E-bay question..

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

I put in an early low bid just to get my name on the bidders list. I snipe things I really really want and I read somewhere if two people bid the same price, the person that wins is the person that bid first on the item.

Only if the first bid was to that finishing price.

Hey that's me! If the opening bid is the amount I'm willing to pay then I bid as soon as I can.

If somebody bids higher - pushing the price up as you call it - than they can have it.

If nobody else bids then I win because I haven't forgotten to bid...

If somebody else bids the same, I win as first bidder.

All bases covered

[dirtydog]

Tiger that's exactly what i was thinking

If you want something for the cheapest price possible you have to snipe. don't forget
he who bids early allows all other potential bidders to see his bidding profile and work
out a strategy to beat them. Ebay is a mind game.

I almost aways try bid in the last 30 seconds and always with a penny over the ?, so like ?25.01 so if someone has bid ?25 I get it. Most people bid early and rely on the outbid emails, since I bid in the last 30 seconds then the oubid email won't reach 'em in time.

[dirtydog]

Originally Posted by Tomis

If you want something for the cheapest price possible you have to snipe. don't forget
he who bids early allows all other potential bidders to see his bidding profile and work
out a strategy to beat them. Ebay is a mind game.

Who can honestly be bothered with checking other bidders profiles etc? I know i certainly can't. If i see something i want i put a bid my maximum bid on it and that's it, i just leave it. If i win it then great if not then i'll wait for another to come up.

Originally Posted by Tomis

If you want something for the cheapest price possible you have to snipe. don't forget
he who bids early allows all other potential bidders to see his bidding profile and work
out a strategy to beat them. Ebay is a mind game.

Sniping only works if the other bidders are manually bidding though. If I want something I bid what I'll pay for it - sniping won't stop that unless the sniper pays more.

Originally Posted by GastonJ

I almost aways try bid in the last 30 seconds and always with a penny over the ?, so like ?25.01 so if someone has bid ?25 I get it. Most people bid early and rely on the outbid emails, since I bid in the last 30 seconds then the oubid email won't reach 'em in time.

Again, I don't rely on outbid emails. If I've been outbid it's because someone wants to pay more than I'm willing to. I can use the penny over - or several pennies over - trick as first bidder in case someone wants to try that, e.g. I bid 25.03 so if someone guesses (or tests the water by steadily increasing the bid) that I'm maxing it at 25, and they bid 25.01, it won't work.

The sniping, bidding late, etc only affects people who use it differently to the above - there are plenty though. For me, it doesn't, as the price I'm willing to pay is not influenced by the presence of other bidders, or the amount they are bidding.

Originally Posted by dirtydog

Who can honestly be bothered with checking other bidders profiles etc? I know i certainly can't. If i see something i want i put a bid my maximum bid on it and that's it, i just leave it. If i win it then great if not then i'll wait for another to come up.

That won't work if what you want is a one off. You won't get much in life
if you just can't be bothered to go for it.

[dirtydog]

If it's a one off then i'd be willing to pay more for it, but either way it still has its value.

Originally Posted by Tomis

If you want something for the cheapest price possible you have to snipe.

No, you don't.

The cheapest possible price is the starting bid. If that's the price you're willing to pay then waiting till the last 3 seconds just invites somebody else to bid that price first and then you lose.

As for not getting much out of life if you can't be bothered to go for it, thanks, I'll keep that in mind.