Ebay Bidding...............

[Monnyjay]

Need some help here............

When you want to purchase an item on Ebay that is up for Auction, how do you go about it? Do you place a bid - set and forget or do you wait until the last minute to register your bid.


With the latter option you run the risk of losing out if someone has already put in a higher bid.

Would love to know your plan of attack, please share

 

[ruby59]

Not sure what you are going after, but in the fine jewelry categories, I find there are hardly any auctions anymore. They are all set price.

But in the good ole days, I would put in the maximum I was willing to pay for an item. IMO, bidding wars run on emotions which can get you to severly overpay. And of course, some use sniping software to put in a bid at the last second.

 

[ForteKitty]

Not sure what you are going after, but in the fine jewelry categories, I find there are hardly any auctions anymore. They are all set price.

That's not true. there are still a ton of auctions. (I've been buying way more than I should) Perhaps you are using too many filters?

 

[ruby59]

Not sure if you and I are looking at the same jewelry. And yes I do use a lot of filters to avoid the drop shippers and the scammers.

I have tried searching auction only, but when I did there was very little to choose from.

But Fortekitty, after that amazing OEC find of yours, I would be more than open to suggestion on how to search. That diamond is the most beautiful I have seen on Pricescope.

 

[ForteKitty]

You wrote that you were looking in "fine jewelry", but I find that stuff is everywhere under the "jewelry and watch" category. People will put their jewelry anywhere and sometimes it makes no sense, so I never filter down to just one sub-category!

I do filter out non-US sellers tho. I don't like to deal with international shipping. I also put sellers who sell newly manufactured items on a banned list so I don't see their 50k listings with the same stock pics. Beyond that, it's just a LOT of diligent daily searches!

 

[ruby59]

Right now I am searching for antique jewelry. I have to try and filter out the repos or it would take all day to find anything.

Also, as much as I would like to, I do not filter out all international, because I have found some beautiful antique pieces of jewelry on the UK sight.

Nothing bugs me more than page after page of diamonds that was obviously copied from some diamond bank using the same stock picture. There are 3 or 4 abusers on ebay who I have on filter.

I have been shopping on ebay since 1999, but have found that many of the mom and pop sellers are gone. Also, antique jewelry sellers have apparently gotten the memo and have raised their prices considerably. There are bargains out there, but I am finding them far and few between, and I do search daily.

 

[junebug17]

I just put in my highest bid and hope for the best! If I don't win I just figure it wasn't meant to be.

 

[iLander]

Go ahead and register and open your paypal account now. So that you're ready. Most sellers will take nothing but Paypal (that's all I take).

Then open a watch list in my ebay. That way you'll get an email when your item is about to be sold (but still plenty of time). This is not 100% reliable, though, so put a timer on your phone as well.

Log in to ebay about an hour before your item is set to be sold. Pull the item up on your screen about 1/2 hour before it's done. You'll notice the page now has a countdown timer.

Then wait until it says there are 20 seconds left. Put in your highest possible amount. Then hold your breath. If you get outbid right away, then it's probably someone has left behind a bid for a higher amount and the ebay computer has bid on their behalf. Some bidders use sniping software to bid in the last 2 seconds, but there is nothing you can do about that.

The thing some people don't understand is that ebay will not spend all your money right away. Let's say you put in a max bid of $100. Let's say the other bidders only bid $50. Ebay will only take $51 of your dollars to win it. Ebay will take the minimum amount necessary to win the item, and if it doesn't reach your max amount, good for you. If you put in $100, and someone else has left behind a bid of $102, ebay will bid your full $100, but the other guy will win the item for $102, so you will pay nothing, obviously. The computers do this instantly, you don't have to do anything manually.

I have found that a lot of items on ebay, from the more popular sellers, go for pretty close to fair market value. I have also found that 3 days from the auction close, and item will be at about half the final price.

 

[Monnyjay]

I just put in my highest bid and hope for the best! If I don't win I just figure it wasn't meant to be.

Junebug17 I like your tactic, I think I will just go with that, thank's Monny

 

[Monnyjay]

Go ahead and register and open your paypal account now. So that you're ready. Most sellers will take nothing but Paypal (that's all I take).

