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So, I just got outbid on Ebay with 1 minute left..


3E8

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It's people that like to put a higher bid in the very last seconds. Yes, it is very annoying knowing that you get excited because you're about to get an e-mail saying you're the winning bidder, but all of a sudden someone outbids you and you obviously lose. I'm usually one of those people who outbid the other at the last second. :ph34r:

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1 minute is a long time on eBay.

Yeah it is.

 

Hell, when we snipe auctions, we usually wait till there's 30 seconds left to even think about putting in a bid, and sometimes we wait even longer.

 

I also remember another time that my dad got a bowling ball for $80.01 and he got the bid in with like 10 seconds left...the guy who had the second highest bid had his bid in for $80.00.

 

Always cool to win an auction by a cent.

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No need to even use a sniping program. Decide how much yoiu are willing to spend and enter that. Ebay's proxy bidding process will take care of the rest. If you are only will to pay $100 and someone else is willing to pay $110 it doesn't matter when your bid comes in. With so many bidders using proxy software all it has done is compressed eBays proxy type process into the final minute.

 

As a seller, never close an auction early, even if the buyer is offering what seems like a great deal to close early.

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I never like to bid early at all. All it seems to due is drive up the price unnecessarily because you know there will be bids on most items at the end. The best situation is when some newbie places a low bid very early and it lasts for the whole auction. Then you can really snipe him at the end for a good price and hope that no one else has noticed the auction.

 

I've tried this successfully a couple times, but usually there are other people that always want the same item. There's nothing like getting a "You are the highest bidder" and a "You have been outbid" email at the exact same time.

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I never like to bid early at all.  All it seems to due is drive up the price unnecessarily because you know there will be bids on most items at the end.  The best situation is when some newbie places a low bid very early and it lasts for the whole auction.  Then you can really snipe him at the end for a good price and hope that no one else has noticed the auction.

 

I've tried this successfully a couple times, but usually there are other people that always want the same item.  There's nothing like getting a "You are the highest bidder" and a "You have been outbid" email at the exact same time.

I never bid early, unless I buy it now. Bidding wars happen way too easily.

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I never like to bid early at all.  All it seems to due is drive up the price unnecessarily because you know there will be bids on most items at the end.  The best situation is when some newbie places a low bid very early and it lasts for the whole auction.  Then you can really snipe him at the end for a good price and hope that no one else has noticed the auction.

 

I've tried this successfully a couple times, but usually there are other people that always want the same item.  There's nothing like getting a "You are the highest bidder" and a "You have been outbid" email at the exact same time.

If I bid $50 the minute the item is listed it will still show up at whatever the minimum bid is, not $50. The only way for you to win is to bid more than $50. If that's the most I'm willing to spend, so be it. If you bid $50.50 a second after me or a second before it closes, it doesn't make a differnce. Likewise of you bid $40 is doesn't matter when you bid.

 

In the end if you won you were willing to pay more than anyone else for the item. The newbie that bids early, if he wants to spend more will win with his proxy bid no matter how long you wait.

 

What I saw that was funny was two guys I know entered ridiculous bids on an item through their sniper software. The item shoudl have sold for around $250. They both put in $1000 to make certain they won. Of course the item sold for $1000 and the guy was in a tough position. Everyone saw the transaction, our collecting group regularly reports on items selling for over $100 and we knew the person involved. The second guy lost because his bid went in :01 second after the first.

 

The only example I've seen that is doesn't hold true is in collectibles. The area I collect has been hit with some fakes and in some areas there is not good data on comparible values. Most serious collectors know the user names of the other collectors and if I see someone I know to be an expert bidding on an item, I will consider that a sign that the item is legitimate. Their bidding early would drive up prices.

Edited by Texsox
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I haven't bid on anything w/ ebay in about a year. The last time I had bid on something on ebay was a kermit doll from the 70s (just like one that I had that had to be thrown own when I was a kid). It wasn't because of that experience that I did, just sellers in general. Brian bids on car parts often and they love to harass you to get the payment (which generally starts after they have received the money and the part is in the house waiting to be installed).

 

I guess the best way to put is that I have soured on ebay a great deal between sellers and their friends who hike up the prices.

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I guess the best way to put is that I have soured on ebay a great deal between sellers and their friends who hike up the prices.

Auctions are the truest test of market price. If it's more than you want to spend, not a problem.

 

With the growth of eBay, shill bidding has dropped off tremendously. They have also done a good job of catching scams like that. They've been able to track user names and see which (whose) auctions they win and lose on. I was sent a polite email asking me about my habit of losing on a certain power seller's actions. I explained that the seller had the best items that I collect and I'm bargain hunting. They crossed checked a couple other losing auctions of mine against some of the winning, saw that my winning actions where at about the same price and went away.

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