are several of them out there pretty consistently, that makes it easier. I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted something. I did some research to see what it would cost new, checked to see how many of them were listed (several), and looked at the completed auctions to get an idea of what they were generally sellling for. I noticed a wide range of closing prices on the completed auctions. It took a couple of weeks, but eventually I won one within the price range I was willing to pay and I was happy with it. Good luck!

[Guest Mglass1045]

I've won tons of stuff on evil-bay. I've made alot of people mad too, I'm one of those people who bids at the last second. But I win alot because I bid random numbers. I've won auctions by just 2 cents before. Almost everyone bids whole round numbers, $1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75 etc...if the high bid is $1.50, and it goes in .25 increments. Bid $1.76, or $2.01. More often than not you'll win. I bid at the last second and the highest amount I'm willing to spend. If you bid early all it does is drive the price up.

[DaveTN]

I've won tons of stuff on evil-bay. I've made alot of people mad too, I'm one of those people who bids at the last second. But I win alot because I bid random numbers. I've won auctions by just 2 cents before. Almost everyone bids whole round numbers, $1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75 etc...if the high bid is $1.50, and it goes in .25 increments. Bid $1.76, or $2.01. More often than not you'll win. I bid at the last second and the highest amount I'm willing to spend. If you bid early all it does is drive the price up.

It won’t matter.

If I bid 1.75 and have the winning bid, and the increment is .25, and you bid 1.76 after me; it won’t accept your bid and I win. You would have to bid $2 to beat me.

[oldogy]

As mentioned, sniper software. And it may not work if someone else is using a better service.

oldogy

[Guest forte10]

I always use auction sniper. Been seeing a lot of a shill bidding though:death: