[gusmahler]

[ QUOTE ]
As I type this, I'm doing my first-ever ebay bid (for a somewhat rare jazz cd). And I wonder whether there are particular strategies for bidding.

For example, do people try to time their bid at the last second, so as to prevent others from counter-bidding? Or is that kind of ploy so undermined by the ability to put in automatic bids (up to your maximum), that no one bothers?

And if an item's deadline for bidding is days away, is there any point to delaying one's bid until the last day, just to avoid creating more interest?

Any other obvious ploys I should know about?

[/ QUOTE ]Delaying your bidding is precisely to avoid creating interest in the item. But it really depends on what you're bidding on.

If you're bidding on something where there are dozens available on Ebay (e.g., a video game), just enter the max you want to pay. If you get outbid, bid on another one.

But other items are rarer and/or more expensive. In that case, it's in your best interest to delay putting your max bid in until the last day because you don't want someone who gets caught up in the moment to bid something outrageous for it.