(ebay) Regrets...I have a few......

[justanormalgirl]

Man...I just got outbid on something I really wanted on ebay :cryin2: I made a 'conservative' maximum bid (but still well above the bid showing on screen) so my husband wouldn't blow a gasket and I'll be darned if I didn't get outbid by a :censored: sniper in the last few seconds.

Lesson learned......next time the maximum bid will be what I think I should bid and not what I think my husband would think I should bid!

What bidding regrets do you have to share?? I know I can't be the only one whose cryin' in her milk......

[graciegirl]

Gosh. I hope you weren't bidding on something I have listed.

I am generally selling, not buying.

I got outbid just today on a cute pair of frog earrings.

[skyguy79]

Next time place a bid, but wait until the last few minutes and try out snipping the sniper! :icon_wink:

[justanormalgirl]

Next time place a bid, but wait until the last few minutes and try out snipping the sniper! :icon_wink:

I used to be pretty good at sniping myself but it's been a while...gonna have to brush up I think!

[Mikeod]

I used to be pretty good at sniping myself but it's been a while...gonna have to brush up I think!
It's hard to beat those sniping programs. They trigger in the last several seconds before the auction ends, not leaving time to bid again. I usually just figure how much I think the item is worth, including shipping, and bid that. If I win, fine. If not, well it went for more than I thought it was worth.

[mrfixit]

Man...I just got outbid on something I really wanted on ebay :cryin2: I made a 'conservative' maximum bid (but still well above the bid showing on screen) so my husband wouldn't blow a gasket and I'll be darned if I didn't get outbid by a :censored: sniper in the last few seconds.

Lesson learned......next time the maximum bid will be what I think I should bid and not what I think my husband would think I should bid!

What bidding regrets do you have to share?? I know I can't be the only one whose cryin' in her milk......

..."REGRETS".??
..............ONLY that I actually "GOT" the things I WANTED.........
...........................Didn't NEED them............Just WANTED them.

GAVE MOST of THE WANTS away...to move to The Villages...
.....I feel Free ...:clap2:......NO longer am I BURDENED.. :MOJE_whot: ...with STUFF...

..Found out that "Less IS More"...:shocked:
............:a040:......."Happy as a Clam" in The Villages.

[bluedog103]

Man...I just got outbid on something I really wanted on ebay :cryin2: I made a 'conservative' maximum bid (but still well above the bid showing on screen) so my husband wouldn't blow a gasket and I'll be darned if I didn't get outbid by a :censored: sniper in the last few seconds.

Lesson learned......next time the maximum bid will be what I think I should bid and not what I think my husband would think I should bid!

What bidding regrets do you have to share?? I know I can't be the only one whose cryin' in her milk......

There are auction sniper programs out there. Very inexpensive. If you're having trouble with snipers why not become one?

[justanormalgirl]

..."REGRETS".??
..............ONLY that I actually "GOT" the things I WANTED.........
...........................Didn't NEED them............Just WANTED them.

GAVE MOST of THE WANTS away...to move to The Villages...
.....I feel Free ...:clap2:......NO longer am I BURDENED.. :MOJE_whot: ...with STUFF...

..Found out that "Less IS More"...:shocked:
............:a040:......."Happy as a Clam" in The Villages.

Give away my stuff?? Hmmm...not sure I'm ready for that...an estate sale maybe :)

[Golfingnut]

..."REGRETS".??
..............ONLY that I actually "GOT" the things I WANTED.........
...........................Didn't NEED them............Just WANTED them.

GAVE MOST of THE WANTS away...to move to The Villages...
.....I feel Free ...:clap2:......NO longer am I BURDENED.. :MOJE_whot: ...with STUFF...

..Found out that "Less IS More"...:shocked:
............:a040:......."Happy as a Clam" in The Villages.

I agree, when we moved into our last house up north, the tally was 17,800 lbs. We donated away over 8,000 lbs of stuff. Since I can't even remember what most of that was, we must not have needed it very bad. I can find things I look for in the garage now.

