Don't you just hate it......

[DerthDeboblo]

....when your bidding on a desired model on eBay (case in point a vintage, complete, unbuilt AMT Pacer wagon with a low starting price. Item# 172131966848), and you lose out on it by a stupidly cheap amount ($3.00). Dam, and I really wanted it too. Oh well.

 

Edited March 20, 2016 by DerthDeboblo

[Ramfins59]

Happens to me all the time.  I enter my Max Bid and most times will get outbid by $1 by those S.O.B.'s using the Sniping/Bidding programs.

[angelo7]

Bid with 10 seconds remaining and you'll get it.

[Tom Geiger]

You just gotta keep on trying!   Set up an eBay search agent.  You will get an email every time one gets listed.  I do this whenever I am Jonesing for a specific kit.  I stick to my number and eventually I win one. It becomes a game.  It's like playing the lottery every day and eventually winning!

Oh, BTW, there is talk of  Round 2 repopping the Pacer wagon.  

[Snake45]

Happens to me all the time.  I enter my Max Bid and most times will get outbid by $1 by those S.O.B.'s using the Sniping/Bidding programs.

You didn't get beat by a sniping/bidding program. You got beat by someone who was willing to pay more than you were, just as if it were a live auction.

[Tom Geiger]

Yup Richard,  I've been working on my US stamp collection, trying to fill in some early and expensive pieces.  I use a sniping program that flawlessly puts in a bid six seconds before the auction ends... and I lose most of the time because someone else is willing to pay more!

[Ramfins59]

But the $1 higher bid usually comes in within the last 3 to 5 seconds...  As Tom said, I just keep on trying.  After losing bids on 6 different 1955 Plymouth promos, I finally won the 7th one.  Patience and perseverance does pay off. 

[Tom Geiger]

But the $1 higher bid usually comes in within the last 3 to 5 seconds...  

Note that when someone beats you by a dollar, he may have actually bid $100 more than you... the proxy bidding system allows him to win one bid increment over your highest bid.

There are many times when my bid six seconds before auction end only causes the current high bidder to pay more money.  If he bid 3 days earlier and bid more than me, he still wins!

[DrKerry]

I usually don't put a max bid in, I watch it and when I know it ends I sit and wait until the last ten or fifteen seconds and drop a bid with a max bid and it usually works......

Hey Tom, I checked the Round2 site and it looks as if it's the Pacer X and not the wagon. Unless I didn't look good enough, who knows.... LOL

[DerthDeboblo]

You just gotta keep on trying!   Set up an eBay search agent.  You will get an email every time one gets listed.  I do this whenever I am Jonesing for a specific kit.  I stick to my number and eventually I win one. It becomes a game.  It's like playing the lottery every day and eventually winning!

Oh, BTW, there is talk of  Round 2 repopping the Pacer wagon.  

See, I always forget about setting up a search agent. Thanks for the reminder! Also, I can only hope that R2 repops the wagon. I'll be grabbing more then one for sure. 

Bid with 10 seconds remaining and you'll get it.

See, I normally do. I know the end times and I'm normally watching the last seconds tick by. But, we started mandatory overtime at work last night (I normally work 4 nights a week, now 5 with the spring season here), and I was tired and slept in till noon today. So, yeah, I missed out.  

[Tom Geiger]

Two words: Snipe Program

I use esnipe.com. They may have a free trial period, but it's a paid service.  I buy $10 worth of 'points' and that lasts a year or so.  You only pay if you win and it's like a quarter a win, but escalates based on dollar value of your purchase.  The system is reliable and performs six second snipes every time.  This morning when you were sleeping?  It would've have bid for you!

[1972coronet]

Like Tom said ; it appears that Round2 has that AMC Pacer Wagon slated for reissue this year ( !! ) .

Worst thing I ever lost a bidding war on ? A pair of vintage 1966 Renauld 'Sea & Ski Spectaculars' sunglasses ! I'd figured that they'd go to ~$200 tops , so I set my 'Max Bid' at $225 ...

 

... they ended up selling for $800 !!!

[AC Norton]

............that's ebay...and the solution is simple....snipe at the last 3 seconds, or, if you REALLY want the item so badly it hurts,,,throw big money on it, because you never know what the other players are thinking.............patience and time sometimes pay off, but not if you want it now, that's when the  rules and justifying price goes out the window.....my 2 cents.....the Ace............

[mk11]

There are many times when my bid six seconds before auction end only causes the current high bidder to pay more money...

I've heard it said 'if you can't win the race, make the winner break the record!'  

 

mike

[Russell C]

What I hate is my own senility, which I keep forgetting to fix. I spot some cheaply listed ebay item I could sorta use, which is tempting because of the price ........... and then I forget to place at least a single bid at the starting price. Then, 9 or 10 days later, I click on the listing, see it ended with zero bids, and is now relisted where at least two folks are in a bidding war over it beyond what I would have paid.

[StevenGuthmiller]

It's simple.

Bid the maximum amount you're willing to pay & leave it at that.

You wouldn't go through all of this headache if you were say, buying a car.

You tell the guy how much you're willing to pay for it, & if he doesn't go for it, you walk.

At least that's how I do it.

Works well for ebay too.

All of the sniping in the world will do you no good if someone else is still willing to pay more.

I've won auctions at the last moment when I've been sniped.

Raised the price on me, but I still won.

If I lost, no big deal.

It was more than I wanted to pay for it anyway.

 

Steve

[Snake45]

It's simple.

Bid the maximum amount you're willing to pay & leave it at that.

 

Steve

True, but it's best to do so as late as possible--in the last few seconds if you can. Bid your max and leave it out there for a few days, and it gives people time to talk themselves into paying more than they originally planned to.

