Classic Rotary Phones Forum

Telephone Talk => Auction Talk => Topic started by: oldguy on December 28, 2015, 09:30:01 PM

Title: This may be a silly question
Post by: oldguy on December 28, 2015, 09:30:01 PM
Why do people bid on early in the listing time? Are they shills bidding to drive the price up? I usually don't bid until the last 30 seconds. I can usually get 2 bids in in that period of time.
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: Buzby on December 28, 2015, 09:45:13 PM
I'll make bids on things I come across, regardless of the time remaining. I will have an amount that I think an item is worth, and will set my maximum bid. I'm not going to be around for the end of every item I'm bidding on.

I'm not driving the price up. I'm putting out there what I am prepared to pay. Those who want it more drive the price up, and if it were shill bidding, the bidders against you have a low feedback score.
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: oldguy on December 28, 2015, 11:36:40 PM
I also will bid as much as I am willing to pay if I'm not going to be around when the auction ends. My theory is, that if I will be around at the end of the auction, I may be able to get it for I less if I wait & don't bid early, because if somebody else wants it more than I do & I bid early, They will out bid me & raise the price.
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: Buzby on December 29, 2015, 08:52:43 AM
I guess everyone has their own strategies and techniques for ebay. For me, if there's something I want, I don't mind bidding early in the game. The price doesn't go up automatically to my maximum bid, and I can just forget about watching it. Whatever happens in those last few seconds of the auction were going to be happening anyway - it would be me vs the other last second snipers. I'm still in the game, and they are trying to beat the bid I would have placed if I had been around for the last minute of the auction.
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: Fabius on December 29, 2015, 12:25:13 PM
I am a sniper. I use one of the free snipe programs. I set the program for my maximum amount I want to bid. I have won many items at prices usually below my maximum amount.
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: 19and41 on December 29, 2015, 03:39:09 PM
If I bid early on, it is with a max bid.
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: oldguy on December 29, 2015, 04:38:14 PM
I didn't know I had a name, "Sniper". I will admit it, I'm a cheap skate. I didn't know There were programs to help scum like me. for some reason my wife doesn't like my iPhone alarm going off at 2:10AM so I can make a bid on an auction that is ending. I will make a 1st bid early because it doesn't raise the price & that way if I miss the end of the auction I have a chance to win.
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: NorthernElectric on December 29, 2015, 05:55:01 PM
Quote from: oldguy on December 29, 2015, 04:38:14 PM
I didn't know I had a name, "Sniper".

If you're bidding with 30 seconds to go, you're not really a sniper.  I bid with 1 or 2 seconds to go.  I right click on the bid now button about 3 minutes from the end and open that in a new tab.  Then I type in my max bid, click continue,  then leave that and go back to the auction tab and watch the clock count down.  When it hits about 3 or 4 seconds if my max hasn't been exceeded I quickly switch back to the bid tab and click the 'Confirm Bid' button.  Sometimes in the couple of seconds that takes, there are 3 or 4 other snipers bids in.  Sometimes I win sometimes I don't.

Of course, there are times when I know I won't be at a computer when the auction ends.  In that case, I will sometimes bid early if I'm the first bidder or just bid as close to the end as I can.  I might try out bidding software this winter for those times.
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: Doug Rose on December 29, 2015, 06:06:56 PM
Hey Cliff...you are braver than I am....9 secs and I am off. I am not a fan of the snipe services that want a SS# or a bank account. Too many ways to get burned now. If I am there at the end,  I bid or I do as everyone else has mentioned....most I want to pay and bid when I see it......Doug
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: Dennis Markham on December 29, 2015, 08:54:14 PM
I use this program often.........it's free.

https://www.myibidder.com/

It doesn't ask for anything.  I've never put in my social security number or bank account info.  One only has to put in their ebay username and password.  I set it for 2 seconds and put in what I want to spend.  I've won many an auction while I was away from the computer.  The only time it doesn't bid is if the amount of the item has already exceeded my chosen bid amount.

~Dennis
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: Fabius on December 29, 2015, 10:17:01 PM
Quote from: Dennis Markham on December 29, 2015, 08:54:14 PM
I use this program often.........it's free.

https://www.myibidder.com/

It doesn't ask for anything.  I've never put in my social security number or bank account info.  One only has to put in their ebay username and password.  I set it for 2 seconds and put in what I want to spend.  I've won many an auction while I was away from the computer.  The only time it doesn't bid is if the amount of the item has already exceeded my chosen bid amount.

~Dennis

I use myibidder. Totally free and seems to work fine. The only problem I have is I forget that I set up one or two snipes on different items and forget about them and then set a third and forth and win them all. That get me in trouble.
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: Phonesrfun on December 29, 2015, 11:13:03 PM
Quote from: Fabius on December 29, 2015, 10:17:01 PM
I use myibidder. Totally free and seems to work fine. The only problem I have is I forget that I set up one or two snipes on different items and forget about them and then set a third and forth and win them all. That get me in trouble.

Does that mean you wind up bidding your own bid up?
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: Fabius on December 30, 2015, 10:06:18 PM
Quote from: Phonesrfun on December 29, 2015, 11:13:03 PM
Quote from: Fabius on December 29, 2015, 10:17:01 PM
I use myibidder. Totally free and seems to work fine. The only problem I have is I forget that I set up one or two snipes on different items and forget about them and then set a third and forth and win them all. That get me in trouble.

Does that mean you wind up bidding your own bid up?

No, I set different snipe bids on different items but forget how many different bids I set. If I win them all I get in trouble with you know who.
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: Phonesrfun on December 30, 2015, 10:19:44 PM
Ha!  I know that drill!
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: oldguy on December 31, 2015, 12:48:34 PM
Hi Cliff, I live in the boonies outside of Grass Valley, CA. The only internet service I can get is satellite & my satellite Internet is very slow. With this situation, I am afraid if I bid any later I will miss out. I guess I need to try biding on something I don't care about as a speed test to see what happens. Oh ya, what does the term "BIN" mean?
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: Phonesrfun on December 31, 2015, 12:51:12 PM
BIN = "Buy It Now"  Some items on eBay will have this option.  Often times sellers will offer a set price (Usually the high-end of what they are looking for) as a BIN price.

So, if there is an auction going on and the bids have the item priced at $2.00 and it has a $50.00 BIN price, you can buy it for $50 and the auction will end, and you will get the item.



Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: oldguy on December 31, 2015, 01:01:15 PM
Thanks Bill, it's obvious once you stated it! The only time I have used Buy it Now (BIN) is when it is the only choice.
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: TelePlay on December 31, 2015, 01:25:49 PM
BIN means "Buy It Now" so it's not an auction over a period of time. By clicking on a BIN button in a listing, you just bought the item at the price stated for the BIN.

Some items have an open auction over time starting at some low price, say $10, and also a BIN button at say $50. As soon as a bid of $10 is placed, the BIN goes away. If no bids are placed, clicking on the BIN button means you just bought the item for $50.
Title: Re: This may be a silly question
Post by: NorthernElectric on December 31, 2015, 01:36:30 PM
Quote from: oldguy on December 31, 2015, 12:48:34 PM
Hi Cliff, I live in the boonies outside of Grass Valley, CA. The only internet service I can get is satellite & my satellite Internet is very slow. With this situation, I am afraid if I bid any later I will miss out. I guess I need to try biding on something I don't care about as a speed test to see what happens.

I live in a rural area and up until a few years ago, I was on dialup.  If memory serves, this is how I did it then:

My computer is configured to synch it's clock with an NTP time server, so I know it should be reasonably accurate.  So I would put the clock up on my screen next to the auction page to figure out what the difference between ebay time as it appeared in my browser and real time was, add a few seconds for my slow moving bid and figured out to the second by my computer when I wanted to bid.  I would use my clock to time my bid so I didn't have to worry about slow page refreshes from ebay.  It took a little practice but I was managing to get my bids in within a few seconds of auction end.

Even now my internet service is not terribly fast and is somewhat variable.