[Golfingnut]

Give away my stuff?? Hmmm...not sure I'm ready for that...an estate sale maybe :)

We donated about 8,000 lbs of stuff and do not miss one pound.

[CaptJohn]

Give away my stuff?? Hmmm...not sure I'm ready for that...an estate sale maybe :)

I'm with you on this! That precious 'stuff' has value that will enhance the TV experience.

The ultimate sniper is the one who already has the highest price in there ahead of time. They can't be outsniped! Saying that though, I've been there, done what you've done, occasionally regretting not getting something I wanted but also very happy I did not win things. I have 'stuff' overload.

[aljetmet]

I've purchased over 100 items from Ebay. Electronics and golf stuff.
I usually do not jump in and buy something right away.

I try to find out whay the item is going for. I lurk and look at past sales for the same item from the different sellers.

You then need to decide what the max you want to pay.

Bid and hope. I usually don't buy early, just wait till the last day.

Have I lost bids, sure thing. Have late bidders driven up the price. Sure thing.

Have I won bids at real great prices. Sure thing.

Moral of the story, some time you lose one sometimes you win one, but never over pay. Do not get into a bidding war early in the game...

Good luck.

[justanormalgirl]

Do not get into a bidding war early in the game...

Good luck.

Oh, Heavens no.....that's a newbie mistake! I've been with ebay since they started and the bidding wars aren't as vicious as they used to be :boxing2: I have seen many new bidders who will bid on the first day and then go bid each time they get outbid for the next week...silly behavior.

I do wait until the last day and, if possible, I don't get ready to bid until the last minute...then, at the right time hit the confirm bid button. However, if someone has set up a snipe through a program it's hard to beat.

The item I wanted was a one of a kind piece and that's why I'm still kicking myself! Personally, I would have bid way more but I don't think my husband would have liked it so I was a good girl and bid conservatively...danged conscience :sigh:

[DeborahL]

I've had that happen to me many a time, however; it's no use crying over spilled milk. I don't snipe anyone, never cared to do that; I find that offensive. I'm bidding on an item now, I've got just about 21 hours to go and I don't expect to win, if I do..then great. If not...then it's okie dokie artichokie. :coolsmiley: :coolsmiley:

[Mikeod]

Of course the flip side to this can be strange, too. I was looking at an LED TV in an auction. They had been going for about $900+ and I put in a bid of $850 and went to bed. I went to the site the next morning expecting to see the "Sorry" email and got the "Congratulations!" one. My dear wife heard me say "Oh ****" and asked what the problem was. I gulped and told her WE won a TV.

[justanormalgirl]

Of course the flip side to this can be strange, too. I was looking at an LED TV in an auction. They had been going for about $900+ and I put in a bid of $850 and went to bed. I went to the site the next morning expecting to see the "Sorry" email and got the "Congratulations!" one. My dear wife heard me say "Oh ****" and asked what the problem was. I gulped and told her WE won a TV.

Oh yah...I've heard that "Oh ****" myself!

[angiefox10]

Of course the flip side to this can be strange, too. I was looking at an LED TV in an auction. They had been going for about $900+ and I put in a bid of $850 and went to bed. I went to the site the next morning expecting to see the "Sorry" email and got the "Congratulations!" one. My dear wife heard me say "Oh ****" and asked what the problem was. I gulped and told her WE won a TV.


Or bid more on an item then you expected to and sweating bullets till someone outbids you... you hope! :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

My husband put a manual on ebay. You could buy it for $25.00 on Amazon. Two bidders got in a bidding war and it went for over $100.00. We were laughing. You can just picture each one at their computer thinking....

I'll show them!!! That book is MINE!!!

