Bidding On Ebay (1 Viewer)

[John Sturge]

Good god, in the last 12 hours, I have lost 6 auctions on ebay...all outbid by 50 cents. Everyone seemed to know my maximum bid, on at least 4 of them. They would bid just once, and it would be 50 cents over my maximum bid... I think Ebay is a shady and untrustworthy place.

 

[BrianB]

Nope, John - that's perfectly normal.

For example:

Current bid is $5.00, increments of $0.50.

You do a max bid of $8.00.

That makes the current bid now: $5.50.

Someone else comes along & makes a maxbid of $12.00

ebay automatically 'bids' you against him - his higher max bid beats yours by $0.50.

So the bid is now $8.50.

If someone else comes along with a maxbid of $9.00, they'll automatically get beaten by the $12.00 maxbid to $9.50.

That make sense?

There are a lot of shady practices on eBay, this one's just normal auction behaviour by what you've described.

 

[RicP]

Uh, John....Do you understand how Proxy Bidding works?

Just because you do not understand how Ebay functions in no way makes it "shady and untrustworthy"

Two EBay terms you need to become familiar with...

1) Proxy Bidding

2) Sniping

 

[Bill Balcziak]

I think Ebay is a shady and untrustworthy place.

Would you feel better being the "winning" bidder but paying more than you wanted for an item? Being outbid isn't fun, but if your bid represented the max you would pay for an item then you were wise not to chase an item beyond your budget.

EBay is a good place to buy things if:

1) You keep your head and don't overbid

2) You do your homework on sellers (think hard before buying from a seller with negative or hidden feedback--if others had problems with the seller, you probably will, too)

3) You understand ALL the costs of your purchase (including frequently inflated shipping and "handling" charges)

I've had a LOT of good experiences at EBay as a buyer and as a seller. I just sold a $6000 item and everything went great. Sure, it cost me $110 in EBay commission and fees, but the item was sold fast, the buyer paid on time, and he and I are both happy with the transaction. Before EBay, selling that item would have been a major pain.

 

[Eve T]

Ebay rocks!

I've sold plenty of items on Ebay as well as purchased items. You just have to know what you want and make sure as mentioned in this thread to do your homework on sellers, such as negative or neutral feedbacks. As Rick said read up on proxy bidding and snipe bidding.

Of course there are some shady people who deal on Ebay, but they usually get caught in their sneaky dealings, such as opening two accounts and bidding on their own item to raise the cost.

I have only had a few bad experiences on Ebay and that was only from bidders who were slow to send in their payments, and who didn't read the details such as shipping charges etc.

Bottom line, if you wanted the item you got outbid on you should have put a higher maximum bid on it to begin with.

Better luck next time.

Eve

 

[Ryan L B]

I lost by 20 seconds at 12:30 in the morning on Ravens upper deck seats by $1.00

 

[Bill Balcziak]

read up on proxy bidding and snipe bidding....

Snipe bidding?

Is that like a snipe hunt?

 

[RicP]

I lost by 20 seconds at 12:30 in the morning on Ravens upper deck seats by $1.00

Actually you didn't lose by $1.00, that was just the final proxy bid. You have no way of knowing what the winner's bid was, only that it was higher than yours. He could have bid $100 over your highest price, but you only see the $1.00 higher proxy bid. If the amount you bid was the max you were willing to pay, then there's no reason to be concerned; if it wasn't then why didn't you make your initial bid higher?

I think if more people would take the time to learn exactly how EBay works, there would be a lot less confusion and problems.

 

[Jesse Leonard]

I think if more people would take the time to learn exactly how EBay works, there would be a lot less confusion and problems.

Ric, very true!! I also wish eBay would/could go after deadbeat bidders more aggresively. People need to realize that if they bid on an item, they need to be prepared to follow through and actually pay for the item!!

 

[Gui A]

People need to realize that if they bid on an item, they need to be prepared to follow through and actually pay for the item!!

SPECIALLY if it's an X-Box box!

 

[Tom-G]

Sniping used to really annoy me, but I've taken the bid-once-and-hope approach. What I mean is that I place one bid which is the maximum I will pay for the item. If I win, great. If not, I head on over to the next auction for the same item and repeat the process. I grew tired of the days of waiting till the last few minutes of an auction so that I could beat out the other bidders.

 

[Michael*K]

Guess I'm one of the hated eBay snipers. Why do you think I switched to a cable Internet connection? And I don't apologize for my actions either. If someone REALLY wants something, then it should be reflected in his or her proxy bid.

 

[Wade K]

I've found esnipe to be a very useful tool for winning auctions ending when I'm away from my computer.
I've always found the best strategy to bid once, as close to the end of the auction as possible. There are far too many people who bid in tiny increments until they beat your price. No point in drawing attention to a possible good deal, so one bid made in the last 5 seconds doesn't give anyone else time to counter.

 

[TreyP]

One thing you have to watch for, is before you bid, check the shipping prices. That's how a lot of those power sellers make thier money, on buyers who don't look at the shipping price. $9.00 for a postage-stamp size memory card is ridiculous.

 

[Mike_Ped]

I've won all my auctions by waitin till the last second! It's great!!

Mike

 

[AndyVX]

Yea, I've seen some insane shipping prices for some items. I wonder how the winning bidder feels when they receiver their package and the shipping total is printed on it...and is nowhere near as much as they paid the seller.

 

[DennisHP]

I guess I'm the only one to agree with John's general statement. I'm fairly experienced on eBay and here's what I've seen...

- Some people bid, win and then don't pay or even communicate.

- Other folks misrepresent what they are selling as gold when it is lead (you can't always go by the picture either).

- Good luck getting your money back if the item sent is not as advertised. You'll eat shipping costs too.

- The post office is ALWAYS blamed for "Lost" items.

- Retalitory Feedback can be left saying anything about a seller/buyer even if it is not true.

- email is the only way to communicate problems to ebay about ebay or ebay'ers

- The policy of waiting for 30 days to fill out a complaint against someone after a failed auction is rediculous. And then what happens? An email is sent to the offending party. Big deal.

- It is a much better situation for the seller than the buyer. And even better for ebay.

I've completed some good deals and saved some money but expect some hassles and headaches in the process.

 

[Henry Carmona]

They dont call me sharp shooter for nothing

 

[Bill Balcziak]

Frankly, some people are better off buying their goods from a retail store. EBay is not for everybody.

 

[Ryan Wright]

I wonder how the winning bidder feels when they receiver their package and the shipping total is printed on it...and is nowhere near as much as they paid the seller.

Doesn't matter how they feel, shipping charges were (or should have been) agreed upon in advance.

I estimate all of my shipping charges. I don't package items up until they're sold (why waste the time if the item might not even sell?), and as a result have to guess the total package weight. Shipping charges also vary by zip code, and since I post all shipping charges right there on the auction, I have no choice but to estimate.

So, to save myself money, I estimate high. Most items I've sold (computer equipment), I've charged $10 for shipping. It usually costs me between $5 and $8 to ship these items so I'm doing good. I figure the extra couple of bucks pays for my time to package it up and take it down to the local UPS terminal.