Not really OT: Ebay question

I'm such a noobie about Ebay and I know someone out here in RCB can answer my question.

There were, and are, some beads that I'd really like to own. Everytime I make a bid I'm automatically outbid. How can I tell what the max that is currently offered? It doesn't seem fair that I can't tell how much the current bidder is willing to pay. That would tell me whether or not I want to try to outbid her/him. I can understand it to a degree - why pay more than necessary but how about not wasting my time making bids if someone already has a hold on the item?

(Okay, it's kind of obvious that I'm a bit miffed about this. I know that's not nice but it seems like I'm spinning my wheels making bids when someone already has said they'd pay that amount.)

Reply to
JL Amerson
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because of proxy bidding, you can't see the high bid the other bidders are offering. All you can do is bid as much as you are willing to pay and hope that yours is higher. something that i like to do is make my bids in odd dollar and cents amounts. because of the minimum bid requirement, it sometimes makes it so i win the auction, even though the other person bid more. make sense?

Reply to
Jalynne

There is no way, other than bidding more.

The idea is that the person has posted the max that they are willing to pay. Instead of bumping it up to that max, the computer bumps it up only by x amount (between 25cents and $1) above the previous bid.

For example, Karen posts a bead starting at $1.00. I post $5 as my max bid. The computer will bump my bid to $1.25. Now let's say you come along, and bid $2.00, the computer will automatically bump mine up to $2.25. But if you post $5.01, since it's more than my bid, my bid goes out.

Basically, it's so that you will only post what you are willing to pay. It's like someone pre-outbid you, instead of them going back in and re-bidding.

So I would go in, look at the item, and determine how much you are willing to pay. Bid that. If you get outbid, then go to the next item. And if you do get it that time, and get outbid, you can go to the next item, also.

Someone will probably post links to better instructions, but I hope I gave just a small understanding.

Reply to
meijhana

I believe what she is saying is if you post $x.06 cents, most people will post $x.00 cents, so you have oiutbid them. They would then have to bid whatever that minimum amount is (like 25cents or 50 cents or $1) more to outbid you.

At least I think that's what she means...

Mary

Reply to
meijhana

I understood that perfectly. Thank you for that but how is it fair to have a secret amount in the hole? There is an item I really want and each time I post a bid, I'm outbid. Each time I have to figure out if I can afford to bump it up just a tad bit more but there she is again, outbidding me. It almost makes me want to say the heck with it. (I did warn you that I was a bit miffed. Maybe I'm just tired............)

Reply to
JL Amerson

yep, that's exactly it

Reply to
Jalynne

The way I bid is this: I put in the maxium amount I am willing to pay for an item and if I am out bid I go look for more or something else. You about have to know what an item is worth and what you are willing to pay for it. This will keep you out of a bid war that is easy to get caught up in unless you can stop yourself at a set price and say to heck with it. :)

Harry

Harry's Happy Place

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My Ebay Auctions
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Reply to
Harry

Although ebay auctions are diferent from "real" auctions, in this way they are the same. If I go to an auction in RL, you don't know how much I am ready to bid for an item...you are only aware of how much YOU are willing to bid. In essence, I have a secret amount in the whole.

You place your max and you win or don't.

Reply to
lgreene

By bidding at least $.01 over that amount.

If I'm willing to pay ten dollars, I put in $10.00. If I'm already outbid, I think REALLY hard about am I willing to go higher. I don't let it be about winning a competition--its about being willing to pay "this much" and no more. If somebody else has set their bid to a higher amount than the one I am willing to pay, then they should go ahead and win and pay more than I am willing to do.

Sarajane

Sarajane's Polymer Clay Gallery

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Reply to
Sjpolyclay

It is simply the way Ebay works. You need to decide what the max is you will bid and stick with it. Even though it is against Ebay policy shill bidders do exist and some auctions you need to just let go of. Sellers count on "auction fever" to get someone to spend too much.

Reply to
grenner

JL -- getting outbid is God's way of keeping us all from spending too much money, LOL. Think of it this way -- If the price continues to go above what you want to pay, then you can't afford that item in the first place! You are better off "looking" there, and then buying the same item someplace else.

