Just lost an auction bid on eBay on a piece of gear I really wanted... Some guy came in the last 2 seconds and outbid my maximum bid by $2.50.

OK, I know and hear that it's a pretty common practice, but it still drives me nuts!!! I spent 30 minutes watching the end of that auction.

Anyone have any suggestions to beat this or do you just got to play the game?

-KD03

P.S. I'm relatively inexperienced with eBay - I've only purchased a dozen items or so.

People run special software and stuff.
What can you do?
I don't want to envolve into a pro eBayer.

As hard as I think it is: I accept an overbid as fate.
Last week I was overbid on two Dolby 360's, 3 seconds
before closing...


ruudman

You need a sniping service. Try www.auctionstealer.com

What's wrong with last-second bids? Bidding early won't do anything but drive up the price.

- Decide on your maximum bid.
- Check the clock on your computer and place the bid about 8-10 seconds before closing time.
- You'll know the verdict a few seconds later!
-Shout or swear!

Andi

www.doorknocker.ch

exactly..this is how I bid.

I do both. Sometimes I put my maximum bid in earlier and hope for the best. Depends on the item and how much demand there is.

I don't wig if I get outbid in the last seconds. I just see it as a sign.

This is what you need...

There, now I will get hate mail for telling you that..

Oh well...

heh

THAT's HOW ME API CAME HOME TO NYC!!!
<img src="http://www.ezraudio.com/rack.jpg"align="middle"/>

or to simplify on the doorknocker post, ala Sounds Great:

1) Bid the max you are willing to pay.
2) Live with the results.

Yup. In the end, even if everyone was using one of these swiping programs, the one who sets the highest limit will still be the winner.


I have made a LOT of transactions on Ebay. Check out my feedback. heh
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...me=STRK:ME:UFS

I have to second this one.

You know what you are willing to pay once you see the auction.
Just commit.


If you really want to gripe about an ebay practice, gripe about sellers using other accounts to bid up auctions to see where you will go.
OR
running different auctions with steep BIN pricing to make the price they are selling at look like a deal.



Ebay sucks but, is required these days. :(


D

just commit, make sure you have the money to cover your ass! i made that mistake a few too many times when i started.....mostly on crap.

That's exactly why I only do last-second bidding. I'm sure there are sellers out there 'feeling out' bidders. They might get an idea how desperate somebody (especially a newbie) is to get an item simply by his 'bid behaviour', e-bay success requires a 'virtual poker face'.

I dunno, I was lucky so far by observing a few simple rules:

- I never bid on expensive stuff, $ 400 or so is my limit. Otherwise I would pick up/pay the stuff in person, it hasn't happened so far.

- I always contact the seller before I bid, you get an idea what somebody's like and it's also worth spending 20 minutes or so to REALLY check somebody's feedback:

- What kind of items did somebody sell before the auction in question (I saw stuff like a vintage U67 from a seller who only had $2 CDs auctions and the like, it could be o.k but most likely it isn't)

- Also check the feedback of the buyer/sellers who dealt with the seller in question, sometimes you smell something fishy there.

-Ask if you could pick up/pay the item in person, this might also help in 'judging' the seller.

- Only bid on stuff that features pics of the actual item being sold and not generic pics from say the manufacter's website. This obviously isn't foolproof but it will help.

- Check things like serial numbers, most gear manufactures are glad to help.

- Go by your gut reaction. I refrained from auctions that just gave me a strange feeling in the stomach. I might have been wrong though, who knows?

Andi

www.doorknocker.ch

http://www.auctionsniper.com/

This has gotten me some nice gadgets at the last second.
You get several free auction trials.

This is what I use. One good thing is that it helps eliminate the 'emotional response'. Like, what's another $20? You have to make those decisions in the heat of the closing minutes of an auction, and that's doesn't make sense to me. Set a 'snipe' bid and forget about it. Which is basically the same as bidding and forgetting about it, except that you won't call any attention to your interest in the item.

Basically, what all these guys said.

well said!
i just wished you guys would stop out bidding me on the gear i want!
even with the snipe helpers you still have a maximum bid you have have to decide on.
if someone is willing to pay more you just have to wait on the next one, or be willing to pay more.

Ok, I was going back and forth on posting this ,but what the hell. We're all brothers here


www.esnipe.com


Thats what I use. Works great!

ERic

Thanks for all the tips, everyone. I think I'm gonna give sniping a shot!

-KD03