eBay help

[Plakespear]

Okay, I'm an e-bay rookie. There's something I want to buy. What's the best way to be sure I get the winning bid? (Auction ends in less than 2 hours)

[slim]

Bid in the last 2 minutes or so with the absolute maximum you're willing to pay. Be prepared to lose by one bid amount more... however... that's why you set yourself an absolute max you'd be willing to pay.

[mrryde]

www.auctionsniper.com

havent lost one yet with this

[cmsummit]

Originally posted by Plakespear
Okay, I'm an e-bay rookie. There's something I want to buy. What's the best way to be sure I get the winning bid? (Auction ends in less than 2 hours)

Just enter in the absolute maximum you are willing to pay for the item.

For example, the item may have a current price of $150 with a bid increment of $5. If you are willing to pay $200 for the item, enter that in as your maximum bid and the current price will bump up to $155. If someone else counter bids with a max of $250, then the price jumps to $5 over your max or $205. Did this help?

[skier666]

little more risky but bid in the last 10 seconds...

....ha...didn't know about Auction Sniper....I've lost auctions in the last 3 seconds for rare video games...to the point I can't even believe it. Probably that god damn service.

If not many bidders, like zero, in the last hour or so place the maximum who are willing to pay...it will bid for you until some outbids your max bid.

[365wp]

http://www.esnipe.com

[Plakespear]

Thanks.

[skier666]

I might have to try a few of these...

[dipstik]

phantombidder.com - you dont pay them unless you win. Not a bad deal.

[snowsprite]

You could always look for the "buy it now" ones and skip the whole bidding p.i.t.a. A lot of them are still good deals.

Sprite

[Viva]

What? Ask for advice without telling us what you're bidding for?

[Plakespear]

Originally posted by Viva
What? Ask for advice without telling us what you're bidding for?

The "Home Videos" that Cletus and the Rev made with a few transvestite hookers in Buenos Aries.

[Plakespear]

Cool- software worked. I'm now the proud owner of a nice digital camcorder. Expect to have a few photoshoots with EC mags, as well as at the Summit. (BTW, what escort services in Jackson can provide me with six filipino transvestite hookers?)

[13]

Boo eSnipe. I lost an auction for some new kicks because eSnipe couldn't do its' thing.

So gay.

[Tippster]

Why do you need these programs? The way I work the E-Bay thang: You put in your maximum bid amount and BINGO. Either you win or you don't. Just because you bid $500 does not mean that's what you'll get pegged for, but if you did - then hey - you were willing to pay it in the first place. Conversely, if you lost by $5 and you're mad about it, raise your maximum bid next time.

How do these programs do anything differently?

A hint I'd like to pass along is to do a search for the item you're bidding on and click on "Completed Items." This'll give you a good idea of what people are willing to pay for it (or what the seller is looking to get for it,) and you can plan your bid accordingly.

[13]

The whole point of those programs is to "Snipe" and take them down with 1 shot, instead of getting into a bidding "war."

[Tippster]

OK, how's that different than the auto-bid increase feature built into e-Bay?

[jibij]

I've bought a gazillion things on eBay and also never understood the point of sniping. If you're willing to pay X dollars, and eBay will only advance your bid to that point, and only if somebody bids over your current minimum bid, what does it matter if you place that bid on Day 1 or, 20 seconds before closing?

edit:
Just found this on a snipe site and it makes some sense:

There are several advantages to sniping on auctions. The first is that the sniper prevents counter-bids and is more likely win the auction. The most significant advantage is that sniping prevents emotional bidding wars. These are events that auction sellers dream about – two or more bidders start running up the price of a listed item because they get caught up in the excitement of the moment. More often than not, the sniper will win the auction at a lower price if they do it correctly.

[mrryde]

the snipes work because you avoid the bidding war. You be surprised how many people will raise their bid just so they win.

[phUnk]

I bid a couple bid increments above the last bid, and I do it in the last 15 seconds of the auction. Before I send that bid in, I've already got another window open with a higher bid that's 2 bid increments more than the bid I'm about to submit.

If my first bid gets beat, I've got just enough time to submit my second bid. It usually submits with less than 5 seconds left.

I think that sniping software is lame.

I also don't walk in and just proxy bid the maximum I'm willing to pay. I go to eBay to pay less than the maximum I'm willing to pay, and I'm willing to try to get a deal on it and run the risk of not winning the item.

[slim]

Originally posted by phUnk
Before I send that bid in, I've already got another window open with a higher bid that's 2 bid increments more than the bid I'm about to submit.

If my first bid gets beat, I've got just enough time to submit my second bid. It usually submits with less than 5 seconds left.

If you're willing to pay two more bid increments beyond your first bid... why not enter that amount during the first bid submittal. Having a second window open is redundant if you're going to bid that much more if you don't win initially.

[midget]

Originally posted by phUnk
I bid a couple bid increments above the last bid, and I do it in the last 15 seconds of the auction. Before I send that bid in, I've already got another window open with a higher bid that's 2 bid increments more than the bid I'm about to submit.

If my first bid gets beat, I've got just enough time to submit my second bid. It usually submits with less than 5 seconds left.

I think that sniping software is lame.

I also don't walk in and just proxy bid the maximum I'm willing to pay. I go to eBay to pay less than the maximum I'm willing to pay, and I'm willing to try to get a deal on it and run the risk of not winning the item.

That's a damn good idea. Yer basically sniping, however yer taking the risk of the software out. Gonna try that one!