Hypermung Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Hi Guys. Some ebay users really don't know how the system works I think. I have a re-issue 'Groovy Grader' in the mail coming over to me thanks to the understanding of a fellow modeller on this forum (THANKS Jonathan) that I've been after for quite a while now. Well, only last week, another 3 turned up on ebay (isn't that always the way!). I just had to bid on the one that turned up first starting @ $29.99. Then another appeared starting @ $19.99 & I was kicking myself for bidding on 'the dearer one'. As it turned out, the 'cheaper' one had a new user bid on the first day & was winning @ $20.50, only to have someone chip away @ his lead little by little with only 3 minutes to go, & ended up winning the item for $61. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/330680225840?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649This auction ended 15 minutes before the one I bid on, so I was expecting a last minute assult on the price, so I upped the price with seconds to spare. Now I'm the classical 'Sniper' & if I want it, I'll wait & place a high bid with only 6 or 7 seconds left to go, but this is a double edged sword. By going in high with seconds to spare you don't give the current highest bidder time to react & you get it for his highest price + $1... BUT, by the same token, if you haven't gone high enough, then you don't leave yourself time to bid again. The outcome of the story here is that I was waiting for an assult that never came & won the auction for my opening bid of $29.99, whilst the new user (who dosen't understand the ebay system yet) paid twice as much by bidding early & being hacked away at. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/160723928784?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649Ebay discourages 'Sniping' saying that it 'Rarely works' & encourage you to bid high early, but I expect they're only interested in the higher profit margin. I'll tell you that 'Sniping' works well if you do it correctly, & I sure hope the 'New user' follows through with his commitment & dosen't leave the seller high & dry because he paid top dollar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffs396 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Could have been a newbie, or maybe a "phantom" bidder also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Do you know there are websites that will "snipe" for you down to the last millisecond? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Moparman Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Thanks for your help! I am a fairly new user at eBay and have ALWAYS bidded early on a ProModeler Daytona, and got shot at, and always places a bid with 3 or 4 seconds left only to be left high and dry by a (Insert you own bad word here) who jacks up the price to something I cannot afford. Doesn't it never fail? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinfan5 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) Your welcome Glenn, let me know as soon as the kit gets to you, I use to all time bid early and then always got out bidded, but now I wait tell the last day or so to bid, and then if I am home I will leave the listing page up with a price already entered in the box waiting if I have to bid again. Harry, I have seen a few snipping programs, can you recomend any? and that are free? Or whats better is people getting in a bidding war with 5 or more days to go on the auction , Edited February 3, 2012 by martinfan5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Harry, I have seen a few snipping programs, can you recomend any? and that are free? Personally I don't like the idea. Yeah, yeah... I know everybody does it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So no recommendation from me except to say do a google search and you'll find plenty of them out there. Most offer a free trial, but after that they cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinfan5 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Harry, thanks, I have googeled them in the past but never tried one, I dont like it either, but its how the game is being played on ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypermung Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Do you know there are websites that will "snipe" for you down to the last millisecond? I don't use a programme that snipes for you. I prefer the old fashioned method Harry. I tune in to the auction around 15 minutes to go if I can & watch it down to 10 minutes. Then, with my trusty stopwatch (on my iphone), I synchronise the stopwatch at the 10 (or 7 or 6 or 4 whatever) minute mark & count it down, checking my time is still in synch at every minute mark. I won't go to the place bid page untill around 40 seconds to go. That way you can see if there is a bid placed at 1.01:12 to go (for example) & adjust your high bid accordingly. For that last 40 seconds though, you're flying blind as you wont see any bids made after you enter the place bid page. More often than not ,you will win the auction If you have bid high enough for the minimum amount of dollars & don't give the sellers friend (phantom bidder) the chance to cost you any more than necessary. I've been using this method sucessfully now for many years, but I will say again, it dosen't always work. If you REALLY want that particular item, my general rule of thumb is to DOUBLE the current highest bid & add 10%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypermung Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Personally I don't like the idea. Yeah, yeah... I know everybody does it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So no recommendation from me except to say do a google search and