tstageIt also depends how the item is described when placed up for auction.
.
That is very true.
Back when I was collecting my Bretonnian army for Warhammer, I had a saved search with "Bretonnian" mispelled about a dozen different ways.
I got lots of good bargains from people that listed with spelling errors and other bidders could not find them.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
BigDaddy I was bidding on a Stewart powered B unit, which went for $33.55, more than I was willing to spend. There were 8 bids by six bidders. 6 of those bids were in the last 9 minutes and 4 of those were in the last 30 seconds. I did a buy it now on another B unti that included the shell for $35 and shipping was $4 cheaper. Some buy it now prices are set for drunk ebay buyers who see something they want now and have no judgement at all. My experience is similar to Tom, bidding high early starts a bidding war earlier.
I was bidding on a Stewart powered B unit, which went for $33.55, more than I was willing to spend. There were 8 bids by six bidders. 6 of those bids were in the last 9 minutes and 4 of those were in the last 30 seconds.
I did a buy it now on another B unti that included the shell for $35 and shipping was $4 cheaper.
Some buy it now prices are set for drunk ebay buyers who see something they want now and have no judgement at all.
My experience is similar to Tom, bidding high early starts a bidding war earlier.
Really?
I have bought lots of stuff "buy it now" at prices that were very fair.
And I have won auctions at low prices even when I placed my max bid very early. Years ago I got two Bachmann Spectrum 2-6-6-2's for $75 each.......
And I don't pretend to have any idea what other people are thinking in their bidding/buying choices/methods. Nor do I really care.
I sold GRAVELY tractor parts on Ebay for years, made good money for what it was.
I always sold stuff "buy it now".
I don't sell trains on Ebay, because I don't buy trains that I don't want, so I don't have any trains to sell............
Sheldon
SeeYou190 BigDaddy bidding high early starts a bidding war earlier. If a product offered is desirable, the bids will be there whether bids start early or not. -Kevin
BigDaddy bidding high early starts a bidding war earlier.
If a product offered is desirable, the bids will be there whether bids start early or not.
It also depends how the item is described when placed up for auction. I've seen "desirable" items go under the radar because the description was nebulous and/or not accurate enough for the search engines or "Saved searches" feature to catch. That's why I'll occasionally do my own individual search on eBay for an item(s) apart from the saved searches I've set up for the same item(s).
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Then, every once in a while, you get to witness one of these
Budd_diner by Edmund, on Flickr
This just ended a few days ago. Fun to watch. Oh, and don't forget — this diner is RARE!
I've always had good experiences with my eBay purchases. Just lucky, I guess.
I bid at the last few seconds when possible but I don't use any kind of software. Sometimes I use an ordinary kitchen timer to remind me when an auction is nearing the end.
Recently I've had several "make offer" requests emailed to me on items that I either have saved in my watch list or items that I've browsed. Sometimes these are pretty decent reductions on the original asking price and I have taken advantage of the offers at times.
It always helps to place items in your "Watch" list as eBay will frequently let you know when similar items arrive. I also look at "See Sellers Other Items" and right away you know if you are dealing with a big on-line seller such as Trainz or if it may be the mom & pop trinket shoppe who just happen to have a few train items on hand. It also helps to use the advanced search options and you can choose to be notified when items arrive that fall into your search category.
As the line in The Music Man says, "You gotta know the territory".
BigDaddyMy experience is similar to Tom, bidding high early starts a bidding war earlier.
I've also seen cases where an item had a reasonable "Buy-it-now" price but someone will make a low-ball bid which cancels out the BIN, then the bidding will go way over what the buy it now price originally was. C'est la vie.
Overall, eBay has been a great source for me for books, electronics and model "stuff" for many years.
Good Luck, Ed
eBay auctions can be conducted by a seller over durations ranging from 1 day to 10 days. While it is true that some early bids take place, particularly when the starting bid is low, the main benefit of longer duration auctions such as 7 and 10 day auctions is to give the item extended exposure to potential buyers. Most winning bids occur on the final day of the auction.
Rich
Alton Junction
BigDaddybidding high early starts a bidding war earlier.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
richhotrainFor all of the above reasons, I rarely participate in auctions, preferring the Buy It Now format instead
I would say 98% of my purchases was BIN and many of those have "free" shipping..
