Ebay Bidding Wars/Techniques?

Hi all,

I just wanted to ask and see what everybody used for Ebay auctions. Is there a website you use to win bids at last second? I rarely used Ebay, but my dad wanted to buy a camera and was asking if there is a good website that the younger guys/girls use. He's lost about 4 times now at the last minute and was complaining about it.

Yea, it gets annoying. Been on the receiving end and the perpetrator before. You can place a maximum bid (i.e. if the current bid is $20, you can place a max bid of $50) but I don't know if there is a bidding machine. You might end up paying much more than you would like if there were.

He's just going to have to get real good at hitting submit on the final box literally in the last 5 seconds.

There may be bots you can buy or websites you can sign up for to do it for you but I don't know if those are actually acceptable under eBay's rules.

I have used justsnipe.com a few times with pretty good success.

I usually just go for a Buy it Now, or look for something with no bids...and bid in the last 5 seconds.

When I look at an auction, I decide what the full price I would pay is, days in advance if possible. And I stick to that number, no matter what. And in the last 5 seconds, I enter in the number. If I get it, great. If I get it for even lower than the number I picked, even better. If I don't, no biggie. It's just a thing, and I have plenty of those already.

Bid higher, you old coot!

[quote name='Kerig']Bid higher, you old coot![/QUOTE]

This. Ultimately, it's not going to matter if you bid with .0000001 seconds left if an earlier bidder has a higher maximum. If he's upset about losing 4 times, then he's not offering the market value for the item. Increase how much you're willing to pay or look for a lesser camera.

The only other "tricks" would be trying to find items that end at odd times when people might be at work or whatever. But that still doesn't guarantee anything and the same thing could happen.

It's called an auction for a reason. Bid the maximum amount you're willing to pay. If you don't have the patience to lose a few times because the item exceeds what you want to pay then you either don't want the item bad enough or need to go to Best Buy and buy it outright. It's not difficult. I'm always amazed at how people get angry for losing an auction. It's your own fault.

I have always done well by bidding my max in the last ten seconds. That or scoping out buy it noes that are less than I want to pay.

[quote name='n8rockerasu']If he's upset about losing 4 times, then he's not offering the market value for the item.[/QUOTE]This is what it's all about. There is no trick to Ebay. Bid the maximum amount you are willing to pay. If you end up disappointed about the outcome, whether you "win" or "lose," then you screwed up. If you need help, just look at completed auctions for the product if there are some.

The funniest thing about Ebay is that some people believe that bid sniping does anything at all. In fact, Ebay already "bid snipes" for you.

[quote name='niceguyshawne']I have always done well by bidding my max in the last ten seconds.[/QUOTE]
This does absolutely nothing and you are wasting your time. You bid your max and it's automatically taken care of. If you "lose" an auction that you feel you should have won, then you did not bid your max and it is no one else's fault but your own.

Ebay is generally for the mentally ill who are paranoid and have issues with addiction. I like Ebay because it keeps them indoors where they are not physically hurting people but perhaps hurting their families emotionally or something. I'm being funny in that sense, but in all seriousness I see no reason to use it unless you are a collector, which means, yeah, you are mentally ill I guess.

I have gotten many DVDs for cheap off of eBay. Especially when combined shipping is included, something Amazon Marketplace lacks.

Patience. That is the number one rule with buying cheaply on eBay.

Patience, because you may get outbid on a particular auction and you will have to wait for another one.
Patience, until someone lists a Buy It Now at the price you want to pay.

If you are impatient or willing to pay more than someone else, the auction is yours.

So no, no techniques. You can pull a last-second snipe, but if someone already has a higher bid in place, it will not matter. Same if someone out-snipes you. Great way to waste time in front of the computer.

Either check back every day or so for a Buy It Now at a set price, try to win an auction at a set price, or be willing to pay a bit more.

[quote name='Friend of Sonic']When I look at an auction, I decide what the full price I would pay is, days in advance if possible. And I stick to that number, no matter what. And in the last 5 seconds, I enter in the number. If I get it, great. If I get it for even lower than the number I picked, even better. If I don't, no biggie. It's just a thing, and I have plenty of those already.[/QUOTE]


This is exactly what I do.

The problem is you can bid as much as you want but there's always that one person out there who may be just as insane as you are and will outbid you by a cent at the last second. That's always my problem anyway, as my internet is okay but I'd never chance a bid at the last two seconds in fear of not getting it in on time. So I often get beat by a dollar or whatever when I do participate in a crazy auction. Of course if the person was more insane than me and outbid my bid by a huge number, no problem but losing by a cent, dollar, whatever is always a kick in the groin.