Why bid early on Ebay

[aston]

I have been an Ebayer for many years both selling and buying, I am amazed at the amount of people who bid early on items, do they not realise that they are pushing up the price of the item which they wish to buy, I have just looked at a car which still has 5 days to the end of auction and it has recieved 6 bids allready? Any ideas why people do it?

 

[HDi fun]

No

 

[Yugguy]

Me neither.

 

[pikey motorsports]

because thats how ebay is SUPPOSED to work.....

everyone sniping an auction at the end makes it all very pot luck, if everyone bid the maximum they were willing to pay for the item, it would make it very easy for people to see what it was likely to be going for, instead of everyone having to wait for an item to go into its last 30secs and all try and snipe each other.

sniping also causes people to bid more than they actually want to (or sometimes can) pay, just because they dont want to be beaten in the last seconds of an auction.
im sure we have all paid over the odds for something at some point or other, then though, #!#!#!#!, why did i do that?

Now, if i want something on ebay, i bid what i am happy to pay. if i win, all good, if not, no sweat.

 

[aston]

because thats how ebay is SUPPOSED to work.....

everyone sniping an auction at the end makes it all very pot luck, if everyone bid the maximum they were willing to pay for the item, it would make it very easy for people to see what it was likely to be going for, instead of everyone having to wait for an item to go into its last 30secs and all try and snipe each other.

sniping also causes people to bid more than they actually want to (or sometimes can) pay, just because they dont want to be beaten in the last seconds of an auction.
im sure we have all paid over the odds for something at some point or other, then though, #!#!#!#!, why did i do that?


Now, if i want something on ebay, i bid what i am happy to pay. if i win, all good, if not, no sweat.

I use esnipe.com it'll bid your maximum bid in the last seconds but it does p155 me that a handfull of people after the same item may have pushed the price up by loads of %£'s ...

 

[old-git]

If it is early on in the listing and the item is way off what it will sell for I put a bid in just so that the item is in my bidding list rather than lost in dozens of watched items This won't put the price up. If I am the only bidder at least the seller is less likely to pull the item due to lack of interest.

If you leave it to the last minute you have no chance to change your mind and add another bid. If sniping gets to become very popular with very few bids until the last few seconds sellers may well change to 'buy it now' for fear of selling too cheaply.

I'm not convinced that bidding early puts the price of an item up. Bidders, in general, know what items are worth or what they are prepared to pay. If you get two bidders desperate for an item they will bid high regardless of the biddng history. I have sold similar items with the price reaching a similar level despite early bidding on one of them.

I have found that if you get early bidders there is often a lull in the middle days and either a rush at the end or nothing. It depends entirely on who is interested at the time of the listing.

eBay is a great[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]psychological game. I have rcently started to sell items using buy it now. A stainless exhaust didn't sell when offered at a starting price of 99p with no reserve but sold for £49.99 when offered as a buy it now! I guess people would rather just find and buy rather than have to wait days and still not win. I'm not complaining

 

[herb]

i bid early at the max im willing to go if i get it bargain for me if not i try again with another listing this has worked well for me!! i have never paid more than £20 for a ps3 or xbox game

but this sniping tactic imo doesnt really work
1 great example was when we where looking at baby monitors, they cost £79.99 from mothercare brand new so we found 1 and i placed a bid for £50 cause postage was another £10. at the end of the auction it sold for £85 + the postage the winning bidder had to pay £95 now to me these people bidding at the end where stupid cause they where bidding more for a 2nd hand item than 1 cost brand new

 

[MasterAuron]

I've been (ab)using e-bay for years and made a fair few quid in doing so. I usually put an early bid on even if it is low as it stops the buyer pulling the item, and imo deters people from making silly bids just because something has no bids on it. It also means I might win the item even if I forget about it.

Early bids don't push up the price at all, it will go to whatever someone is willing to pay and that's it.

I generally don't sell on e-bay though and stick to car forums because of the fees and it's just full of retards tbh.

 

[geraint13]

always put my max in when i see the item. never pay over the odds for it that way.

 

[herb]

couldn't agree more ma!!!
the last few games i have bought the sellers have got in contact asking if i want to pay extra for recorded delivery. my reply (not as nicely put!!) no recorded delivery is for the sellers protection not the buyers if you want to make sure i receive the game you pay the extra

 

[old-git]

couldn't agree more ma!!!
the last few games i have bought the sellers have got in contact asking if i want to pay extra for recorded delivery. my reply (not as nicely put!!) no recorded delivery is for the sellers protection not the buyers if you want to make sure i receive the game you pay the extra

I got caught once. Buyer claimed he hadn't received item and as I had no proof of postage other than the post office receipt with no address on it I had to make a refund.

Now, all items are shipped recorded delivery, tracked or international signed for. Buyer pays for this - This is stated in the listing so buyers know prior to bidding so don't have to bid if not prepared to accept this condition.