Then open a watch list in my ebay. That way you'll get an email when your item is about to be sold (but still plenty of time). This is not 100% reliable, though, so put a timer on your phone as well.

Log in to ebay about an hour before your item is set to be sold. Pull the item up on your screen about 1/2 hour before it's done. You'll notice the page now has a countdown timer.

Then wait until it says there are 20 seconds left. Put in your highest possible amount. Then hold your breath. If you get outbid right away, then it's probably someone has left behind a bid for a higher amount and the ebay computer has bid on their behalf. Some bidders use sniping software to bid in the last 2 seconds, but there is nothing you can do about that.

The thing some people don't understand is that ebay will not spend all your money right away. Let's say you put in a max bid of $100. Let's say the other bidders only bid $50. Ebay will only take $51 of your dollars to win it. Ebay will take the minimum amount necessary to win the item, and if it doesn't reach your max amount, good for you. If you put in $100, and someone else has left behind a bid of $102, ebay will bid your full $100, but the other guy will win the item for $102, so you will pay nothing, obviously. The computers do this instantly, you don't have to do anything manually.

I have found that a lot of items on ebay, from the more popular sellers, go for pretty close to fair market value. I have also found that 3 days from the auction close, and item will be at about half the final price.[/quote


ILander, explained perfectly! That's exactly what I wanted to know, I assumed that was how it worked I just wanted confirmation. I have bid on items in the past, placed a bid (set and forget) not been successful. We do have a paypal account, my DH has bought parts for he's car from the States, but they are always set prices "buy it now" from secure sellers.

The item I am watching finishes in the wee small hours of the morning and I am not going to get up . so on your very helpful advice I will put in my highest bid and see how I go! Thank you so much

 

[Dreamer_D]

I snipe. Set it and forget it

 

[VRBeauty]

I also snipe if I want something real badly. I think sniping probably only gives me an advantage over newer bidders who bid things up incrementally, and count on being able to get a higher bid in at the last minute. Sniping also means that I'm not tipping my hand as to how much I'm willing to pay. The sniping program I use also has another advantage - if I change my mind about an item for any reason, I can also change or even cancel my bid.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Can the seller see what your highest bid is, even if the auction did not use all of your bid. I bid on a painting twice. At the last minute I was worried the first bid was not enough and I wanted to protect myself from a sniper. I did win it, but I want another painting from the same dealer and artist, but am afraid I already showed the seller how much I was willing to pay. It was a big enough difference.

Thanks,
Annette

 

[iLander]

Hi,

Can the seller see what your highest bid is, even if the auction did not use all of your bid. I bid on a painting twice. At the last minute I was worried the first bid was not enough and I wanted to protect myself from a sniper. I did win it, but I want another painting from the same dealer and artist, but am afraid I already showed the seller how much I was willing to pay. It was a big enough difference.

Thanks,
Annette

No, as I seller, I can't see what a bidder's highest leave-behind amount is.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

I also snipe if I want something real badly. I think sniping probably only gives me an advantage over newer bidders who bid things up incrementally, and count on being able to get a higher bid in at the last minute. Sniping also means that I'm not tipping my hand as to how much I'm willing to pay. The sniping program I use also has another advantage - if I change my mind about an item for any reason, I can also change or even cancel my bid.

AMEN! It also keeps me from going over my MAX bid with trying to see how high someone's bid really is. In the beginning I would do the incremental upbidding. Usually resulted in me paying more than I could have had I known what sniping was.

I just sniped a hessonite and will be sniping a spinel in less than an hour.

 

[jeweln]

what is sniping ? is it a program ?

 

[VRBeauty]

Sniping is using a program that places a bid for you in the closing seconds of an auction. You can program in your highest bid at any time, then sit back and let the program place the bid for you. As iLander mentioned, if you place your highest bid directly in the ebay auction, ebay will only bid the amount needed to win the item for you - which is some set increment above the last highest bidder. If another higher bid comes in and your bid amount still tops that, ebay will automatically re-bid for you. The other person who's bidding then knows she still has not won the item and can enter a new, higher bid... that's what we were calling incremental bidding.