[MrBuick]

I too have a maximum price in mind and won't go over it, although I frequently wait until the last 4-5 minutes to start bidding (the eBay app makes it easy to do from anywhere) so I can get an idea of how many people are interested and what they're wanting to pay. I've lost auctions by as little as .25, but it was .25 over my maximum price, and for all I know the winner could have set a maximum price $20 higher than mine, so I very very rarely bid beyond my initial maximum price because it's too easy to do, and on smaller items like model kits, as postage keeps increasing, most people ask $10-$12 to ship them, so it's already getting harder to find a good deal by the time that's factored in. I don't use "sniping" programs because I enjoy the aspect of bidding, aaand I don't think eBay should allow them to begin with...people shouldn't be rewarded for being too lazy to make themselves available during the last few minutes of an auction of something they really want to win.

I've seen too many people get caught up in bidding wars and it turns into just wanting to "beat" the other guy, then they realize they've overpaid for what they just bought. I've sold stuff before where people contacted me after they won and said "I just got caught up in bidding and 'accidentally' bid too high so I'm not gonna pay," and I've even had someone recently win an auction, PAY (too much) for their item, I shipped it, they received it, and then they contacted me and said they overpaid and wanted to send it back for a refund.

I've also been able to win items I really wanted by asking the seller if they'd consider a "buy it now" price and end the auction early. Only one person has turned me down and flat out said no, there were a few instances where they said yes but then wanted an outlandish price to do so, so I just ended up bidding on it and won it for far less that I offered them to end the auction early, but it has panned out nicely for me several times and I've been able to get something I wanted for a fair price for me and the seller, and I didn't have to wait on an auction to end or chance somebody coming along willing to pay $60 for a $20 item.

[Greg Wann]

If I want something bad enough I just put a really big starting bid on it like $200.00.  If they outbid me, well they can just pay.

[slusher]

....when your bidding on a desired model on eBay (case in point a vintage, complete, unbuilt AMT Pacer wagon with a low starting price. Item# 172131966848), and you lose out on it by a stupidly cheap amount ($3.00). Dam, and I really wanted it too. Oh well.

 

I entered a max bid one time 15.69 held it all week and lost buy 10 cents. They must have bid 15.79...Great advice from Rich,Tom, and Steve..

[MrObsessive]

I entered a max bid one time 15.69 held it all week and lost buy 10 cents. They must have bid 15.79...Great advice from Rich,Tom, and Steve..

I'm on eBay all the time, and I've beaten folks by a nickel. That's without any sniping or jumping in at the last minute.

What I miss about the old days of eBay is that you can no longer see who's bidding unless it's your auction. I'd kinda like to know if I'm bidding against a friend who really, really wants that kit and it's something I can sooner let go and let them have it.

I get why they hide identities though.............too much funny business in latter years with folks getting scammed by would be "eBayers", especially if they can see that the bidder paid an astronomical amount for a particular item.

[StevenGuthmiller]

True, but it's best to do so as late as possible--in the last few seconds if you can. Bid your max and leave it out there for a few days, and it gives people time to talk themselves into paying more than they originally planned to.

Doesn't matter.

I'm still planning on only paying what I bid.

They can talk to themselves all they want, I still will not pay a penny over what I'm willing to pay.

I go back occasionally & see what's happening.

Invariably, you'll get some schmo at some point bidding 12 times in a row in $5.00 increments, thinking he's being a real pro, & then at the end, you'll get the sniper jumping the price up no telling how much.

In the end, I just sit & watch them fall all over each other & wait for the auction to end to see whether I won or not.

Makes no difference to me one way or the other.

There will always be a next time.

 

Steve

[Longbox55]

Bid with 10 seconds remaining and you'll get it.

That doesn't always work. Lost several that I bid in the last few seconds like that and still didn't win it.

[StevenGuthmiller]

That doesn't always work. Lost several that I bid in the last few seconds like that and still didn't win it.

Agreed.

Doesn't matter when you bid, it matters how much.

If you're fighting over something with 3 other bidders, & your at $50.00 with 10 seconds left and someone has already bid $200.00, when you bid $75.00 makes no difference at all.

You still lose.

Funny part is, when the smoke clears, that $200.00 bidder just won it for $75.01.

 

Steve

[Ace-Garageguy]

Agreed.

Doesn't matter when you bid, it matters how much.

If you're fighting over something with 3 other bidders, & your at $50.00 with 10 seconds left and someone has already bid $200.00, when you bid $75.00 makes no difference at all.

You still lose.

Funny part is, when the smoke clears, that $200.00 bidder just won it for $75.01.Steve

Yeah, but all bidding early does is to drive the price up. Bid $50 or $200 or whatever and leave it, the bid will show a much lower number initially, and some clown will come along and bid in $1, $5 or $10 increments to see where the ceiling is...and all that does is push the price up for no reason. And putting a lot of bids on something only shows there's interest, and adds to the idiot feeding frenzy.

Likewise, going back in and raising your bid for an item time after time after time ain't going to do diddly but, again, drive the price up. It is NOT a winning strategy.

If you really want it and don't want to use sniperware (I don't), all you gotta do is bid your max within the last few seconds. 

If you get it, you get it for $1 more (or whatever the specific auction minimum increment is) over the next top bid. If you lose it, it's because somebody wanted it for more money than your top number.

It's really very simple.

Another thing...when the numbers start getting stupid, do a search for the same item. 9 times out of ten, you'l find it for less on another auction, but the frenzy-bidders are mindlessly stuck in competing for THIS one.  

Over the years, I've probably "won" around 98% of what I've bid on, using this strategy. I don't really NEED any more kits, so good luck to all of you who are still hunting.

Edited March 20, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy