Ebay Question

M

mella

O.G.
Aug 26, 2006
155
0
#1
I'm new to ebay and looking for handbags, but I've had this question for a while, which is, why would people bid during the first 9 or so days on an auction that lasts for 10 days? Doesn't that just inflate the price of the item unnecessarily? I guess if I were going to do that I'd just do the "buy it now" (that is if it were offered). Are there any benefits to bidding early?
 
#3
mella said:
I'm new to ebay and looking for handbags, but I've had this question for a while, which is, why would people bid during the first 9 or so days on an auction that lasts for 10 days? Doesn't that just inflate the price of the item unnecessarily? I guess if I were going to do that I'd just do the "buy it now" (that is if it were offered). Are there any benefits to bidding early?
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Hi mella,
I've often wondered the same thing! I don't think there is any advantage whatsoever in bidding early. And I do think it inflates the price. The only thing I can think of is that some people may not be able to monitor the auction closely, so they bid their maximum initially, and then let the auction play out. But Ebay newbies often just keep upping their bids until they end up practically bidding against themselves, and paying way more, as a result!:shrugs:
 
#4
I see this happen all the time and get so mad...I want to yell "stop inflating the price". But in the end they kind of go away and I still get it cheap.
I think some do it because they honestly think they might get that new LV bag for $50 LOL
 
#5
The only benefit to bidding early is to be the first with a high proxy. That way, you have a better chance of staying the high bidder (and possibly getting the item for less than your proxy), unless someone comes along with a higher proxy.
 
#6
allison said:
The only benefit to bidding early is to be the first with a high proxy. That way, you have a better chance of staying the high bidder (and possibly getting the item for less than your proxy), unless someone comes along with a higher proxy.
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No benefits at all. The best benefit to the auctions is to use Auction Sniper. You get your proxy bid in an the literal last second. If you set a proxy bid early on, it will get chipped away every single time!
 
#7
I do it sometimes if my Watch List is too long and I notice other similar items closing for cheap. But I mostly buy Oilily clothing for my daughter so it's different than handbags.
 
#9
allison said:
you don't have to snipe if you set a high enough proxy.
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If you want to save money you do! Say the opening bid is $20 ($1 bidding increments) and you place a $200 proxy bid the first day. Every subsequent bidder that places a bid raises the item value and your cost for the item. If you place an Auction Sniper proxy of $200, it doesn't place any bids until the last second, so if the next to the last bid was around $50, your proxy kicks in you're only going to pay $51.

Lots of newbies in particular will start placing bids early on and keep bidding trying to bid past the proxy bid. THAT is how it can get expensive for the proxy bid holder.

Does that make sense? I hope so. I've saved a small fortune using the proxy/auction sniper technique.
 
#10
Prada Psycho said:
If you want to save money you do! Say the opening bid is $20 ($1 bidding increments) and you place a $200 proxy bid the first day. Every subsequent bidder that places a bid raises the item value and your cost for the item. If you place an Auction Sniper proxy of $200, it doesn't place any bids until the last second, so if the next to the last bid was around $50, your proxy kicks in you're only going to pay $51.

Lots of newbies in particular will start placing bids early on and keep bidding trying to bid past the proxy bid. THAT is how it can get expensive for the proxy bid holder.

Does that make sense? I hope so. I've saved a small fortune using the proxy/auction sniper technique.
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it doesn't make sense because the bidders who bid in betweeen, would have bid anyways. They don't just bid because other people do. I've been on Ebay buying and selling for a LONG time and sniping really isn't neccessary, unless there is a planned bidding war at the end of the auction. If you want something bad enough, you'll bid what you're willing to pay. Who cares if bidding goes up to your proxy, because you were willing to pay that when you bid. Sniping doesn't mean you'll get it for cheap.
 
#13
allison said:
it doesn't make sense because the bidders who bid in betweeen, would have bid anyways. They don't just bid because other people do. I've been on Ebay buying and selling for a LONG time and sniping really isn't neccessary, unless there is a planned bidding war at the end of the auction. If you want something bad enough, you'll bid what you're willing to pay. Who cares if bidding goes up to your proxy, because you were willing to pay that when you bid. Sniping doesn't mean you'll get it for cheap.
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Not necessarily. Lots of people also wait until the last minute to place a bid. That's when sniping really comes in handy. Then there are the situations where you have another bidder with a snipe set to go. Also, I think by placing a bid on an item early on, it can draw attention to the item. If I place a bid with a proxy and don't use a snipe, then at least in my case, it almost always gets more expensive. I've also been on ebay for ages. I suffered too many bidding wars and maxed out proxy bids in the beginning to go back to not using Auction Sniper.

I guess we have to agree to disagree on this based on our individual experiences with using sniping/proxy bids on auctions.
 
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