If you use a snipe program, no one knows you're interested OR how much you are willing to bid until your bid is placed in the last few seconds of the auction. If they were bidding just enough to top your bids you might just win the item because they won't have time to up their bid.

I use auctionsniper.com, but there are newer programs out there that might have better features. The fee is fairly low - it's based on the price of the item - and you only pay the fee for items that you win.

 

[jeweln]

well I will give it a try .the other day I wanted to bid on a perfume ,there were other bidders before me and the auction was ending at 2 pm .I had to put an alarm clock to wake up minutes before it ended ( I won it though ) .

 

[ruby59]

I still do not understand how some of you are finding some great deals on ebay. Yes, it is easier if you are looking for a OEC or stay strictly in the antique category. There are some deals to be made if you look carefully.

But if you are looking in loose diamonds or engagement rings, once you eliminate the so called 7 worse offenders who just copy some diamond bank and then go past more retailers who are not as offensive, I came across only about a dozen independent sellers. And most of those seem to be asking full retail for their diamonds.

 

[ForteKitty]

I never look in the individual sub categories. None of my oecs were from "antiques and vintages", and none of my RB or fancies were found in "engagement rings". I have about 170 items in my watch list right now, and none of them are from resellers. All individuals.

 

[distracts]

I guess it depends on what you consider a deal. I haven't gotten any CRAZY deals, like where something was 1/10th of the retail price, but I've gotten good chunks off. It helps to know when something in bad shape can be repaired cheaply, and when an item is probably only looking ugly because it needs a thorough cleaning or because the photography sucks. A lot of individual sellers don't know the proper terms for what they have, so your searches need to be kind of creative. The last thing is that I think the people who are most successful at finding deals in eBay check their saved searches literally every day. When I do that I am more likely to find good stuff.

 

[ruby59]

One thing I unfortunately do not have is a good eye. I saw the auctions that forekitty and dreamer bid on and won. I never would have been able to predict that IRL they would be so beautiful. I guess the best deals are when pictures are not great and descriptions are a little fuzzy, but unless everything clicks, I just cannot separate the deals from the disasters.

Now that ebay has changed some of their categories and messed up my saved searches, I am trying to play with the words a bit. At this time of year, it does get a bit interesting on ebay as sellers list for the holidays. Hopefully, I can score my deal of a lifetime.

 

[jeweln]

Forekitty
we would love to know whats on your ebay watch list !

 

[Enerchi]

I never look in the individual sub categories. None of my oecs were from "antiques and vintages", and none of my RB or fancies were found in "engagement rings". I have about 170 items in my watch list right now, and none of them are from resellers. All individuals.

WOW!!! Just out of curiosity, FK, what are you lusting after now?? I can't imagine anything could EVER top your holy grail!!

 

[jeweln]

ruby59
I am exactly in the same boat as you ! every night I run long searches in ebay ,typing :art deco ,European cut ,vintage ,antique and so on. but never find anything .

 

[ForteKitty]

I never look in the individual sub categories. None of my oecs were from "antiques and vintages", and none of my RB or fancies were found in "engagement rings". I have about 170 items in my watch list right now, and none of them are from resellers. All individuals.

WOW!!! Just out of curiosity, FK, what are you lusting after now?? I can't imagine anything could EVER top your holy grail!!

Haha, it's a game at this point. I just like to "watch" things and see how high they end. Watch for trends. Guess which ones end up on PS.

 

[ruby59]

ruby59
I am exactly in the same boat as you ! every night I run long searches in ebay ,typing :art deco ,European cut ,vintage ,antique and so on. but never find anything .

European, Old European, antique, vintage, art deco, OEC, Old Diamond, and so on. And I got nothing. Unless of course I am just overlooking some great deals, I just do not see them. And I do check daily or more before holidays.

 

[TC1987]

I put the item on Watch. If there are no bids on it and it's a really good deal, I sometimes put in a very minimal bid just to prevent the seller from changing any of the terms of sale, then I set up a bid in a sniper service to throw my maximum bid in at the very end.