So close yet So Far!

[Hardy13]

Hey guys and gals
I just got outbid on ebay with 16 seconds to go on a 68 XT rolling shell
It would have been perfect for spares for mine and im spewin cause i went out for a smoke with 3 minutes to go thinking i had it in the bag. DAMN!
Ive been looking for ages trying to find one i can afford DAMN AGAIN!

Im fairly new to ebay is this a common thing that people do as an item is ending?

I wonder if it was anyone on here???

Sam out

[Daymoe]

I'd say its pretty common, you can set an autobid up to the max you want to bid for an item, it will automatically bid up to that if someone else bids against you. Did you have that set?

[Feathers]

Yep it's common. But you'll know better next time.

[mikestp]

yeh most people wait untill the last few seconds to place their bid, especially on rare items.

[Auslandau]

Common??? Every single time on a popular item thats at a fair price! You need to keep updating the screen up until you win or loose! If you really want it make sure your bid is the highest you will want to pay .... if it then goes over, no real loss.



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[4Vman]

Yep, don't bother bidding till the last few seconds and only bid once, make it the highest price you're prepared to pay, bidding earlier on just pushes the final price up.

[Hitman]

I'd send the seller a message saying that if the other guy doesn't buy it, you will.

[LUXO_8]

i ALWAYS snipe within the last 15-20 secs, only way to guarantee you'll get the item really.
also, when you're doing it, make sure to place a bid of the highest amount you'd be willing to go to...

say the item you want is currently at $510 with a couple of bids already, and i'd be willing to go to $600...
in the last secconds of the auction, i will bid $600.
if you're lucky, the other bidder has only gone say 550 for their max bid, so you'd get the item for $555 or $560, whichever ebay deems the next highest bid...

[Hardy13]

Yeah i had the autobid on but the bid that beat me wasn't an autobid, and if u bid on something and someone else's autobid is higher doesnt it shows up straight away?

Your right ill no better next time i wont be leaving the computer thats for sure!

I can understand why people do it, it just sucks that i was on the wrong end of it!

[mrbaxr6t]

http://www.auctionsniper.com/

there check that out

[flappist]

I always bid the maximum that I will pay. That way the only way I will lose is if someone is prepared to pay more than me.

If you lose and you were prepared to pay more than the winner then you are not doing it right.

Remember if you bid 5000 and the next highets is 2000 then you will only pay a bit over 2000, maybe 2010 not the full 5000.

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by flappist

I always bid the maximum that I will pay. That way the only way I will lose is if someone is prepared to pay more than me.

If you lose and you were prepared to pay more than the winner then you are not doing it right.

Remember if you bid 5000 and the next highets is 2000 then you will only pay a bit over 2000, maybe 2010 not the full 5000.

The only problem with that is I'm sure I've had some dummy bidders push up the price on me when I've done that.

For instance, I was buying an item and set my max bid (current bid was about $300 and I max bid $600). Someone else came along and kept pushing it up $20 a throw until they beat my bid then they retracted their bid. Ebay Left my bid at $600 and not $300 when they originally started. Pi@#%d off, I then retracted my bid and the item ended up selling for $220. I'm hoping it was the seller jacking up the price because he did himself out of $80.

Same thing happened on another item but I had set a lower max bid but was sniped.

[DJR-351]

Basically what everyone says here, I work out the max I want to pay then drop it in in the last 30 secs or so.

Not much has got away since i started doing this, and it works for me, but like you I had to learn the hard way.

Of course if some one has a auto bid max higher than yours you will still lose, so make sure you think about your max carefully.

On a side note it still amazes me to see people getting into bidding wars with 6-8 days to go.... :

.

[4Vman]

I can't see any reason to bid on something till the last few seconds... it always worries me when i see people bidding with 6 days to go and over the next days the number of bids gradually rises....
It stinks of shill bidding.

[Hardy13]

How does it work when you retract your bid? Your out of the auction no questions asked?

I had set it at the max i wanted to pay but earlier in the auction with bout 2 hours to go.

So ill know for next time i wont let it happen again thanks for all your help.

[ZA-289]

Plenty of ebay sales fall through, ask the seller to contact you if the winner does not pay. Or wait for it to be re-listed.

