zobo1942:
Hello,
I’m really tired of getting consistently beaten on ebay auctions.
Does anyone have any advice to help me win a few of them?
For example, I was just watching an auction, and the price jumped up to nearly four times what it was in the last five seconds. Is there an automated way to set up ebay to ‘auto-bid’ to a maximum value?
After FINALLY getting a new job, I’m planning on picking up some new CD miniatures - but I have had absolutely no luck at all when it comes to winning auctions.
Any advice you could offer would be much appreciated!
nitroglysarine:
You can just enter a max bid, and it’ll bid upto it. I got outbid in the second to last second.
There are also sniper websites that’ll bid for you in the last seconds for a fee, never used one.
zobo1942:
I guess I’ll need to check it out in a bit more detail. I’ve only used ebay for buying weird cables and adapters, etc… never anything really I’ve had to ‘bid against’ anyone for.
EDIT:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120699537816&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_1156
I wonder what these will go far!
Baggronor:
The most important thing is patience really. I generally put my max bid as what I think its worth and just leave it. I don’t win on a lot of bids but over the past few months I have had some nice finds including:
6 unpainted Flamers of Tzeentch: £10 (they are absurdly expensive from GW)
3 Stone Trolls: £12
3 pairs of Morathi pegasus wings: £5
OOP Keeper of Secrets x2: £5 and £8
Had some crazy episodes too. 4 packs of the old Marauder Dark Elf shields came up (the ones I really really really want). In the last 2 minutes, 4 guys bid on them like mad. The guy who won them paid in the region of £25-30 per blister in the end. I like them, but not that much…
GRNDL:
Put a max bid on that you think is reasonable, and then in the last 1 minute/30s put a max bid that is much higher. Only so many bids can be entered during that time frame - it takes time to register each one, so if you do win it, it will have only gone up a few times of the bid increment amount. Say its at $20 or so. Your max bid was at $22 and you’re winning. In the last minute, bid at $40. If the bid increment is say, $1, then only a few bids will be let in, so at most, you might be out by a few of the bid increments. Snipers are looking for the lowest cost to them, but they just want to beat you. So they may be incrementing very close to the end of the auction to keep the price low.
It really comes down to how much you want that item. If you want it, bid aggressively. If you want to just avoid snipers, then try tactic I’ve outlined. Still, bidding like this, you really have to want the item. If not, just make one bid and see if you get it or not.
zobo1942:
That’s an interesting strategy!
As I mentioned, I’ve only ever used ebay for weirdo computer cables and adapters - and any miniature auctions I’ve bid on, I’ve lost. ALL of them. Simply because, at the end, the price tends to jump up by about 300%, and I don’t have time to counter-bid. It’s getting pretty irritating.
I noticed that there is a ‘going rates’ list in another thread somewhere - are those prices valid?
starscream:
Yeah the going rates tend to be pretty close. Of course oddities happen on ebay.
If you are sick of losing out and want to “snipe” I use a site called “Lotsnipe”, its free in its basic version. I tend to use it when an auction is ending when I’m not available at a pc. It will auto bid for you about 10 secs before end of auction.
Willmark:
Hello,
I'm really tired of getting consistently beaten on ebay auctions.
Does anyone have any advice to help me win a few of them?
For example, I was just watching an auction, and the price jumped up to nearly four times what it was in the last five seconds. Is there an automated way to set up ebay to 'auto-bid' to a maximum value?
After FINALLY getting a new job, I'm planning on picking up some new CD miniatures - but I have had absolutely no luck at all when it comes to winning auctions.
Any advice you could offer would be much appreciated!
zobo1942
Don't bid early. Bidding early only drives the price up. Better off to watch stand then buy what you want. As noted patience is the key on eBay.
nitroglysarine:
Agreed, add to your watch list, and pop a bid in at the last second.
IF you can’t beat a sniper, join them!
ingtar_shinowa:
I always research what the going rate for stuff is. Do a hitoy of completed items search and you can figure out what people are paying. If you really want it bid more than that.
zobo1942:
Thanks for all the advice!
Hopefully, this will help me get… well, somewhere.
If not, I may just begin posting in the marketplace, looking for goodies.
Thanks again!
cornixt:
Number one thing is to be willing to lose an auction if it goes above what you are willing to spend. The number of auctions I’ve been beaten when the final price for used is above the new price is just absurd.
zobo1942:
Well, I’m not impulsive like that - my ‘gaming budget’ is pretty modest. So, I’m always going to be looking for a deal and have a maximum I’ll be willing to spend.
Thanks for the advice, though - makes sense!
Blue in VT:
If you can’t beat them…join them. I use EZsniper and it has changed my ebay experience…you put in the maximum amount you are willing to pay and forget about it…it bids for you in the last 5 seconds. There are still many auctions that go over my limit and I lose…but it has won quite a few for me as well.
Cheers,
Blue
Necrotique:
@baggronor, just giving you a heads up the I placed an order on your site 
@everyone else. I recently picked up two swivel guns for about $11 P+P inc. which I’m pretty happy about