new rules

[Anonymous]

Exactly Joe.

I just won an Atlas/Kato RS-1 for $37.00. I've seen the same engine(s) at shows for $90.00. I love ebay!

[jfugate]

dgoodlander:

When there's little or no competition for the item, or there are lots of the same item for sale, you can use just about any bidding strategy you like and win auctions. It's more like a giant swap meet in those situations.

Your point about paying too much with buy it nows is well taken. As you point out, you need to do your homework. A good way to do that is to use the advanced search and check the "completed items" box for the item you are interested in.

You can see how often this item comes up for sale on ebay, how many bids it typically gets and what they often sell for. This will help you decide what to set your maximum bid at, and if you can expect to face any stiff competition.

If the item is popular or rare, then the guidelines I suggest for bidding one time your true maximum as late as possible is how to win the auction and not pay too much.

But the number of people who pay more than you can get the item for new from a store just amazes me. A few minutes of googling can tell you a lot about what the item goes for new and if you are willing to pay that much on ebay, then heck, just go buy the item new and be done with it.

[Anonymous]

I've always used the max proxy bid approach and have done quite well over the years. This approach works for me because I take the time to do my home work. I know for a fact that you can get an Atlas/Kato RS-11, RS-1 or C-425 for $41.00 or less. If I see these items, and I need one, I'll drop the $41 bid and walk away.

I would say I have won 70% of the time. On the occasion I loose, I just go back and bid on different engine. The times where I pay less than $41 is the times there are more than one of these engines. The last C-425 I won I paid $35.99. It was the opening bid amount and no one else placed a bid. The fact that there were 5 others listed probably help though.

Do your home work, know your items, you'll get what you want for the price you want. I love the people that use the "Buy it Now" feature and pay more for an item than it would cost at a mail order company

[jfugate]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DSchmitt

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005
That's great if you have the discipline to set that limit and simply walk away. I think that's supposed to be the point. What can get frustrating is being "one bucked" in the last minute after having the winning bid for 3 days. Maybe the best advice regarding proxies, is to put them in in the last few hours. Win or lose, and move on.[;)]

Were you really "one bucked" or did the actually outbid you by $10.00 or more and $1.00 was the minimum bid increment. If you set your limit and are outbid, then the "winner" was willing to pay more for the item than you were. Your max is secret until it is exceeded. If you are willing to go higher then it really isn't your maximum.

Yes, you need to learn to bid your actual maximum one time, as late as possible in the auction.

Here's how I do it. I ask myself, "at what price can they have it, I'm just unwilling to go any higher." Then bid just under that amount where the other guy can have it. That's your true maximum.

Incremental bidding on a second price sealed auction like ebay is a good way to simply lose the item to someone else. You get the good deal by waiting to bid your absolute maximum until the last possible moment (less than a minute to go, ideally), not by trying to treat it like a live auction with minimal incremental bids.

Don't bid early, and don't bid more than once. When you do bid, bid your absolute maximum price as late as possible. You'll win more auctions doing that, and you'll generally pay less since the price is set as what the second highest bidder bid, plus one bid increment, NOT your bid if you are the highest bidder.

[tatans]

From ebay site: Only actual bids( not automatic bids generated up to a bidders maximum) are shown. Prior to this one could not see under "bid amount" the bid price, now you can. end of story, no more.

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DSchmitt

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005
That's great if you have the discipline to set that limit and simply walk away. I think that's supposed to be the point. What can get frustrating is being "one bucked" in the last minute after having the winning bid for 3 days. Maybe the best advice regarding proxies, is to put them in in the last few hours. Win or lose, and move on.[;)]

Were you really "one bucked" or did the actually outbid you by $10.00 or more and $1.00 was the minimum bid increment. If you set your limit and are outbid, then the "winner" was willing to pay more for the item than you were. Your max is secret until it is exceeded. If you are willing to go higher then it really isn't your maximum.

Most people have better things to do than watching the bidding close. Also some may have bid on multiple items that close within minutes or even seconds of each other.

In a live auction they would have won or you would have raised your bid and the eventional "winner" might end up spending too much, which is often what happens when there are bidding wars.

The bid history changes that Mykroft was talking about would show if you were truely "one bucked". That would be an interesting addition to the system.

