Dealing with last minute eBay Outbid Feelings

[Fred H.]

This is THE essential truth on eBay: Save for an occasional virginal deflowering (think Memoirs of a Geisha), there is no such thing as a *once in a lifetime* item. There is ALWAYS another identical item, usually sooner than you think. I have a world-class collection of Stratoliner (TWA-Boeing-Stetson) memorabilia from 1939-41 and there are ALWAYS duplicates coming on the auction block.

This is the OTHER essential truth: If you've got to have the item in question, then (echoing Spoo's suggestion) you have to put in a SNIPE for 1.5 times what you really think the item will sell for. Parse my words carefully. You can't bid. You MUST snipe. And, you have to set a maximum snipe that is WAY more than you think/hope/pray the damn thing will sell for. Yes, you'll overpay once and a while. But normally you get the item for your maximum or less.

 

[B Hamilton]

I picked like eight of those

 

[NMW1982]

Sucks for you. You should have just put in a higher max bid.

Originally Posted by Klobber

Picture the scene - you have been watching for a whole week a once in a lifetime item of clothing on eBay. You are prepared to pay top dollar, and you know full well this item has not gone undetected by those intending to snipe last minute. You post your absolute maximum bid 6 seconds before auction end, and then find someone has outbidded you when you refreshed the page.

How do you feel at the end of the auction? Remember this item you were bidding on was just about the best thing you ever saw.

 

[makewayhomer]

Originally Posted by Fred H.

This is THE essential truth on eBay: Save for an occasional virginal deflowering (think Memoirs of a Geisha), there is no such thing as a *once in a lifetime* item. There is ALWAYS another identical item, usually sooner than you think. I have a world-class collection of Stratoliner (TWA-Boeing-Stetson) memorabilia from 1939-41 and there are ALWAYS duplicates coming on the auction block. This is the OTHER essential truth: If you've got to have the item in question, then (echoing Spoo's suggestion) you have to put in a SNIPE for 1.5 times what you really think the item will sell for. Parse my words carefully. You can't bid. You MUST snipe. And, you have to set a maximum snipe that is WAY more than you think/hope/pray the damn thing will sell for. Yes, you'll overpay once and a while. But normally you get the item for your maximum or less.
can you tell me what the difference is between using snipe software to put in a max of X dollars vs manually entering, with 6 seconds left, a max bid of X dollars?

 

[TRA8324]

I always snipe and it usually gets me the item for cheaper because I avoid bidding wars. There are plenty of free websites that will snipe for you with 5 seconds left. I use Gixen.com

 

[knowsnothin]

Originally Posted by Fred H.

Parse my words carefully. You can't bid. You MUST snipe. And, you have to set a maximum snipe that is WAY more than you think/hope/pray the damn thing will sell for. Yes, you'll overpay once and a while. But normally you get the item for your maximum or less.

+100

Anyone who does NOT snipe is a fool. Bidding is for chumps.

 

[Fred H.]

Originally Posted by makewayhomer

can you tell me what the difference is between using snipe software to put in a max of X dollars vs manually entering, with 6 seconds left, a max bid of X dollars?

Yes. The sniping programs are timed to the eBay clock precisely. Your system may not be AND there can be a delay in transmitting your instructions (in other words a LOT can go wrong). I've been using auctionsniper.com for several years and although it is a paid service the fees are very minor. I use a sniping program and Terrapeak to assess the market before listing items. Couldn't live on eBay without these tools.

 

[Klobber]

Originally Posted by NMW1982

Sucks for you. You should have just put in a higher max bid.

I usually treat eBay like a little bit of fun. I have occasionally placed such a high bid and then won - buyers remorse follows but I always keep true to my word and pay. Buyers remorse is particularly bad when I know I can get that item cheaper elsewhere - eBay sometimes distorts a persons perception of reality.

 

[Opermann]

I always wait until the 15 second mark and count down manually as I go to the confirmation page. I can usually get it within 5 seconds of the auction end. You just have to be sure your max bid is high enough. For the items I must have, it's a ridiculously high number. Still doesn't beat an autosniper but it's more fun.

 

[PTWilliams]

Don't bid early, it only raises the price. Once I went on a trip and there was a clock I wanted. It was about $600 and so I put in a bid for $1700.99 and figured I get it for what it went for. The clock was located in Amsterdam. So I left for the weekend, and every couple of hours the same bidder came back and increased his bid by $100, until it got to $1700 and then quit. Its a nice clock, paid too much for it, but I long but fogotten the price.

Its not the worst. Several times I've waited until the last few minutes, and did something else while waiting for the last 10 seconds to arrive to place my bid, and got too involve in the other thing until the auction had ended, at a much lower price than I was planning to bid.



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[Pieceofsand]

^^

Wouldn't that suck if it was the seller's little brother just raising the price for the seller?

 

[garymyman]

I recently lost out on my Grail suit: Solid navy RLBL Anthony (notch lapel, surgeons cuffs, and belt loops). It went for $510. My max was $508. The crummy feeling is that it sat at $200 until 3 minutes before the close, so I already daydreamed of wearing this fantastic $200 suit.

The next day I went out and spent the same $500 on a much lower quality suit.



The flip side is that I monitored and won two awesome PRL sport coats for a lot less than I was willing to pay. And did so without the aid of any sniping software.

Still want that Anthony, though...

 

[Klobber]

Originally Posted by PTWilliams

Don't bid early, it only raises the price.

I did this once posting my absolute maximum about a day before auction. I had to do this since I was out of town the next day. My max bid was $999. When I got back, I had won the auction where the final price was: $999 (whats the chance of that?). I checked my emails, saw that I was outbid about 10 min before end, and realised that the bid must have been cancelled by seller before the same bidder raised the price to mine. It was a clear case of a seller bidding on his own auction from a different account. Needless to say I did not pay for the auction and told the seller where he could stick that suit

 

[Jangofett]

Originally Posted by Fred H.

This is THE essential truth on eBay: Save for an occasional virginal deflowering (think Memoirs of a Geisha), there is no such thing as a *once in a lifetime* item. There is ALWAYS another identical item, usually sooner than you think. I have a world-class collection of Stratoliner (TWA-Boeing-Stetson) memorabilia from 1939-41 and there are ALWAYS duplicates coming on the auction block.

This is the OTHER essential truth: If you've got to have the item in question, then (echoing Spoo's suggestion) you have to put in a SNIPE for 1.5 times what you really think the item will sell for. Parse my words carefully. You can't bid. You MUST snipe. And, you have to set a maximum snipe that is WAY more than you think/hope/pray the damn thing will sell for. Yes, you'll overpay once and a while. But normally you get the item for your maximum or less.

Not true. If you are talking about shoes, its difficult to find shoes in your exact size and not in crap condition.

I have missed a new Prada monk strap in grey-brown elephant skin, AMQ green croc loafers with the veins inbetween in yellow and JL in pewter museum finish but unlike the tobacco like colour JL calls pewter, this is blackish and more like the pewter in the Barker Black Pewter available on BS Forum.

All are in my size and I have never seen them since.

BTW I just got snipped for an item by $100. Lost in the last 10 seconds but que sera sera, since its money I can ill afford and there is another item for a higher price ($800 more) but he accepts offers!

 

[plussung]

Did you get penalized by Ebay? I assume the seller never bothered to raise the issue with them... usually Ebay and Paypal police are pretty anal when it comes to that kind of stuff, despite what the obvious situation is.