ebay bidding strategy

[Wynton]

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?

[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.

[jonnyd]

i used to sell things on ebay and although i never sold music i can tell you that from experience whether or not an item has many bids early or the bidding begins 15 minutes from the end of the auction it does not affect the end price significantly.

beware of lurking bidders who will wait until nearly the last second to put in a sizable bid. its a pretty good strategy but its not the most reliable either. the maximum bid system does deter last second bidders as they will try to feel it out before the end of the auction but keep in mind that doing this too early will allow the max bidder to increase their initial maximum bid if they wish to do so.

[Alobar]

[ 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 ]

Figure out right now what the max you are willing to pay for the item is. Then wait till there is less than a minute left in the auction and put in that number. If you get outbid, so be it.

under no circumstances ever go higher than what you decided in a calm clear mental state your max bid is. Ebay is full of people who get caught up in bidding wars and then pay much more than they wanted to simply cuz they got caught up in trying to "win". Ive sold many an item on ebay that someone baught for more than what they could have gone out and gotten a new one for.

[Five-Star]

I always wait for the last few seconds to bid. Or I use the "Buy Now" feature. For me that's the only way to eBay.

[flo]

[ QUOTE ]
[ 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 ]

Figure out right now what the max you are willing to pay for the item is. Then wait till there is less than a minute left in the auction and put in that number. If you get outbid, so be it.

under no circumstances ever go higher than what you decided in a calm clear mental state your max bid is. Ebay is full of people who get caught up in bidding wars and then pay much more than they wanted to simply cuz they got caught up in trying to "win". Ive sold many an item on ebay that someone baught for more than what they could have gone out and gotten a new one for.

[/ QUOTE ]

I saw an auction where someone bid 55€ on a 50€ gift card.

[XXXNoahXXX]

I had these collectable rings that I sold on ebay. I had two of the same ring and one sold for $150 and the other sold for $10 (avg. for other rings was around $20).

I looked at the bidding history, and the $150 one was just two guys who kept outbidding each other. it was a unique item and i started bidding at a penny, so it was basically up to them to determine the price and these two got into a bidding war.



just be logged in and wait until 60 seconds left and then bid. this way if you get outbid, you can rebid higher.

This is especially true if you know the bid is only slightly higher than what you entered. Ebay increases bid amount incrementally.

So if your max is $20, and I bid $15, your bid would still bet the winner at $15.50. If I then bid $17, you would be winning with $17.50.

THis way, if I bid $19.99 and it only increases your bid to $20, and not $19.49, then I know $20 is the exact max bid you entered.

[NajdorfDefense]

[ QUOTE ]
I always wait for the last few seconds to bid. Or I use the "Buy Now" feature. For me that's the only way to eBay.

[/ QUOTE ]

[rutang]

the reason to post your bid at the last second is as much to keep someone from running the bid up on you with a confederate account (not too likely on a CD i'd guess) as to keep other people from putting in their max bid, getting beaten by yours and then changing their mind and putting in a bid that beats yours.

I use justsnipe.com. register and it will put in your bid for you at the last second. it's free if you don't use it more than x times a month. there are other sniping programs out there. it will save you a little money here and there over time.

[gusmahler]

[ QUOTE ]
the reason to post your bid at the last second is as much to keep someone from running the bid up on you with a confederate account (not too likely on a CD i'd guess) as to keep other people from putting in their max bid, getting beaten by yours and then changing their mind and putting in a bid that beats yours.

I use justsnipe.com. register and it will put in your bid for you at the last second. it's free if you don't use it more than x times a month. there are other sniping programs out there. it will save you a little money here and there over time.

[/ QUOTE ]

And the good thing about sniping programs is that you don't have to be logged on to Ebay when the bidding ends. If you're on the West Coast, an item might have been posted by an East Coast seller that ends at an ungodly early time. Automatic sniping takes care of that. Also, you don't have the opportunity to forget when the item ends. I used to use www.auctionsniper.com, but I'm not an active Ebayer anymore, so I don't know how good they are now.