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by Rodp

The only problem with that is I'm sure I've had some dummy bidders push up the price on me when I've done that.

For instance, I was buying an item and set my max bid (current bid was about $300 and I max bid $600). Someone else came along and kept pushing it up $20 a throw until they beat my bid then they retracted their bid. Ebay Left my bid at $600 and not $300 when they originally started. Pi@#%d off, I then retracted my bid and the item ended up selling for $220. I'm hoping it was the seller jacking up the price because he did himself out of $80.

Same thing happened on another item but I had set a lower max bid but was sniped.

That's why you bid once, and once only, with 2 seconds left! so no one can drive you up.
Private bidder i.d has killed ebay... it used to expose the shill bids much easier.
You could see mates bidding on each others auctions.

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

I can't see any reason to bid on something till the last few seconds... it always worries me when i see people bidding with 6 days to go and over the next days the number of bids gradually rises....
It stinks of shill bidding.

Correct... : i have a short list of user IDs that seem to attract this sort of activity and i steer well clear of them...

[Rob's 76 Effy]

Originally Posted by ZA-289

Plenty of ebay sales fall through, ask the seller to contact you if the winner does not pay. Or wait for it to be re-listed.

If the sale falls through the seller has the option of giving the next highest bidder a "second change offer" or they just relist the item again, i've had a few second chance options some i have taken others i haven't

[Yellow_Festiva]

Also, if you are looking for a common item, hold off till you find one that ends at a very odd hour. I have bought a heap of things for a tiny fraction of what they were worth because for some reason the seller decided that 2am was a great time to be uploading (and then ending down the track) items.

[naddis01]

Originally Posted by LUXO_8

i ALWAYS snipe within the last 15-20 secs, only way to guarantee you'll get the item really.
also, when you're doing it, make sure to place a bid of the highest amount you'd be willing to go to...

say the item you want is currently at $510 with a couple of bids already, and i'd be willing to go to $600...
in the last secconds of the auction, i will bid $600.
if you're lucky, the other bidder has only gone say 550 for their max bid, so you'd get the item for $555 or $560, whichever ebay deems the next highest bid...

Another tip I would like to add is..... If the max you want to pay is $600, put in say $600.10 you have more chance of getting it. I always bid with a couple of cents added on, so if someone else is prepared to pay the same as you, you will get it.

[Geez Louise]

Yeah we use Hammersnipe. Bids 10 seconds before Auction ends. We put in max we want to pay. If it goes for more than that, well then it was more than we wanted to pay.

[chich]

Ah yes, I'm relatively new to the ebay scene & the same thing happened to me just a few hours ago.

Placed my bid with 5mins to go, refreshed the screen in the last minute & everything looked A-ok. Sure enough some muppet placed a bid with 10 seconds to go.. lost by $1 :

[Rob's 76 Effy]

Originally Posted by naddis01

Another tip I would like to add is..... If the max you want to pay is $600, put in say $600.10 you have more chance of getting it. I always bid with a couple of cents added on, so if someone else is prepared to pay the same as you, you will get it.

You would win it anyway as you were the first bid and the other person would be told of this and to bid higher

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by Hardy13

How does it work when you retract your bid? Your out of the auction no questions asked?

I had set it at the max i wanted to pay but earlier in the auction with bout 2 hours to go.

So ill know for next time i wont let it happen again thanks for all your help.

I'm not sure if there's a time limit when it comes to retracting, there may be a rule about doing it within the last hour or so but all I was required to do was offer a reason from a list and it removed my bid - never questioned and it was automatic.

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by Explorer_Me

You would win it anyway as you were the first bid and the other person would be told of this and to bid higher

I do this and for me it has worked a few times. I prefer round numbers but I'll tack on 80c on the end of it so I'll put in a bid of $50.80. If it's marginal as to whether you would pay more for it, they may bid $50 and are told that you've still been outbid then ocassionally that may scare someone off from bidding higher as they don't know how high you've gone on your max bid.

[Bobman]

Originally Posted by Rodp

I'm not sure if there's a time limit when it comes to retracting, there may be a rule about doing it within the last hour or so but all I was required to do was offer a reason from a list and it removed my bid - never questioned and it was automatic.

It has to be at least 12 hours from the end date of the auction.