Joelle ([info]joelledirty) wrote,
@ 2008-10-10 21:44:00
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Current mood: disappointed
Current music:Sabbath- Electric Funeral
Entry tags:ebay, shoes, shopping

eBay
I have avoided ebay for years and years until recently. I succumbed.

Problem beyond the obvious excitement attached to "winning" or bidding in an auction:

These A-holes swoop in at the last second and "steal" my goods from me. I lost something on my birthday that I had been watching and bidding on all week. I was so disappointed.

What am I missing? I understand the maximum bid. How does someone outbid me at the last second with no warning.

Tell me. It cannot happen again.

That necklace, dress, pair of shoes were meant to be mine.


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[info]dmholman
2008-10-11 05:02 am UTC (link)
If you're not going to snipe (swooping in at the last second), then the best you can hope for is to put in your maximum bid and hope for the best.

For the most part, sniping is the way to get the lowest price possible as it stops people from upping your bid and driving the price up. That's why it's a popular tactic.

-=>D

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[info]joelledirty
2008-10-11 05:06 am UTC (link)
How does one snipe? I figure I've earned that behavior...

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[info]dmholman
2008-10-11 05:19 am UTC (link)
I use to try and do it the way you did, until the frustration of being sniped drove me to the darkside. What I do is this, a few minutes before the end of the auction, I open 2 browser windows:

Window 1 - I put in my maximum bid but I don't confirm it and I leave it there

Window 2 - I have the auction ad in there

I then begin to refresh Window 2 so I can watch the time tick down. When it hits around 5-15 seconds before auction close (you have to time this based on how fast your browser refreshes and how long it takes for you to send the bid) I click on Window 1 and fire off the bid.

If timed right and the initial bidder doesn't have a bid higher than you own, the other guy doesn't have time to counter your bid. It becomes a timing thing really. At this point, I can pretty much get a bid in 2 seconds before close.

There are programs and services that will do this automatically for you, but I have a hard time trusting them with my password and the ability to bid for me.

-=>D

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[info]parlor_games
2008-10-11 05:10 am UTC (link)
I always enter exactly what I am willing to spend after calculating in the shipping charges, and not a penny more. Then I walk away. If I am the high bid, great. If not, then it is no different for me than going into a shop and seeing it there, and deciding that it is simply too much for me to spend.

It SUCKS to get invested and then lose a bid. But that's business, I guess.

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[info]2rossi
2008-10-11 05:12 am UTC (link)
Here's a tool of the trade...
www.esnipe.com

(Next week I'll teach you the secret handshake)

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[info]sister_anne
2008-10-11 05:20 am UTC (link)
I usually just do the "buy now" option, if it's something I really want- it's still cheaper than paying retail.

I don't use ebay often, though.

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[info]grovesphoto
2008-10-11 09:15 am UTC (link)
yeah, never bid right off. That just drives the price up. Either use the refreshing windows trick, or I have heard the esnipe thing is pretty good. I just add the item to my watching list and then make sure I am on the page when it's about to end to snipe it, unless someone has been bidding and drove the price up.

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[info]josienutter
2008-10-11 03:20 pm UTC (link)
When I reeeeally want something, I don't bid - I set up a future bid on esnipe.com.

I don't really trust the security of their system as much as eBay though, so I routinely change passwords every time after I use them.

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[info]syz
2008-10-11 05:06 pm UTC (link)
I hate buying stuff on eBay for that very reason. What a pain in the ass.

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[info]imp_of_satan
2008-10-11 11:24 pm UTC (link)
I found a couple apps on the iPhone that swoop in at the last minute and bid for you...

Not that I;m trying to enable you or anything!

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