How to keep from getting outbid on e-bay

[Lennyjoe]

It's fustrating to say the least.  I hate when some knucklehead gets me in the last seconds of the bidding process.

Is there a program that they are using that bids for them?  

I lost a bid on an intake manifold for my Cougar in the last second of the bidding process.  The last bid from the other guy was $50 so I figured I'd go up to $100 with a minute left.  Well, it said I was the high bidder at $72 bucks with 3 seconds left and then I get an outbid notice at auction end for $101.50.  

Guess I should of either bidded higher than 100 but I thought I was safe bidding $50 more than the last bid.  

I normally set a price that I won't go over but figured $50 was up there enough to win it.  Guess I was wrong.

[Parker Dean]

It's called "sniping", and there are services that offer it. The free ones go up to the last 15 seconds, while the pay services go up until the last three seconds or so. BidSnipe sounds familiar, but a search should turn some up.

[cfabe]

If you are on broadband you can usually get in a bid within the last 20 seconds just doing it manually.

I always bid an odd ammount so if someone (like yourself) bids in at $100, my bid of $101.23 will win.

On ebay what an item is at currently really has no correlation to what it will finish at. If it's a common item you can check the completed listings to get an idea what to expect.

[280plus]

Just wait till the very last minute or so and bid the absolute highest you are willing to pay. If you get beat then you know the other guy paid more than it was worth to you. I stopped bidding at all until the last 30 seconds. I like it to be a surprise when this out of no where bidder takes the item. Bidding early tips your hand and may drive the price up. Just watch it to the bitter end and then POUNCE!! (And hope Murphy's law of the Internet doesn't foul up your evil scheme.)

If I REALLY want the item I put in a ridiculously high bid at the end that is guarranteed to beat everybody. But then you are REALLY throwing caution to the wind.

[Iain]

Don't mind people doing it when I am selling, an electric guitar I sold went from £280 to £390 in about ten minutes. It is irritating though, I bought a Framus archtop body, winning bid was £55 until the last five minutes when someone kept bidding to reach £80, just three pounds under the maximum bid that I had entered in. I'd have been annoyed to lose it, the adrenaline rush is quite crazy.

[jefnvk]

I usually wait until the last 15-20 seconds to put in a bid, then just drop the most I am willing to spend on it.  Plus the whole odd bid thing.

Remember, when you bid, you are not putting in the actual price you want to pay, you are putting in the most that you will pay.  eBay will bid automatically up to that price on your behalf.

[garrettwc]

Remember, when you bid, you are not putting in the actual price you want to pay, you are putting in the most that you will pay.  eBay will bid automatically up to that price on your behalf.

That's what I was thinking when I originally saw this post. eBay has a function called Autobid or something like that. You put in your maximum price and the bidding increment. I would put in an odd amount like $11.50. So when you put in a $10 bid, eBay automatically puts in $11.50 for me. Sort of like playing poker, I see your $10 and raise you $1.50.

The funny thing is eBay discourages the use of programs like BidSnipe, but if you use eBay's program you're OK. :/

[K Frame]

"Remember, when you bid, you are not putting in the actual price you want to pay, you are putting in the most that you will pay.  eBay will bid automatically up to that price on your behalf."

Really?

Wow. I've not done any buying on ebay in a LONG time and didn't realize that's how this was handled.

Interesting.

[mtnbkr]

Yes, that's how it's always worked.  What makes the sniping programs different is that they wait till the very last moment to bid your highest amount in the hope that someone else's highest amount is lower.  What then happens is that you'll win because nobody else has time to respond.  If you do it ebay's way, it'll increment your bid only to what is necessary to beat the current bid (and only to your max).  However, it'll do this in the first hour of bidding or the last 5 seconds.  If you blow your wad early (against an agressive bidder), you'll jack up the price and still not win.  By waiting to the last moment, the price stays lower and then all hell breaks loose in the last minute or so.  

As both a buyer and seller, I've seen things remain well below their value until the last few minutes and then get bid up so often that the price changes every time you hit refresh.

Chris

[K Frame]

I've got to start selling stuff on Ebay...

[duck hunt]

http://www.esnipe.com/

I've got a pair of 15 year old bedroom shoes up for auction now.  Ten hours to go and they are at $39 with nine bids.  I hope someone is planning to snipe so I'll get even more.

People are crazy.

[mtnbkr]

I like to watch photography equipment get bid up to and past the price you could buy it elsewhere online.  It's as if people have never checked B&H, KEH, etc.  

A few years ago, I bought a knife on ebay, used it, reground the edge so it would cut better, decided I didn't like it, and sold it on ebay for more than I paid for it.  

I just sold a camera for more than I paid, but only a few dollars more than I had invested in it (after new seals, a cleaning, etc).  However, I got a spanking good deal on it to begin with.

Today, I have a trumpet case listed with a couple days left.  I have 6 people "watching", but none have bid yet.  I think they're all waiting to the last minute hoping to snag it at my opening price.

Chris

[jefnvk]

Yep, Mike and garret.

