# Argh -what's going on with bidders on eBay



## seabilliau (Dec 12, 2011)

So Im following a bid on a train that comes due in 6 days. 6 days! There is already 11bids on it and its over $300 now. Why on earth are people bidding on something and raising the price 6 days before hand? This drives me crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arrrrrrggggghhh!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Time to pass that one by.


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

It's the fever and it's highly contagious!

I seen used loco's and rolling stock go for more than new items.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

That's how a normal auction works. You want it you bid on it. None of the last minute 50 cent raise stuff. I would save a lot more time if more people bid that way.


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## seabilliau (Dec 12, 2011)

I hate the last minute stuff too, but at least let me dream of winning. 

It's almost like fortune tellers. You want to believe (even though you know it's BS), even just a little bit, so you answer truthfully, and they just feed you lines and take your money. In an auction you keep believing you're gonna get that "deal of a lifetime", so you keep looking and watching and bidding. I think its like gambling, you may get that great deal once in a while but over the long run the costs you've spent on the other auctions nulls out those "wins". Just my two cents.

And, thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I just needed to vent. It was a sweet engine too, but I knew there was no way it was going for less than retail, which its going up to. really? Almost retail on ebay when you can et it new on Amazon?


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

I tend to put in my max bid at the outset and let it ride. I may chub it a bit if my initial bid was low-ball, but if it gets into a war, I figure I helped the seller make a buck and move on. But no, I don't do the inch-up bids till I find the highest or snipe.

But I agree bidding too early acts like a summer porch lamp to the moths. Seems to say it's a good item worth looking at, so a stealthy wait can help keep the price down.

Just figure on how much it's worth to you and make that your bid. If someone else thinks it's worth more, let 'em win it.

-Ed


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

T-Man said:


> That's how a normal auction works. You want it you bid on it. None of the last minute 50 cent raise stuff. I would save a lot more time if more people bid that way.


You might save a lot of time, but the bidders would be spending a lot more money.  I've done it both ways, and I have better results sniping the items.


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## Mr.Buchholz (Dec 30, 2011)

I dunno. I've been watching auctions with many bids and many days left, and I have won a couple recently where I slammed a bid down with 20 seconds or less to go to win. It seems to be going both ways. You just have to pick your fights, so to speak.

-J.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> You might save a lot of time, but the bidders would be spending a lot more money.  I've done it both ways, and I have better results sniping the items.


I believe in what you say. A last minute bid rush appears lower. If I want something I bid my value. Often it is ahead of time if I can't follow it to the end.


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## Mr.Buchholz (Dec 30, 2011)

Last second bids work. People who are the high bidder and have been so for at least a day become complacent and overconfident that they will win. Jumping in there with less than 20 seconds, you will confuse and frustrate them to no end.

-J.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

If it's an item that doesn't attract much interest or can be had easily by other ways,you may win an early bid.However,if the object is a much desired and rare item,be ready to snipe it away in the last seconds,and even this is no a sure shot.Some bidders have softwares that automatically overbid you to a preset max,just like proxy bidding does.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Yep, I get out-sniped all the time, nature of the game. The bonus is I can fire and forget with the sniping site. I put my best bid in and hope for the best. The other thing that I avoid by sniping and not monitoring the auction is I don't get involved in "bidding fever" that seems to overcome so many people on eBay.

Other than bidding fever, I don't know how to explain why someone would pay $5/ea for used Fastrack straight sections when I can buy all I want for $3.19 from Model Train Stuff. Last time I checked, they had tons of it in stock.


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## Steve S (Jan 7, 2012)

I always wait to place bids when there's only a few seconds left. If you place it any earlier, you're just giving someone a chance to outbid you. Sniping isn't a guarantee that you're going to win because another sniper might bid higher than you. But it greatly increases your chances.

Steve S


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

There is no certainty that you'll win, but bit $10,000 on a typical train item, and you'll be reasonably sure!


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

I think that when you see a lot of early bids running the price up your watching newbies spend their money. I did the same thing when I first started buying on ebay but it didn't take long to figure out how to win--SNIPE. Works for me. Pete


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## ASQTec (Apr 24, 2011)

Sniping can be very effective if you can be at your PC when the auction ends, or have someone snipe for you. Sometimes when you bid early, you create excitement for someone else. 

If the auction ends at 2PM on Thursday, and you have the sense not to be on eBay while your at work, your only option is to bid the max you want to pay and wait to see what happens. If you lose the auction, it just means that someone wanted the item more than you.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

John,

Somebody asked the othe day about the sniping software that you use. (ASQTec ... in this case, you do NOT have to be at your computer ... the software adds snipe bids for you.)

Anyway .. the question ... what is the cost (if any) associated with using the software / tool? (Sorry if I missed any prior response.)

TJ


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

I personnaly just wait on an item and at the last possible minute I put the max i want to pay then just wait for the auction to end, if i get it snipped out from me eh I just move on really...as for snipping, kinda new with it and not sure if it really works for me or not LOL...


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## ASQTec (Apr 24, 2011)

I used to use GIXEN and EZSniper, They used to be free. I'm sure there are other free apps. I think most free sniper apps nowadays are adware or malware, so be careful.