I'm sure shipping cost is included in the price since nothing is free.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I think just the opposite, because eBay does not work like a real live art auction. In a real auction, as long as higher bids keep coming in, the auction continues. There's no sniping - if someone raises the bid after the auctioneer has called going twice but before he gets to sold, the previous high bidder gets a chance to counter.
On eBay, the auction is over at the time it says its over, doesn't matter if two or more people are frnatically entering higher and higher bids, at the precise time it ends, whoever had the highest bid is the winner, no matter if someone else was in the middle of submiting a higher bid.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Seems to me that the people who get red in the face about sniping on Ebay are those who do not regularly attend "real" live auctions for art or other high value things.
As a former boss of mine once said (and he did this to the English language on a regular basis): "Dave, it's a dog eat world out there."
Dave Nelson
DoughlessSo to offset, I suppose a seller should set a BIN now price higher than they really want, then send out discounts to the watchers at the real price.
That's called "marketing". Online and b&m stores, as well as "infomercial" stuff that is sold on TV have used this tactic to sell merchanise for years. They tell you what the MSRP or going price is for an item then discount it to give you the [false] notion (aka "the hook") that you're getting a bargin. Asking price and "worth" are two totally separate things. You also have to watch out for S&H cost that a seller might use to recoup some of the loss they are taking for selling an item or items at lower cost.
I think the automotive and residential services (window replacement, carpet cleaning, etc.) use marketing tactics the most often. Ask 10 people on the street which offer sounds better:
25% off all tires
or
Purchase 3 tires and get the 4th one FREE
I'd be willing to guess that more than 50% would say the latter. (In fact, they're both exactly the same.) It's just a numbers game. Folks hear the word "free" and they lose all sense of reasoning. And there's "the hook" for selling someone four new tires for their car, or replacement windows for their house.
DoughlessThey stop bidding once it shows they are in the lead, but they are willing to step back in as long as the next winning bid is still low.
I think that is exactly the way an auction is supposed to work. Get two bidders bidding against one another, and you should get close to a fair price.
Auctions are not supposed to get all the way up to a fair retail price. They are intended to sell (liquidate) everything as quickly as possible.
I love auctions, I prefer real life to eBay, but I spend more on eBay.
mbinsewi Bayfield Transfer Railway I decide how much I'm willing to pay. I bid that and either win it or not. I do the same, but that's not "sniping". Mike.
Bayfield Transfer Railway I decide how much I'm willing to pay. I bid that and either win it or not.
I do the same, but that's not "sniping".
Mike.
Which was pretty much my implied point.
Disclaimer: This post may contain humor, sarcasm, and/or flatulence.
Michael Mornard
Bringing the North Woods to South Dakota!
PRR8259 For me, this past year, if I start the bid or buy it now price at a level that approximates the actual value of the item, it invariably gets no bids or no offers at all. I had to ship out some high value merchandise to those dealers who still handle consignments, because my fair opening bids on Ebay received no bids despite my very nearly perfect rating and very fast shipping. In the past, I have had success with $1 minimum bids on brass models, and I have also been burned. However, if you cancel late a second time Ebay charges you a 10% fee for their having done nothing. Also the minimum reserve price fee is now very painful.
For me, this past year, if I start the bid or buy it now price at a level that approximates the actual value of the item, it invariably gets no bids or no offers at all. I had to ship out some high value merchandise to those dealers who still handle consignments, because my fair opening bids on Ebay received no bids despite my very nearly perfect rating and very fast shipping.
In the past, I have had success with $1 minimum bids on brass models, and I have also been burned. However, if you cancel late a second time Ebay charges you a 10% fee for their having done nothing. Also the minimum reserve price fee is now very painful.
Selling things at BIN price isn't working as well. Ebay has a feature where a seller can offer discounts to watchers of the items. I've noticed that I get a bunch of watchers for my BIN items, but never any transaction. It like they are just waiting for me to offer ten percent off.
It becomes a bit like an auction, except in reverse.
So to offset, I suppose a seller should set a BIN now price higher than they really want, then send out discounts to the watchers at the real price.
- Douglas
People tend to want to buy things for as low a price as they can get them rather than paying the maximum price they are willing to pay.
I think there are enough auctions where bidders are bidding because the price is low enough, not because they really want the item that badly. They stop bidding once it shows they are in the lead, but they are willing to step back in as long as the next winning bid is still low.
I wouldn't just want to put up my big bid early, because the guys who want it for a low price will keep bidding until they are leading. They will eventually get tired when they can never outbid my existing bid, but they would have run up the price in the mean time.