The thing about a live auction that is so different, is there is no cutoff time. Add to that the fact that there is no way of knowing how high a bidder will go, and the whole game changes.

We still haven't figured out what rules this topic was talking about in the first place. I really think that eBay would want to get rid of the sniping programs. There are people making money selling the software.

[Jetrock]

I don't see any announcement on the page linked that says automatic bidding is going bye-bye...is this just a troll?

[Anonymous]

tatans:

Still can't find it. And Automatic bidding is still working.

Since that is the basis of how eBay works, they would have to announce any changes.

[tatans]

mykroft: Sorry ,thats the address David P. @ customer support rep. gave me, along with a 33 line explanation. I believe it's on ebay's site under Community---feedback---discussion board, it's in there somewhere and I'm trying to get back myself, ( ther are 19 million letters) it is @ 23-24 pages of responses. I will try to get back to it and respond. Sorry about that.

[DSchmitt]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005
That's great if you have the discipline to set that limit and simply walk away. I think that's supposed to be the point. What can get frustrating is being "one bucked" in the last minute after having the winning bid for 3 days. Maybe the best advice regarding proxies, is to put them in in the last few hours. Win or lose, and move on.[;)]

Were you really "one bucked" or did the actually outbid you by $10.00 or more and $1.00 was the minimum bid increment. If you set your limit and are outbid, then the "winner" was willing to pay more for the item than you were. Your max is secret until it is exceeded. If you are willing to go higher then it really isn't your maximum.

Most people have better things to do than watching the bidding close. Also some may have bid on multiple items that close within minutes or even seconds of each other.

In a live auction they would have won or you would have raised your bid and the eventional "winner" might end up spending too much, which is often what happens when there are bidding wars.

[Anonymous]

tatans:

Which Message board? eBay announces things when it makes changes. No Announcement, no change, oh and Proxy (Maximum) Bidding still works, ergo no changes.

The only threads I see in the message board with tons of responses are the ongoing election war and the Bid History changes, which now show losing bidders maximum bids.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005
That's great if you have the discipline to set that limit and simply walk away. I think that's supposed to be the point. What can get frustrating is being "one bucked" in the last minute after having the winning bid for 3 days. Maybe the best advice regarding proxies, is to put them in in the last few hours. Win or lose, and move on.[;)]

I almost had that happen to me in my first major eBay bidding auction -- I was after an Atlas H16-44 in the ATSF zebra strips, and was winning the bidding for three days. Happened to check it with about 2 minutes left and someone had outbid me. Fortunately I had just enough time to get in one more bid and won it. [:)] It's now running happily as my DCC test engine on my under-construction layout.

What I won't do on eBay is bid on anything where the seller won't take PayPal or a direct credit card sale, no matter how bad I want it. Someone was selling an Atlas ATSF S-2 in zebra (you see a pattern here?), but would only take a money order or certified check in payment. No matter how hard they are to find these days, I won't do it. No way I'm going to send what is essentially ca***o an unknown seller.

[tatans]

EBAY did change the rules, go to http://www2.ebay.com/aw/marketing.shtml#2064-08-23144342 also go to ebay discussion board if you're NOT confused enough and see 23 pages of negative responses and mass confusion to these new changes. It's a brand new game on ebay now boys.

[jfugate]

Yes, the crazy bidders tend to be in the consumer electronics, photographic equipment, and computer sections ... just think "typical teenager" and I think you will get the idea.

Fortunately, they tend not to hang out in the model trains area as much. The most common items with bidding wars is the brass stuff, especially if the opening bid is below market. Winner's curse often happens with the brass stuff as people get carried away with the game instead of using their heads.

The one serindipity of the crazy bidder outbidding and then not paying is that you can get the "second bidder" option to buy the item anyway at your lower bid (the seller has to offer it). I've had that happen a few times in the photographic equipment section.

[Anonymous]

I've not had the problem with "crazy bidders" while buying model trains on eBay, though I have had it with photographic equipment - picked up a "spares or repairs" camera a few days ago, placed my bid with about 1min to go and saw other bidders pu***he price up by £5 or so - I won though, got something of a bargain assuming it's easy to fix.

I have noticed that bidding early tends to drive the price up - people seem to see the large number of bids, then think the item is particularly desirable. Certainly it's not a good idea to "show your hand" by bidding early, as this tends to result in bidding wars - wait until about 1min to go, then bid.

