Bidding on Ebay

[MegoNutt]

Here is a topic I don't quite understand. In my opinion why would anyone bid on an ebay 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 days prior to an auction ending? It doesn't make any sense to me. You are just going to send the cost of the item way up. I recognize that is the idea with the seller but this is a buyers market. Why not wait until the last 30, 15, 10, 1 minutes to make your bid and get it for less?
Please enlighten me.

[Mikey]

Sometimes people haven't made up their mind how bad they want an item or how much they're willing to pay for it.

Today, I might bid $19.99 and that's my limit no matter what.
If I get beat tomorrow, I might change my mind and go a little more.
After all, do I really want to lose the auction because of a dollar ?

That's why people bid more then once.

Uneducated has nothing to do with it.
It's human nature to change your mind ... and as long as you pay for it (if you win) it's totally acceptable.

[domino]

I allways liked waiting till the end of an auction to start bidding, however I have placed bids a few days early if I knew I couldnt be online when the auction ended.

[toys2cool]

I sometimes bid early just so that i don't forget to bid

but I usually wait till the end

[cjefferys]

Sniping is the way most people go these days. It's the ebay n00bs who end up having a bidding war days before the auction ends and drives the price sky high. That's amateur hour. It's best when your competitor doesn't know there is more interest in an item, he gets a false sense of security and doesn't have a high max bid on the item, thinking he can bump it up if he has to. But if someone swoops in during the last 10 seconds, the initial bidder doesn't stand a chance. Even if you bid early with a high max, you will have people chipping away at your bid during the week, dollar by dollar, just to find out what your max is. If you bid that same amount at the end, chances are you will end up paying less. Of course if two or more people have the same strategy (more likely these days) all bets are off.

Even super-rare items come up a few times a year.

I have to disagree with that. I'm looking for some various hard to find items (and do regular searches), and in some cases I've gone a year or two without seeing one, or even longer. It really depends on the item.

[fallensaviour]

I sometimes bid early just so that i don't forget to bid

but I usually wait till the end

Same here,Or sometimes I just throw out what I'm willing to pay period if someone wants it more,go ahead.Why would I want to wait until the end just to get my hopes up for nothing.
I rarely use E-bay anymore at all.

[wolfie]

The problem with putting a bid in early is that it gives the seller time to chip away and find out how much your max is. When you see someone on an auction who has made loads of bids it is usually the seller just bumping up the price.

[cjefferys]

Well, I'd love to find a dealer that could sell me a complete, all original Lily Ledy large size Jawa (one example of something I'm looking for and can't find). Or the bagged, vinyl King Kong figure made by Bullmark (licensed from Mego) in the 70's (he's pictured on the title page of at least one of Bonavita's Mego books). I've never found one for sale anywhere, even in Japan. I can't even find a pic on the internet to show which one I'm talking about.

[Bill]

Ever watch something for two days, look back and see that it has two bids and just delete it out of your watched list?

[JPkempo]

So you can send this type of e-mail

"Hi I'm the high bidder on you spider-man with the funny suit. Although it looks like a error with the web coming to a circle around the spider, I'm willing to give you $35 if you could end the auction now. I'll be out of town when the auction ends so I won't be able to bid then."

or

You really are going out of town and can't get to the internet.

or

Your a shill bidder

[Meule]

I always till the end of the auction. Unless it ends in the middle of the night, then I put in my maximum bid and hope for the best. You win some, you lose some

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

If I really want something, I wait til the last seconds. But sometimes I will make an early bid with my limit just so I don't go crazy and up it at the last minute.

[Adam West]

I usually snipe and in a certain collectible area, people know who I am even with the secret bidder identities.

Sometimes I will place an early bid for a variety of reasons. For one, there are some hard to find high end items that usually me and one other bidder ends up going after. We have gotten to know each other over the years and have shared information just like we all do on the board. We have a bit of gentleman's agreement that if one of us is going after a particular piece the other doesn't and unnecessarily drive the price up on the other since it is typically the two of us. So, I'll place an entry bid out there sometimes just to let the other person know that I'm marking my territory.

I also sometimes do it as reverse psychology. Sometimes I'll throw in an initial bid on something that I'm not really interested in but is worth way more than the initial bid and not bid on it anymore. Other times, I'll throw in an early bid, let someone else outbid me with the thought that I am no longer going to chase it only to follow up with a snipe.

I know I overthink this stuff too much but it actually works sometimes.

[fallensaviour]

Ever watch something for two days, look back and see that it has two bids and just delete it out of your watched list?

... No... .... Okay maybe a couple times