 

[old-git]

I generally don't sell on e-bay though and stick to car forums because of the fees and it's just full of retards tbh.

So, I'm a retard, am I MA?

Over the years I have made thousands selling off my old car spares and have saved hundreds when buying car stuff.

When eBay started it was populated by enthusiasts but now it is made up of the general population - Mostly decent, honest people but with the usual pond life you find in the real world. The trick is to recognise them.

 

[MasterAuron]

Same here. I said it's full of retards, not that everyone's a retard

 

[herb]

I got caught once. Buyer claimed he hadn't received item and as I had no proof of postage other than the post office receipt with no address on it I had to make a refund.

Now, all items are shipped recorded delivery, tracked or international signed for. Buyer pays for this - This is stated in the listing so buyers know prior to bidding so don't have to bid if not prepared to accept this condition.

well fair play for stating this on the listing and it makes sense!!

but the 1's im on about are the £1/£2 postage with no mention of additional costs. they just try and make a little extra and its for there protection not mine at my cost. that ain't ever happening!!

 

[old-git]

Same here. I said it's full of retards, not that everyone's a retard

Ah, but if it is full of retards, there can't be any room for us 'normal' people

 

[geraint13]

define normal then og ? good luck with it

 

[old-git]

define normal then og ? good luck with it

Right............

My definition of 'normal' when refering to eBay users:

Sellers:
Honest with descriptions
Ship within a couple of days
Post feedback
Sort out problems amicably

Buyers:
Pay promptly
Don't haggle
Post feedback
Sort out problems amicably

 

[obi_waynne]

I think ebay would be better if it morphed into a second hand shop. Seller enters price and drops it till he gets some interest and then sells the item.

Auctions online are not particularly fair and I would stop sniping by extending an auction by 10 minutes if a bid is made in the last minute or so. (A real auction keeps going till all the bidders withdraw so why can't ebay use this same philosophy selling the item when a bid hasn't been made for 1 hour after the official auction close time.

 

[pgarner]

think that is what happens with mad bid, each bid increases the price by a certain amount and a time limit is on. If noone else bids then the highest bidder wins. difference is you have to pay for each or your bids as well as the final price

i do admit to sniping :embarrest: if theres no bids on something ill put in a bid alot less than im willing to pay. no interest in it then im happy, if there is then i usually put my max in the last 30 seconds, providing its below my max, this way im not tempted to put in another bid

 

[HDi fun]

The late bidding frenzy is typical of any normal auction.

The concept of placing your maximum bid early on is more akin to the sale of items by sealed bid.

 

[geraint13]

Right............

My definition of 'normal' when refering to eBay users:

Sellers:
Honest with descriptions
Ship within a couple of days
Post feedback
Sort out problems amicably

Buyers:
Pay promptly
Don't haggle
Post feedback
Sort out problems amicably

in an ideal world every ebayer would be like this. but ive only been using it for about a year. everything ive bought off there has done exactly what it said it should do.

 

[old-git]

The late bidding frenzy is typical of any normal auction.

The concept of placing your maximum bid early on is more akin to the sale of items by sealed bid.

Sort of, but with a sealed bid if you win you pay what you bid. With a maximum bid on eBay you only pay enough to beat the next highest bidder.

I put in my maximum bid if buying from the States and the auction ends at 3 or 4am here. Often woken up to a pleasant surprise, winning item for a lot less than my max bid.

 

[HDi fun]

Sort of, but with a sealed bid if you win you pay what you bid. With a maximum bid on eBay you only pay enough to beat the next highest bidder.

I put in my maximum bid if buying from the States and the auction ends at 3 or 4am here. Often woken up to a pleasant surprise, winning item for a lot less than my max bid.

Yes, hadn't thought of that.

I think Ebay is at the point it needs to re-invent itself with a new name for all the commercial operators and return the auction site to how it was 7-8 years ago when it was a much smaller scale operation. And a lot more entertaining as a result.

 

[old-git]

I think ebay would be better if it morphed into a second hand shop. Seller enters price and drops it till he gets some interest and then sells the item.

Auctions online are not particularly fair and I would stop sniping by extending an auction by 10 minutes if a bid is made in the last minute or so. (A real auction keeps going till all the bidders withdraw so why can't ebay use this same philosophy selling the item when a bid hasn't been made for 1 hour after the official auction close time.

What a lot of faffing about, having to keep reducing price until someone bites. I suppose an automatic reduction option could be provided, but people will just wait until the price stopped falling so you would tend to sell at your lowest price. Not for me

What's not fair?

For me, as a regular seller and occasional buyer, eBay works just fine for me they way it is, except for not being able to leave negative feedback as a seller. This makes checking a bidder's buying feedback pointless.

As a seller, sniping is fine as it pushes the price up to its maximum

If the auction extended each time someone bid it could go on for hours with each bidder still waiting until the last few seconds before bidding, unless they got bored.

The existing system works fine. You know when the item ends so can be there to put in your final bid.