Are we competing against one another?

S

Sarah Winfield

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I've just read a post on the forum about a particular item on ebay which had been won against several bidders including myself.

Is this something others contributors have also encountered?

Also of course other forum members will be selling on ebay.

Interesting dilemma!

Sarah Winfield
 
Beware or be aware.....the Phantom (read that as Faker) lurks in the evil - bay forest.........................................................................
 
I never announce what I may be bidding on, not even during the auction until WHACK!
The snipe bidder has struck again!
Best to keep your bidding intentions to yourself. Most people have the integrity to not take advantage but it only takes one to spoil things.
 
In the old days you could see the full user name of any prior bidder which would indicate if it was someone known to you (providing, that is, you knew their user name in the first place). Since that changed I've added my acquaintances with similar interests to my 'saved sellers' list which gives me an idea if they are bidding from the feedback number. My friends have adopted the same approach. It's not infallible but it has a reasonable success rate.
 
ebay mike said:
In the old days you could see the full user name of any prior bidder which would indicate if it was someone known to you (providing, that is, you knew their user name in the first place). Since that changed I've added my acquaintances with similar interests to my 'saved sellers' list which gives me an idea if they are bidding from the feedback number. My friends have adopted the same approach. It's not infallible but it has a reasonable success rate.
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I used to do something similar. Years back there was a bidder that I tended to be regularly bidding against. I suspect it was a dealer getting things from the discount dealers for reselling. It's irrelevant who they were but what was relevant was their bidding habits for me to anticipate their limit and therefore my own. There was always another opportunity the following week so no point wrestling over it to death. :punch: Back in the days of getting new Bachmann Lyns for less than US$90.
 
Perhaps my post should have been left unsaid.

Let life take its course for better or worse. I don't expect it happens a lot but there is a limited market.

Sarah Winfield
 
eBay has a lot more members than this forum but I think it may be wise to keep a possible great deal to yourself until you nailed it. Free market and all that. An item is only worth what the market will bear. Sometimes the buying market is only those that have done a thorough search and are present at the time.
 
Sarah Winfield said:
Perhaps my post should have been left unsaid.

Let life take its course for better or worse. I don't expect it happens a lot but there is a limited market.

Sarah Winfield
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Thing I always said about Ebay was that if you do not win it (whatever it is) there will always be another one along soon. I like others always used to Snipe with my best bid seconds before the end. That way you do not get into a bidding war upping the price for yourself and others. I know this can sometimes be hard when you see something you want but hey ho.

Though of course from the sellers point of view you do want desparate to have it (the item you are selling) bidders!
 
As per Dunnyrail a put my best bid in as close to the end of an auction as possible and stick to it, too many bidding wars mean people pay over the top, I have seen second hand track recently go for more than the price of new o_Oo_O
 
.??
It IS an auction, to a crowd with common interests.
 
You should only pay (i.e. bid) what you think it is worth, pick a limit and stick to it. I put a low bid in to establish myself, and my final bid in as close as possible to the end, if outbid I am usually unable to bid again, but then that would have been outside my limit!!
 
JimmyB said:
You should only pay (i.e. bid) what you think it is worth, pick a limit and stick to it. I put a low bid in to establish myself, and my final bid in as close as possible to the end, if outbid I am usually unable to bid again, but then that would have been outside my limit!!
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Yes, a rational maximum bid should be established first rather than get caught up in the emotional frenzy of last minute rush to be first through the door. I also often put in an early bid to just so eBay reminds me when the final count down is on otherwise I might forget to be present at the right time. The thing with auctions is the low starting price is just an illusion, sometimes it comes through but don't ride it. I call them tiddlywink bidders searching for someone else's highest bid way before end, one dollar at a time. All pointless when a masked sniper comes leaping from the tree tops at the climax of the show to win the day. Pre-bidding a maximum is OK but often others will chase your tail all the way to almost too much. Then you miss out by one dollar. Auctions are won and lost only seconds before end by only a little more, that's what counts. The boundary is blurry so establish your own first.
 
Paradise said:
Yes, a rational maximum bid should be established first rather than get caught up in the emotional frenzy of last minute rush to be first through the door. I also often put in an early bid to just so eBay reminds me when the final count down is on otherwise I might forget to be present at the right time. The thing with auctions is the low starting price is just an illusion, sometimes it comes through but don't ride it. I call them tiddlywink bidders searching for someone else's highest bid way before end, one dollar at a time. All pointless when a masked sniper comes leaping from the tree tops at the climax of the show to win the day. Pre-bidding a maximum is OK but often others will chase your tail all the way to almost too much. Then you miss out by one dollar. Auctions are won and lost only seconds before end by only a little more, that's what counts. The boundary is blurry so establish your own first.
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Watching real auctions like Cash in the Attic and Homes und the Hammer shows the real world to act in a much similar way. The bidding starts slowly, generally at less that the starting price and you end up with a couple of bidders fighting it all out to be trumped at the last minute by the winner.
 
Sarah Winfield said:
Yes, but being the sort of person I am I would rather not push the price up for another forum member if I know they are also bidding.
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Either you want it or you don't and I don't see that it matters who you're bidding against. I don't declare what I'm bidding on and don't watch topics on it so it's fair.
If a friend alerted me to it then I wouldn't gazump them but I would ask them to let me know if it exceeded their budget before the end.
As others have said another comes along eventually :)
 
stevedenver said:
.??
It IS an auction, to a crowd with common interests.
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True. Is that not the purpose of an Auction? the seller wants the best price, the buyer wants to pay the least they can... You also have to remember in a global market like eBay that quite a few bid on eBay to get something they cant get from their local supplier. Having said that I don't get involved with bidding wars, that's totally unproductive but I do use sniper and if I don't win well just wait for the next similar item to pop up... Dont worry though I don't buy from the UK or US because the postage is ridiculous... How can 50 trolley ears that weigh 20gms cost AUD$45 in postage from the US????
 
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