I just can't stand when they come in when they come in with one second left. But I'm changing the way I do research on a purchase, but I won't be tipping off anyone by looking for advice.
I buy things on there but I don't sell anything on there because the first time I did it ended up costing me the shipping even though the buyer paid the shipping. Both eBay and PayPal both blamed each other when it was looked up. I only expected about $20 from the item and it sold for $17 after all said and done I received $3 after about two months. So I just won't give myself that headache again.
I sell on ebay, but it tends to be one of two classifications. Things I want to get rid of, but don't want to throw away, so profit isn't a motive, and those things that are rare enough that there will be a profit for - and I don't want to see thrown away. Anyone want a phone system with 30+ phones, but a broken voicemail board?
I agree but I also don't want to end up out of pocket to send something to some random stranger. On that one I recouped $3 out of $12 that it cost me to send it. When they had paid for shipping, and yet I still was billed for it.
If you bid the maximum you are willing to pay, it's no big deal when you get outbid at the end. If you bid $20.00 early on something that's worth $80.00, don't be surprised if you get outbid at the end. Most of the complaining I see is when a lowball bid doesn't hold. BTW, when you lose a bid by a small amount, that isn't because you got sniped with a bid $1.00 higher than yours. If you bid $60.00 and someone else bids $100.00 at the end, they will get it for the next minimum incremental bid of $61.00 making you think you were outed by a dollar, when you were actually outbid by $40.00. I always bid the maximum I'm willing to pay at the end. If outbid, I like to think the winner overpaid
I never bid on an item before the last three seconds, ever. I'll put the item in my watch list and keep an eye on the bidding. At this time , I know what my maximum bid is. If the price exceeds my limit before the last three seconds, I'll move on with life. Near the end off the auction, I'll enter my max bid, and hit the confirm at the three second mark. With that strategy, I win far more auctions than I lose. If I enter my max any earlier, somebody can easily out bid me and win the auction. Isn't the whole goal to win the auction? Aside from that; I would never knowingly bid against a forum member.
I guess on Ebay stuff, I don't think I have ever wanted something bad enough to get worked up over it one way or the other. Mostly (in this case) we are talking about user grade stuff. If I didn't get this one, I'll get the next one.
Many times I've been burned by this method. I have to do it 10-15 seconds, a lot of times. Because, the clocks on the computer or cell phone isn't exactly synchronized with eBay clock. I've put in a bid several times 15 seconds before ending, and the bids closed. I have missed out on fantastic razors that I could have gotten for a couple of dollars. The seller then relists them, and they sell for a lot more. I lost out on a Dubl Duck Godenldenedge that way. It was listed completely misspelled. Oh well, plenty of other razors out there.
I don't have a problem with last minute bids. I have a problem with people hiding. That's all. I put in a minimum bid early on, which shows I'm interested in the auction. Then, I let it sit, and near the end, I decide how much I'll bid. Sometimes that's four hours, an hour, or just 2 minutes before. That shows to anyone else that they _are_ bidding against someone. If I lose to someone I know I'm bidding against, I just go on with life. I'm only irritated with the metaphorical person that runs into the room at the last minute as the auctioneer yes "going once, going twice, SOLD to the person who just ran in the room!" Auctions don't work that way. That's all. Mind you, it's funny when I see two or even up to four snipe tools going nuts at one time.
You're getting eBay confused with auctions . Auctions don't send you an email telling you you've just been outbid. eBay will needle you to bid early and bid often, eBay has an ending time, until "the bell rings" ALL bids are valid. You may have a problem with those that bid the last second, whereas some may have a problem with those that bid early, which only drives the price up.
Are you referring to the sniping programs? If so, I hear they work really well. This way you don't make any pre bid that shows up on eBay, and the program makes a bid for you, at a set time, before the auction closes. This can be useful so it doesn't look like many people are interested, early on, and the prices stay low, until the final seconds.