If the thing is at $7.50, with a minimum increment of $.10 you can put in any bid greater than or equal to $7.60.  eBay will only bid the amount that is necessary to 'win' at that moment.

If I put in $10.11, it will bid $7.60 for me.  Say then you come in and put a $10.00 bid down, I will still beat you, because it will automatically bid $10.10 for me.  As soon as you break $10.11, though, I lose.

This is why I like places like GunBroker, where the auction closes 15 minuets after the last bid is put on it, if a bid is made within the last 15 minuets of the auction.

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

I'm kind of in agreement with PCRCCW/Eric re: buying guns from GA, since you negotiate your deal and you're done.  Sucks to find something you REALLY REALLY want, only to get sniped by a dime at the last minute.

OTOH, it IS kinda fun to see someone on eBay with 15 total transactions having been the sole bidder on an item for a week, and snatching it right out of their hands in the last 10 seconds.  I just wish I had a PC cam just so I could see the look on those poor suckers faces.

[280plus]

"OTOH, it IS kinda fun to see someone on eBay with 15 total transactions having been the sole bidder on an item for a week, and snatching it right out of their hands in the last 10 seconds."

+1

[Brad Johnson]

People used to live auctions (me) have a tough time getting used to the anonymity of e-bay. It took a couple of times for me to pick up on the "last-second" thing. Now, if I have an item I absolutely can't live without and know that my bid will probably win, I will take a very accurate clock and time the auction down to the last second. With a high-speed connection I can usually beat the sniping programs (at least the free 2- or 3-second ones).

That being said, I really wish e-bay would have the auctions end only after all active bidding has ceased (like gunbroker). If there has been no activity within a certain period when the appointed time arrives, auction closed. But if there is activity the auction remains open until all activity has ceased and a certain amount of time has passed.  Gunbroker's 15 minutes is a bit long, in my estimation. 5 would be sufficient to determine if everyone is done bidding. If someone is willing to pay a bit more to get what you have to sell, why not give them every opportunity to do so? Hard limits on auction periods only serve as a point of contention. It also places an artificial limit on the true "open market" nature of the transaction.

Brad

[Gewehr98]

Lennyjoe, one website will work for you.

www.esnipe.com


I gave up trying to win in a bid auction on e-Bay a long time ago.  I switched to sniping in the last 4 seconds of each auction, and I've won darned near every one of them ever since. E-Snipe works great for that.

Of course, you have to have your maximum bid set higher than others who have bid before you with a hidden max amount. Their max, and the e-Bay autobid function, may give you an unpleasant surprise.  

And don't put any bids in prior to that last 5 seconds.  You're just telegraphing your intentions before then.

It's interesting to sit back and watch something you're auctioning off, or just watching an item to gauge public interest, and see how the manual bidders vs. the bidsnipers run the auction near the end.  

The real trick is to try a manual snipe, and win it with as few seconds, and as few dollars, or pennies, as you can. That's where you need an accurate clock, and synchronize your computer with e-Bay's online clock. (I have a Datum  9700 system that locks into a GPS time standard)

My personal best on a manual snipe is 1 second left, and 1 dollar over the non-winning bid.  Some have gotten it down to 1 second, and one penny.

[Lennyjoe]

Yea, I thought about raising my bid in the last 10 seconds but it was showing $70ish dollars left.  I figured that with a $30 cushion from my max amount I would win it.  NOT.  

BTW, it was a brand new Wieand X-cellerator intake manifold for my 1970 Cougar's 351C engine.  The manifold goes for $219 new and the winning bid got it for $101.50.  Thats a buck fifty more than my max bid.

[280plus]

Would that be the 351C with 2V or 4V heads?

[Greg L]

Generally I try not to get into a bidding war.  I've learned over the years that if I get into a bidding war that it is hard for me to stop when I really should.  Other than seconding the above advice I usually bid in an odd amount above natural rounding points.  For example if my maximum that want to spend is $100, my max bid will usually be something like $103.87.  That way it is high enough to go over the minimum increment above $100, taking out all those who set $100 as their max.

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

I just bid what I'm willing to pay. If I get outbid, oh well.

- NF

[Lennyjoe]

2V heads.  Why do you ask.  Have something for sale/trade?

[280plus]

Have something for sale/trade?

No, just being nosy, I DO still have the clutch adjustment rod for a '71 Manual transmission Mustang. It would probably fit yours if it's manual.

[telewinz]

I like to buy diamond faced vintage wrist watches on ebay.  They can be had for less than $50 in perfect working condition, best way I know to turn a Bulova into a vintage bling bling.  I always determine what the watch is worth to me AND could I reasonably expect to resale it later at that price or more.  Then I surf the different vintage watch vendors online, thus far they are always selling that same watch for 3-5 times what I'm willing to pay for it.

[Strings]

funny... I've sniped with three seconds left on dial-up. The key is having two browsers open: one to the auction's page, and one to the "confirm bid" page. Wait for the auction's time to run down to less than ten seconds, and hit "alt+tab", click "confirm". Doesn't ALWAYS work, and can take a little practice...