I usually use the "wait until last minute then bid as much as I'm prepared to pay" technique and tend to win some, lose some. I find it's the most effective approach over here - most auctions end at between 6 and 11pm on eBay UK so time isn't a problem. If the auction ends at 3am I'll usually stay up as long as possible and then bid before going to bed!

[jfugate]

Early Maximum proxy bidding has serious disadvantages, in my opinion. That's why I bid my maximum one time, as late as possible in the auction (prefferably less than a minute before auction close).

1. Placing a proxy bid early in the auction gives away your interest in the item, which can fuel others bidding *just because *now the item has a bid, where they might have passed the item up before.

2. Proxy bidding can give away your expertise on what an item might *really* be worth to those who don't have your expertise. Why give your hard earned knowledge away to those who could not be the wiser?

3. Proxy bidding assumes everyone else will bid rationally, and they are not just bidding for the thrill of the game. Unfortunately, with over 90 million bidders on ebay, you get more-than-a-few irrational bidders.

I find early maximum price proxy bidding often fuels bidding wars as others (who may have no serious intention of paying what *you know* the item is actually worth) begin "fishing" to see if they can out bid you on-the-cheap.

You can see this behavior when they come in, see someone has bid already, so they bid 5 or 6 times in small increments, drive up the price, and then leave.

Once in a while, you get someone who will keep bidding until they can outbid you, then never make good on the bid. They treat the auction as a game, which they won since they were able to outbid you. Unfortunately, irrational bidders (mostly teenagers, I suspect) abound on ebay, so you have to be clever if you want to win the auction and not pay too much for the item.

You also need to know when to walk away, since the other common occurance on ebay is the "winner's curse", where you win the auction alright, but you pay more than the item is worth.

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BRAKIE

Guys,I seen a P2K C&O Phase 2 GP9 go for $174.00(if I recall correctly).I placed my bid at $65.00 and walk away.Held that bid till the last 30 minutes before the bidding war started..The funny part 2 weeks later I got a C&O Phase 3 GP9 for $48.55 that I snipe in the last 30 seconds.[}:)]
By proxy bidding is good for the seller but,can be tough on the bidders such as that $174.00 GP9 which I believe was plumb crazy seeing I was not the seller.[}:)][:0][:D][:D]

I think it all depends on whos looking at whatever given time the auction is occuring.

I got a NIB LGB locomotive for $50 once, The starting bid was $49.99, I just put in my max bid at $50 expecting it to go thru the roof, it didnt! I won to my surprise, the seller wasn't too thrilled but in the end came thru with the item.

[BRAKIE]

Guys,I seen a P2K C&O Phase 2 GP9 go for $174.00(if I recall correctly).I placed my bid at $65.00 and walk away.Held that bid till the last 30 minutes before the bidding war started..The funny part 2 weeks later I got a C&O Phase 3 GP9 for $48.55 that I snipe in the last 30 seconds.[}:)]
By proxy bidding is good for the seller but,can be tough on the bidders such as that $174.00 GP9 which I believe was plumb crazy seeing I was not the seller.[}:)][:0][:D][:D]

[MAbruce]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

QUOTE: Originally posted by MAbruce

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

Proxy bidding is dangerous, because you leave your bid open to attack, driving you to your limit, with little chance of winning the item.

Actually, I think proxy bidding keeps me from getting caught up in a bidding war and/or paying too much. I tend to find something and set my proxy bid to the highest price I am willing to pay (keeping S&H in mind) and walk away. If someone out bids me, I figure it was going to happen whether I proxy bid or not. Not much is going to stand in the way of someone wanting to pay more for something than I want to – except for ME paying more than I should have. I’d much rather walk away in that circumstance.

That's great if you have the discipline to set that limit and simply walk away. I think that's supposed to be the point. What can get frustrating is being "one bucked" in the last minute after having the winning bid for 3 days. Maybe the best advice regarding proxies, is to put them in in the last few hours. Win or lose, and move on.[;)]

Oh, I have lost my share of items at the last second. I seem to be often victimized by snipping software. [sigh] But I’m not a collector nor am I really after one-of-a kind items. The things I’m typically after will usually come around again. Patience does pay in the long run.