I let those guys keep the bidding low, then snipe my big bid near the end and get it for a dollar more than they bid, rather than bidding early and giving them 6 days to fiddle around with running up the bids while never truly leading.
That's why as a seller, I never start my bid at 99 cents. I start it with what I think market value is for the item. Most of the time, I sell things with only one bid, but I have been surprised when something does sell for much more than that.
Many times, I don;t have the time to sit around and stare at the ayction timer, or an auction ends at an odd time for me. So I may very well go put in my best offier well before the end. The only reason the bid would jump up to that level is if others have already bid. If the opening bid is 99 cents and I put in 2 dollars, the bid is standing at 99 cents unless someone else has bid say $1.50.
I've won plenty like that, too, rather than waiting to the last few seconds and sniping.
tstageWhat I don't understand are bidders that will bid close to the asking price 6 days and 23 hrs into a 7-day auction.
They think the price is fair, are willing to pay it, are reluctant to have to pay it, and want to ensure that the auction process produces what eBay designed it to: their automatic bid just one bidding increment higher than 'anyone else' who expressed an interest ... including any late snipers who set a lower 'ceiling' on their bidding.
Often accompanied by a last-minute higher bid (or sniping bid) "just in case" demand for the item goes above the asking price. I've seen this happen a couple of times when the seller initially provided a BIN that turned out to be 'under market' but early bidders were stupid or got greedy -- here, too, "the seller wins" if the bids get sniped up late.
tstage I do think that sniping does sometimes help in keeping the bid low as long as possible to avoid the "stupid" bidders from jacking the price up prematurely.
Yes, if you can't bid low lust to add the item to your active list, sniping will help keep the price low.
That is unless two other bidders put in fair price bids 6 days and 23 hours to go... then the seller wins.
My decision to use a sniping proxy is generally one of convenience in the event that I cannot be at my computer to place my max bid during the waning seconds before an auction ends. I do think that sniping does sometimes help in keeping the bid low as long as possible to avoid the "stupid" bidders from jacking the price up prematurely.
What I don't understand are bidders that will bid close to the asking price 6 days and 23 hrs into a 7-day auction. I prefer to place my max bid - either directly on eBay or indirectly via a sniping proxy - and let it go. If it is an item I REALLY want then I might go back and change the max bid later on to compensate for the anticipated trend in bidding. However, i I get outbid; I get outbid and move on. More often and not the item will show up again - maybe even at a lower final bid or Buy It Now price than the one that I was outbid on.
Patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to bidding and finding bargains on eBay. They are out there and I've gotten some pretty sweet deals over the years on the majority of my locomotive stock.
PRR8259 Look, if it's hard to find and I really want it, one can use a little psychology on other would-be bidders. Placing an early bid that is absolutely the highest I'm willing to pay sometimes seems to psyche people out. They keep bidding and realize that one has put in a high bid, and at some point they just give up and then sometimes I actually get the items at a good price.
Look, if it's hard to find and I really want it, one can use a little psychology on other would-be bidders. Placing an early bid that is absolutely the highest I'm willing to pay sometimes seems to psyche people out. They keep bidding and realize that one has put in a high bid, and at some point they just give up and then sometimes I actually get the items at a good price.
John
Some items are hard to find and may only show up once a year or so...
I'm with Rich, given a choice I will use "buy it now" or "best offer" first. With auctions, there are two choices, set it and forget it, or decide not to be out bid.
This may upset someone, but sniping is for those who think they are going to "get over" on someone and get a lower price by beating someone to the trigger.
Fact is, if that other person was really prepared to pay more, they would have bid more in the first place.
Remember, the winning bid is driven by the next lowest bid, not your max bid.
You either want it or you don't. Concerns about proxies driving up prices are overblown......
For all of the above reasons, I rarely participate in auctions, preferring the Buy It Now format instead. In the very few instances, when something that I really wanted was in the auction format, I have participated and never lost. I use my own brand of proprietary sniping. It is called, I won't be outbid.
I decide how much I'm willing to pay place my bid and let the chips (bids?) fall where they may.
I have never become a victim of auction fever. When bidding, I just enter the maximum amount I am willing to pay for the object and that´s it. If someone outbids me it´s just fine.
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
When I really want to win, I do win. There are other bidding strategies as well. And I also snipe the old fashioned way sometimes.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Bayfield Transfer RailwayI decide how much I'm willing to pay. I bid that and either win it or not.
My You Tube