Auction Sentry is the best I've tried, but it's a monthly service, and not free. (about $5 a month). Didn't apear to mess up my computer either.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Gixenis free and works great. For $6/year, you can add their mirror capability and also some extra options on sniping. I spent the money after using it for 50 or so buys, it's a great tool.

It places the bid 6 seconds before the auction ends, and you don't have to monitor anything, it's a *fire and forget* missile! 

I have never tired the other services, primarily because I've never had a single issue with Gixen, and I can't imagine what the others would do better.

===

For future Search hits:

Gixen free snipe tool
Gixen free sniping tool
Gixen free sniping software


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Thanks, John.


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## Mr.Buchholz (Dec 30, 2011)

Steve S said:


> I always wait to place bids when there's only a few seconds left. If you place it any earlier, you're just giving someone a chance to outbid you. Sniping isn't a guarantee that you're going to win because another sniper might bid higher than you. But it greatly increases your chances.
> 
> Steve S


Exactly. The only way to go about it. Besides, we all know that people help other people slam bids to increase the haul on wanted items. Last second bidding is the only way to beat that.

-J.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

T-Man said:


> I believe in what you say. A last minute bid rush appears lower. If I want something I bid my value. Often it is ahead of time if I can't follow it to the end.


I do the opposite, Bob. I decide up front the max I'm willing to bid and set up a snipe for 3 seconds before the end. Until then, I leave it alone and even try to not look at it. It's too easy to get caught up in the biddding fever and do something stupid.

I understand your strategy, but it's sort of like playing stud poker with your hole-card face up. Another bidder can throw enough at the item to beat your top bid because they can bid enough to see what it is and go beyond it. With a last seconds' snipe, they can't tell. When that snipe comes in, they have to already be committed to more than your max or they lose it to you.


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## Mr.Buchholz (Dec 30, 2011)

Exactly. It sometimes seems cheap by sniping at the bitter end, but if I want that auction, I don't mind being the guy who swipes it at the last second. 

-J.


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## Dave12334 (Feb 12, 2012)

Well, that's ebay you just have to ask yourself how much is it worth to me and place your max bid.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Right, but I don't want to reveal what I'm willing to pay until a few seconds before the auction ends.


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## Rangerover (Feb 8, 2012)

Oh how I love bidding wars, when you get 2 ego driven bidders who try to outdo each other. I'm a seller on eBay and I can't believe why some bidders got to have a used item that you can buy new for half the price if they would just do a little research. The best I ever had was such a bidding war on a brand new Lyman lead melting pot. I'm a high power rifle competitive shooter and cast my own bullets, that's another hobby for a different web site and thread but. Brand new from Lyman was $98.00, the war ended with a bid of $254.00, I truly didn't think the bidder would pay, but he did, 15 minutes later in paypal. I had over 30 bids, and 24 bids were from 2 bidders. I love sniper bidders too. The last minute, LOL gives me a rush just as much as the bidder I'm sure, we both wind up with smiles  on our faces.

I think some folks think "they'll never find another like it", WRONG! There's nothing that is so "one of a kind" that somebody else won't list sooner or later. The trick is to either "buy it now" or bid your very max on the first bid and walk away from it. Though I admit I've done my share of sniping too!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Bidding on eBay for me is simple. Pick what I'm willing to pay, put it into my sniper, and go away until the auction ends. Wait and see if I get email that I won.


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## manchesterjim (Dec 30, 2011)

*Ebay Technique!*

As a bidder I follow John's philosophy......Decide what I want to bid, and put that in toward the end of the auction. That usually gives me time to do a little price-research, so I'll know what a good price would be.

As a Seller, I've found that I set the auctions for no more than 5 days. (3 if I KNOW its a hot-item), and I start my auctions at $1.....(Sometimes $5, depending on what I bought it for). Most times it gets bid to an appropriate price.....every now and then we lose money on a piece, but the wins offset that!


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

I buy most of my train stuff through Ebay but don't use the bidding very much.However,when I do,I use sniping most times (rules of the game) and finally have a 40% success.And most times,the bidder that took it away from me paid it too much but must be happy still...he won....

What I've come to like is the "buy now" option as many sellers(generally stores) seem to clear excess inventory this way and post interesting prices(most of the times).I don't get "deal of the century" type prices,but paying a fair price doesn't bother me any.But even then,one has to shop and compare.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

manchesterjim said:


> As a bidder I follow John's philosophy......Decide what I want to bid, and put that in toward the end of the auction. That usually gives me time to do a little price-research, so I'll know what a good price would be.
> 
> As a Seller, I've found that I set the auctions for no more than 5 days. (3 if I KNOW its a hot-item), and I start my auctions at $1.....(Sometimes $5, depending on what I bought it for). Most times it gets bid to an appropriate price.....every now and then we lose money on a piece, but the wins offset that!


then you have to give ebay about a third of the selling price. Bummer. Pete


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, it's actually around 15%, but it is painful! 

As a Top Rated Seller, I now get a 20% discount on the rate, so I get to keep a little more money.


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