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MAbruce

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

Proxy bidding is dangerous, because you leave your bid open to attack, driving you to your limit, with little chance of winning the item.

Actually, I think proxy bidding keeps me from getting caught up in a bidding war and/or paying too much. I tend to find something and set my proxy bid to the highest price I am willing to pay (keeping S&H in mind) and walk away. If someone out bids me, I figure it was going to happen whether I proxy bid or not. Not much is going to stand in the way of someone wanting to pay more for something than I want to – except for ME paying more than I should have. I’d much rather walk away in that circumstance.

That's great if you have the discipline to set that limit and simply walk away. I think that's supposed to be the point. What can get frustrating is being "one bucked" in the last minute after having the winning bid for 3 days. Maybe the best advice regarding proxies, is to put them in in the last few hours. Win or lose, and move on.[;)]

[areibel]

I think proxy bidding DOES level the playing field. With auctions ending all the time, what happens if you are at work? Or have something else going on? Not everyone can spend all their time on line.
At least now you have a chance, set your limit and let it go. If the dimwit "chippers" start bidding $1 a bid it'll take them a while to catch up. Sniping isn't much different than the proxy bids, you set a limit and bid. Only problem is if your bid isn't high enough, you're outta time.

[vsmith]

Swoop and Kill has lost me a few items more than once, but I have killed a few others with the same technic, so I guess it balances itself.

The Automatic or proxy bidding is sellers choice. For a seller, I thinks your nuts if you go disable it, especially if the end time is like 1am east coast (thats only 10pm out here on the left coast) It limits the maximum amount of $ you can make on a sale and restricts buyers to only those who have the time to sit by thier computers and wait till the end. Stupid idea all the way around.

Automatic bidding allows the buyer to set the price for as high as they want, keep getting outbid notice? Too bad, it just means someone else wants that black velvet Elvis painting way more than you do. Its to the sellers benifit to use the automatic option. If I really want something badly I set my maximum bid at how much including shipping am I willing to pay, set that price and dont bother with it until I get the win/lose notification. Much easier for me, especially if the auction is ending at 2:27am my time!

Happy Bidding!

[AntonioFP45]

Hey guys!

Just checking in.

Re: Ebay

Have to admit that recently, in getting my FP45s, Walther's car, and SCL U33B, I waited til the bid times almost expired; then "swoop" in. I wind up winning the bid. I only do this for items that I "really want" for model railroad use. In the case of the above mentioned locomotives, Athearn's not producing them currently and they are hard to find here in Florida!

I never "swoop" just to "buy and resell" model railroad items on EBay. My attitude is that I would prefer for a fellow modeler to get that car or locomotive for his/her enjoyment. I feel that buying to resell might cheat someone out of an item they genuinely want for their model railroading.

[MAbruce]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

Proxy bidding is dangerous, because you leave your bid open to attack, driving you to your limit, with little chance of winning the item.

Actually, I think proxy bidding keeps me from getting caught up in a bidding war and/or paying too much. I tend to find something and set my proxy bid to the highest price I am willing to pay (keeping S&H in mind) and walk away. If someone out bids me, I figure it was going to happen whether I proxy bid or not. Not much is going to stand in the way of someone wanting to pay more for something than I want to – except for ME paying more than I should have. I’d much rather walk away in that circumstance.

[Big_Boy_4005]

I'm not exactly sure what is meant by automatic biding here. I would think that it has to do with "sniping" where a bid is placed based on auction end time, and not the standard proxy bidding which allows you to place a higher bid but moves at an incremental rate as new bids come in.

Proxy bidding is dangerous, because you leave your bid open to attack, driving you to your limit, with little chance of winning the item.

[Anonymous]

I've just checked eBay and this is NOT the case. Automatic bidding remains.

I suspect there is an option that allows you to disable it for your auction, but by default it does remain functional.

[cacole]

That's good news -- I never did like that automatic bidding because you could never tell how high something was going to go until you began trying to bid on it, only to get repeatedly told that you had been outbid. When that began to happen, I just gave up and moved on to something else. Eliminating automatic bidding, in my opinion, levels the playing field.

[tatans]

Want that neat $1700.00 brass steamer on ebay? Well now there is no more automatic bidding, so you have to sit night and day and watch the bids increase as every actual bid is posted, or just wait till the last minute and bid.
oh well, it was fun while it lasted.