I have recently started to shop on Ebay occasionally, and I’m not sure about the best bidding strategy. Most items are put up for five- or seven-day periods. Is there any reason to bid early in the cycle? My thinking is that putting in an early bid simply creates an invitation to somone else to top it, but if you wait until the last hour, even the last few minutes, to top the previous bid, you are more likely to win, and at the lowest possible cost. Submitting your maximum bid early still gives others more time to beat you, and a target to shoot for. Far more people will be able to see and bid on the item over 7 days than in, say, the last 10 minutes. But I haven’t been doing this very long. So, experienced EBayers, what are your secrets?
My strategy is to decide what I am willing to pay for the item, top price. Then I’ll wait until there’s just a minute or two to go and put in that price (assuming it hasn’t reached that yet). If someone comes along and pays more at the very last minute then ok, that’s more than I thought it was worth. If they don’t I win!
Good luck!
Yeah, you stand your best chance bidding in the final moments. Be sure to select the option to “Watch this item in ‘My eBay’” as soon as you fine something you want, so you can monitor its progress throughout the week. You may find that others bid it out of your price range, or maybe nobody will even notice it, leaving it in the clear for you to snatch it up. Remember, the more you plan and the less competition you have, the less likely you will be to get into a “bidding war” and getting so fired-up that you raise the price more than you would have otherwise.
Sometimes on minor things I bid early just to ‘establish my presence with a masterful glare’ to discourage bidders who are only ‘sorta’ interested. And, of course, if it came down to identical bids the person who bid first in the auction wins. On the bigger stuff I just decide on a price, wait until the last few seconds and hold my breath. Then again, when I am already out of the running on an item I love watch the final moments just to see how it goes and who bids what.
Oh and eyewitness have you tried searching for items but using common spelling errors as I think that’s a good way to get often overlooked auctions.
I usually wait for the last few seconds to bid.
When I bid early I don’t bid my high incase someone has a sock puppet who tries to bid up the article.
I did bid early -2 days -on an article that 2 identical pieces went for the opening bid. Its only worth 10 bucks and the seller wants 4.95 shipping. Thats too much. I’ll go as high as 4.00 but if I can get it for 1.00 so much the better.
You’re right. Bidding too early just drives up the price.
My husband and I often use esnipe. It’s an online service that places a bid for you in the last few seconds of an auction. You pay a nominal fee to use this service, but only if the item is won. It’s useful for occasions when you can’t be at the computer right as the auction is ending. I think there are other places that provide this service as well.
Also, don’t be afraid to politely ask sellers if they can offer you a cheaper shipping rate. I do this all the time, and about half of them don’t mind. I think it’s ridiculous to pay $5 for Priority Mail shipping for a CD, DVD, or comic book, the main things I buy on eBay, especially when the sellers could charge a good deal less for shipping and send them via Media Mail. I don’t mind waiting a few extra days if I can save money, and I always offer the Media Mail option when I sell my own music, movies, and comics. Of course, I understand that the Priority Mail boxes come free from the post office, so it’s often easier for sellers to just offer one flat rate for shipping. As a buyer and seller on eBay, I can see both sides, but just don’t hesitate to ask (before you bid, naturally).
I bought a rifle stock last summer. I found that the seller lived just across the river and suggested I just drive over and pick it up since the $10.00 shipping it 40 miles was out of line. I got called all kinds of cheapskate names and a suggestion that I just forget it along with the announcement that he just doesn’t understand how cheap some people are.I still owe the guy a feedback comment.
I did the same thing with a satellite reciever 6 months ago, but I asked the seller before I bid if I could come pick it up. Then, when he approved, I was able to bid more since I was saving $15 or so on shipping. It worked out well.
I think if I didn’t have cable I’d sign up for esnipe or whatever to bid, but I enjoy the battle in the last seconds for now
You are absolutely correct in your assumptions. Early bidding encourages bidding wars. I bid twice because I have an agreement with friends not to bid against them. The first to bid claims the right to continue. My first bid is low and stays low until the end. I don’t wait until the last 2 mintutes because I have a life but I do my serious bidding late to avoid emotional bidding (which everyone does when they start out).
The seller handled this quite poorly, but he actually had a valid point. eBay’s fees are related to the selling price, but are not imposed on shipping costs. This creates an obvious incentive to inflate stated shipping costs. You’ll commonly find items that probably cost around $2 to ship listed with the note “Standard flat-rate shipping cost $9.99. Insurance $2.99.” You should read this as “I’d rather pay a seller’s fee that’s based on $13 less than the actual sales price.”
I see tons of stuff located in China, listed for .99, only to see on closer inspection that the shipping will cost $48 US.
Now I do understand that China is a long way off, but this was for a locket?
Sounds like a trick to me, no, I didn’t bite.
I’m still learning but I did do a lot of my Christmas shopping on line with pretty good results, if I do say so myself.
Thanks for starting this thread, it’s very timely for me!