[lovsthosebigdogs]

[QUOTE=justanormalgirl;454165]I do wait until the last day and, if possible, I don't get ready to bid until the last minute...then, at the right time hit the confirm bid button. QUOTE]

I once waited for a coffee table with sculpted sightsounds for legs that I was DESPERATE to win but at the last 2 minutes as I was ready to bid again my power went out. I was sure I had lost, but when the power returned hours later I found I had indeed won. What a shock! Also another time an antique copy of a dog book that had come on ebay several times and always gone hundred over what I would pay for it came up for a bid that ended on Christmas day. I put in a very low bid of only $50 and to my shock no one else bid on it. I won that book for my initial bid of $50 when in the past I had bid up to $500 and still lost it. Sometimes things do work in your favor so there is no telling on ebay. Who knows, maybe all the people who wanted it already had it. Or maybe they were all busy having Christmas celebrations. Whatever, I got it for a song. Ebay works both ways, ya never know.

[justanormalgirl]

Ebay works both ways, ya never know.

Oh, I know and there are a few tricks I've learned along the way too like...search for misspelled words ie: minature=miniature etc...

I have also learned that not everyone who lists on ebay knows what they have. So, after searching for the crystal butter dish that matches my stem ware and found it for $105.00 I simply searched for 'glass butter dish' and found it for $22.00 :)

Now, if I could just find those darned martini glasses.......at a reasonable price of course........:icon_wink:

[Pturner]

Haven't bought much on ebay; but I have a question. Why does it even make sense to put in a bid before the last few seconds? Why not set an alarm, say on your smartphone, for a minute or two before bidding ends and then, if you're not home, use an ebay app last closed to open on the item's page, to place a bid?

Would that work?

[justanormalgirl]

Haven't bought much on ebay; but I have a question. Why does it even make sense to put in a bid before the last few seconds? Why not set an alarm, say on your smartphone, for a minute or two before bidding ends and then, if you're not home, use an ebay app last closed to open on the item's page, to place a bid?

Would that work?

Possibly but I don't have a smart phone...I'm usually home to bid on the items I want.

[Pturner]

Possibly but I don't have a smart phone...I'm usually home to bid on the items I want.

Then, it should work. Not sure what the benefit is of bidding ahead of the closing as it would only tend to drive up the price. However, I'm not an experienced eBayer, so someone please weigh in if there is are downsides to my theory.

[CaptJohn]

Then, it should work. Not sure what the benefit is of bidding ahead of the closing as it would only tend to drive up the price. However, I'm not an experienced eBayer, so someone please weigh in if there is are downsides to my theory.

I've been on ebay since 1997. There is no right or wrong way. You can tell from the previous posts that actually every strategy works but the problem is that each auction is different in that there are different personalities bidding and it's just a random thing as to which method works best. That's the fun (or frustration) of it. :)

[aljetmet]

A couple of days ago a bidder purchased a sealed safe. Cost him about $250 delivered.

Heard two different stories how he had it opened but it really doesn't matter.

Safe had $26,000 cash in it.:coolsmiley:

Uhderstand the seller wants some of the booty.

I say you sold as is and sorry fella.:boom:

By the way, the buyer happens to live in a neighboring town of mine so it's been on radio here.

What do you think?

I thought I was the only one who placed a bid and then realized I goofed and hope to be out bid...

[bluedog103]

Then, it should work. Not sure what the benefit is of bidding ahead of the closing as it would only tend to drive up the price. However, I'm not an experienced eBayer, so someone please weigh in if there is are downsides to my theory.

It makes no sense to bid early, just hoping nobody will outbid you. They will.
I decide how much I want to pay for an item and then usually add an unusual amount to my bid, i.e. if I want to pay a maximum of around $5.00 I'll bid perhaps $5.11 or $5.27. That eliminates all those who bid in even numbers.
Most importantly, I bid in the last seconds of an auction, usually 5-7 seconds before the end, depending on the time of day and the popularity of the item. There are programs which help you accomplish this and will notify if you have been outbid so you can adjust your maximum if you like.
Don't worry about the ethics of being a sniper. It's not a sporting event, the idea is to be successful in your bidding. I rarely lose an auction except to another sniper who outbids me in the last few seconds. If rookies get into a bidding war and drive the price higher than I want to go, I let it go.
My way is all business, never emotional.