Having said that, there are a lot of things on Ebay that start at rock-bottom wholesale prices and I don't mind paying it at all. But I think it is absolutely essential to KNOW your market -- don't buy Czech beads, or seeds, there that you can get much cheaper other places. Pick out a few items that you really like. Print the picture and take it to your LBS and price it there, or do a Google search on the internet, or post a pic here and ask us what would be a fair price? It is easy to overspend on Ebay. I spent $15,000 in 1995 or

1996 there -- shit, I didn't even know I had $15,000 worth of disposable income TO spend, until I did my taxes.

Becki "In between the moon and you, the angels have a better view of the crumbling difference between wrong and right." -- Counting Crows

Reply to
BeckiBead

Reply to
Karen_AZ

Unfortunately, that's where the "reality" of auction bidding comes into play. Just like you can't read someone's mind in a live auction, you can't learn what a max bid is on an Ebay auction until it's done (and sometimes not even then). My guy and I had minutes of fun dissecting a lost bid when we came back from vacation. I finally looked at him and commented "no matter what, we lost and it sucks." LOL

It all ends up being a matter of who wants it more. Peachy for the seller, no fun for a bidder on a budget.

Seeing both sides way too clearly sometimes, KarenK

Reply to
Karen_AZ

It's nice to know that I am not the only person to feel this way. I thought maybe it was just me being a b***h. I'll get used to it eventually.

BUT......... I did win one!! There was a very pretty focal bead and I go it! I've already submitted my Paypal payment and I bought the insurance because you guys made it seem like a good idea. It was only $1.30 and hoepfully I won't need to use it.

Reply to
JL Amerson

You can't. That's the way eBay is set up; until after the auction closes, no bidder can see what other people have bid.

You're looking at this from the wrong end. Instead of worrying about what someone ELSE is willing to pay for the bead, think about what's the maximum that YOU are willing to pay for it. Then bid that and forget about it. If you get outbid, then obviously someone else was willing to pay more than you were.

You say, "Oh, but if I'd known he was only bidding $5 more than me, I'd have outbid him"? Then obviously you did *not* bid as much as you were willing to pay. But if you let what other people are bidding control what *you* bid, then you'll end up spending way more than you can afford. The question is not "How much do I have to bid to win this auction?", it's "How much is the ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM this item is worth to me?" If you take that as your guideline and bid that and no more, you'll have peace of mind no matter whether you win or lose.

Celine

Reply to
Lee S. Billings

It's not a "secret amount in the hole". The other person bid the amount they were willing to pay -- but because of the way eBay proxy bidding works, they

*may* not have to pay the full amount they bid. They only pay as much as it takes to outbid everyone else's bids.

I think what's happening here is that on some level you expect eBay bidding to work like bidding at a live auction. It doesn't. If you determine how much you are willing to pay, and bid that *all at once*, then you'll know immediately whether the other person is going to outbid you. There won't be the frustration of making little incremental bids up to your max and watching yourself be automatically outbid every time.

Celine

Reply to
Lee S. Billings

This goes for any auction. I have been at auctions where the bidding goes through the roof and some people get so caught up in bidding that they pay next to new price for stuff that is obviously very second hand. Makes me cringe!

Good advice Becki..

Mavis

Reply to
AmazeR

I've even been unable to attend a live auction but still put in a proxy bid.. It's all been said really - determine how much you are willing to pay and bid that amount.. Then when the bidding gets over that amount, walk away.. or look elsewhere..

Mavis

Reply to
AmazeR

A lot of people don't like the uncertainty of auctions. Check out the BINs (Buy It Now).

Tina

PS. Don't forget that if you bid 15.00 for something with a starting bid of

9.99, and no one raises the bid, then you get your beads for just 9.99. That's really the angle to look at it from.

Reply to
Christina Peterson

I've seen auctions where the secondhand item went for MORE than you could buy a brand-new one for at your local chain store. Just because it's on eBay doesn't mean it *has* to be a bargain!

Celine

Reply to
Lee S. Billings

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