you'll find plenty of them out there. Most offer a free trial, but after that they cost. ..... AND a stopwatch is free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 ..... AND a stopwatch is free! Only if you shoplift it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny K Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Or whats better is people getting in a bidding war with 5 or more days to go on the auction , Great if you're selling, lousy if you're buying . . . Sniping's usually the best way to go for the lowest price, but I sometimes bid early if there's a very low starting price (want to lock it in), or if there's also a 'Buy It Now' that I want to get rid of hoping for a better end price. Works sometimes - I usually win 3 or 4 auctions a month based on a lowball bid that I don't expect to get at that price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I got so fed up with the sniping and losing stuff at the last second that I never bid anymore. I'll only buy stuff that's listed with a "Buy it Now" or "Best Offer" price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinfan5 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I got so fed up with the sniping and losing stuff at the last second that I never bid anymore. I'll only buy stuff that's listed with a "Buy it Now" or "Best Offer" price. Same here for the most part, there are times that I will bid, but for the most part I only get kits listed with buy it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny K Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I got so fed up with the sniping and losing stuff at the last second that I never bid anymore. I'll only buy stuff that's listed with a "Buy it Now" or "Best Offer" price. Same here for the most part, there are times that I will bid, but for the most part I only get kits listed with buy it now. That's the way the sellers like it. Quick sale, price wanted. No problem at all with that, especially when I'm selling. But it's also a reason I sometimes bid early to get rid of that pesky 'Buy It Now' price if I'm the buyer. In all honesty, I do sometimes use the 'Buy It Now' price if I think it's a great deal at that price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalenut Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) I just bid what I'm willing to pay and walk away. whats funny is when people are bidding away on something when there is a buy it now already cheaper Edited February 3, 2012 by scalenut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinfan5 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I just bid what I'm willing to pay and walk away. whats funny is when people are bidding away on something when there is a buy it now already cheaper And that happens all the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypermung Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 And that happens all the time .... This was one of my points from previously (though I didn't go into it in too much detail). The previous auction (won by the ebay newbie) was 'Fluffed Up' by the other bidder ('Phantom') 3 minutes before the auction ended, & then nothing. Now if YOU were bidding on something, & there was exactly the same thing ending 15 minutes later for half the price, wouldn't you have a couple of goes at the cheaper one, then switch to the other (now) cheapest one?? But this sort of thing happens all the time on ebay. I personally know of people who have 2 or 3 ebay accounts (fairly easy to do), & to ebays credit, they don't allow this sort of thing to happen (if they know about it), but what's to stop someone who has a couple of ebay accounts from padding their own auctions? If I EVER found someone who was doing that, I'd call them a lowlife mongrel bastard & probably dob them in (Rat on them, for all of you in the US). That's where the 'Sniping' mentality comes into it & it has a permanent place in my ebay action to enable me to get what I want for the lowest possible price. Go hard or go home!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imarriedawitch Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) delete Edited February 3, 2012 by imarriedawitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terror Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Bid $500 you'll win every time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 If I see something I REALLY want,I put my maximum bid in and forget it until the next day. If I win,great. If I don't,that's fine with me. Models on ebay are are like buses. If you miss one,just wait for the next one. There will always be another one coming around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabrux Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I usually bid on things on the last day, within a few minutes of the auction ending. Sometimes I'll put in my maximum and leave it, other times I'll end up in a bidding war. Sometimes its worth it to keep bidding; just last night, for instance, I was outbid within the last 5 minutes. I waited until the last minute and bid a dollar over and won. I guess it was either a case of I wanted it more, or an eBay newbie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad4321 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Always so much complaining about "evilbay". All I know is occassionally find a great deal on something I want. I've had nothing but 100 percent success with ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heatride Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Like some of the others have said I use ( Buy It Now) only . Since I am from the backwoods Ebay has been a great place for me . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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