Letting the timer run out... or just about

cormie

Hi,
I have my eye on an auction on Ebay which is ending in 4hr 30 mins. I'm willing to bid on it but don't want to bid for another while so it will end up cheaper. Also, if I bid now then the current highest bidder has 4hr 30 mins to see there is competition. If I leave it until about 10 minutes left I can big slightly higher than the current bid and it will leave little time for auctioning.

Are there any restrictions or anything I should know before I bid?

any feedback appreciated:)

d@rk l0rd

I've always found doing this to be quite risky as you can easily get caught up in a bidding war and end up paying more than the item is worth.

The best thing i.m.h.o. to do is to ask yourself how much is the maximum you are willing to pay for this item. Then bid it - eBay will then keep bidding on your behalf until it reaches your maximum bid. It may never even reach near your maximum bid.

Gone West

4 seconds.
i always bid with 4 seconds to go.

cormie

Well the item is going really cheap. It's second hand and I need it pretty badly, shipping will be cost price too, about $24, another company quoted me $98 for something of the same size! haha.

I'd be willing to bid quite a good bit on it.

I have never bidded on an item before. Do I just put in a bid? What if my bid is beaten by the previous bidders set "highest bid" and the timer runs out?

Should I come up with a price I'm not willing to bid any more than and just let Ebay bid against ebay basically? As in, my highest bid against the current highest persons highest bid?

d@rk l0rd

Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good strategy.

Basically whoever has the highest bid on the item when the clock runs out wins it. If you bid the maximum amount you're willing to pay, then eBay will up the current bid by say 50c and you're the current winning bidder. If someone else puts in a higher offer, then they become the highest bidder.
If your maximum bid is higher than that, then eBay will automatically add 50c or whatever to the current highrst bid and you'll be the winning bidder again.
If the price reaches your maximum and you're outbid, then the other person becomes the winning bidder and eBay will email you to inform you of this.

You could win the item at a much lower price than your maximum bid if noone else bids against you.

If you leave it until the last minute, you could be automatically outbid by someone else with a higher maximum bid so just bidding an amount in the final seconds doesn't guarantee that you'll win the item.

cormie

This is really exciting actually:D 10 mins to go now and someone just put the bid up to $63 about 5 mins ago so I'm gonna wait another 5 mins and attack. Think my max bid will be $111, just incase they put in $110:)

This is a great way to spend a Friday night in!! haha.. going out to calm down after this though. Can't believe I've been watching this item non stop for the past 4 hours:rolleyes:

cormie

it went to 70, I waited till there was about a minute left, entered max of $110, pressed confirm, I was highest bidder, refreshed with about 30 seconds left, my max bid went up to 74, refreshed again it had gone up to 77 with 2 seconds left, refreshed again, it was mine:) yeaaahhhh!!! so worth the wait:) $77+$24 shipping. So about €84 when it would have cost me about €165 from Pixmania.com..


here is what I was bidding on:) 2nd hand but still:rolleyes:

Bet I'm gonna get hooked on this:P

Thanks for the help all.

OFDM

I don't like sellers with private feedback, always seems dodgy to me.

cormie

Did (does still) kinda concern me.. why would they make it private do you reckon?

Zapp Brannigan

OFDM wrote:

I don't like sellers with private feedback, always seems dodgy to me.

Ditto.

peckerhead

Jaysus, cormie, I'm glad you finally bought something..!

Ditto on the private feedback thing (see http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-public.html). A handy way of grabbing good deals on eBay is to use an auction sniper — even though it kinda takes the buzz out of it! I often use www.snip.pl (used to be free, now costs 15c per successful "hit", but you get 5 free when you sign up).

cormie

Yes Pecker, you were top of the list to tell but I was going to wait until I actually got it so as not to worry you

I better not go to that snip.pl, compulsive buying!!! hehe.

That "Pecker" link in your signature is great, was on it for ages:D

About the private feedback. I can understand why a seller would and wouldn't want it. Let's just keep my fingers crossed.

peckerhead

Lol — me, worry?
Looks like a nice deal, cormie (esp. when you compare to the alternatives listed w/ other sellers, currently from $145~$246) Bear in mind that even if the feedback comments are kept private, you can still see the seller's stats:

Feedback Score: 554
Positive Feedback: 98.9%
Members who left a positive: 561
Members who left a negative: 6
All positive feedback received: 809

...which are not too bad considering. Plus you've got PayPal protection if the goods are never delivered.

If she doesn't find the CD, or you've any problems getting hold of the Finepix software, pm me and I should be able to sort you out.

cormie wrote:

So about €84 when it would have cost me about €165 from Pixmania.com.

I saw it the other day in the high street on "special offer" for €269.99 (bundled with a 256Mb card and soft carry case). I'd say you got yourself a bargain!

[Edit/P.S. Can strongly recommend this US seller for good deals on xD cards and rechargeable AAs (especially bundled with a charger)]

Wildhalf

There are programs out there that help you bid on ebay. They would hold your maximum bid and bid on what you want just before the auction ends. So not driving the max up long before the auction is over. As we all know this is the secret to getting things cheaper, waiting till the last sec and then throwing in your highest bid.

Don't know the name of this program but will have a look tomorrow and get back to you.

Kieron

techie_2006

Auction Tamer !

http://www.auctiontamer.com/atindex.htm

yop

well done Cormie, great buy. I went through the same "buzz" when buying our kitchen appliances! great for the heart!