Outbid at last sec...edit

paul_c said

kins said

Paul you're missing the point.

Say you see a mk1 part on ebay and bidding starts at a tenner…. you're prepared to pay 35 (I'll usually put a figure like 35.73 as some people would just put 35) so you put that in the snipe software…. someone bids 20 quid a couple of minutes before the auction ends and no one else is bidding (they think it's theirs…… and then schazam you strike 2 seconds before the auction ends and steal it. No chance to get in a bidding war and no chance for them to consider paying that little bit extra for it.

You're missing my point too!!!

If you want to consider paying that little bit extra for it, do the considering before you even put your first bid in. Instead of thinking "how much would I pay to get this" think "how much/little would I be happy to have bid, knowing that someone else got it".

OK OK…. put it this way. How come so many auction snipe sites are in business today and making a good profit because people are using them to "increase their chances" of winning auctions? :scratch:

Just for you Paul… lifted directly from www.auctionsniper.com

Auction Sniper Is a Competitive Edge In Winning Auctions…

Let's face it: you really want to win that auction. And you don't want to pay too much. The secret: bid with your brain, instead of starting a bidding war. Use Auction Sniper to play the game on your own terms and begin winning auctions consistently.

Here are the benefits of using Auction Sniper ?

    * Avoid a bidding war.  Bidding wars often cause you to spend  more money than you actually intended. Therefore you actually are going to be saving money by using Auction Sniper because you won?t rely on compulsive bidding to win an auction.
    * Let us do the work.  Don?t let your work or leisure time get interrupted by a closing auction. With Auction Sniper you don't have to sit by your computer and watch the bidding until the auction closes. Once you place a snipe bid with us, our servers handle everything automatically. Not only are you saving money, but you are also saving time.
    * Why bid prematurely?  Why would you want to increase an auction's current bid price if it doesn't close for several more days? This only leads to an inflated closing bid. There is no reason to bid prematurely; it will only encourage other bidders to bid on the item.
    * Cancel your bid.  When you bid directly though eBay, it is generally difficult to cancel your bid. With Auction Sniper, you can cancel your bid up to 5 minutes before our servers place it for you. So you are buying time to think about your bid and make sure it's what you intend.
    * Bid Groups.  AuctionSniper's Bid Groups feature allows you to bid on the same item from different sellers. As soon as you win one auction at the price you want, we'll automatically cancel the rest of your bids.
    * Win!  Auctions with little effort and time. Save your worries for more important things?

Its a human issue - why does early bidding encourage others to bid? Is the entire internet community like sheep, or something? Or maybe it only applies to rare VW stuff huh (scene points).

paul_c said

Its a human issue - why does early bidding encourage others to bid? Is the entire internet community like sheep, or something? Or maybe it only applies to rare VW stuff huh (scene points).

It's that "I have to have it" factor and the stubbornness and competitiveness built into us. It's human nature. The trouble with VW parts is the parts are for your pride and joy and people will bid extra to stand a better chance of winning the part for their beloved one. Damn VW's are money traps… they are more than a car… the character they have makes them almost human it's scary!

I just 'won' an immaculate set of All Red lights for my Cabby off the bay after bidding with six seconds to go. They were at @ ?29.99 all the way and I got them for ?1:00 more. BTW my max bit was ?50:00 and that's what I put in.

I suppose the 'secret' is to bid late and bid with your MAX bid and if you loose then so be it.

Tian :mrgreen:

kins said

paul_c said

Its a human issue - why does early bidding encourage others to bid? Is the entire internet community like sheep, or something? Or maybe it only applies to rare VW stuff huh (scene points).

It's that "I have to have it" factor and the stubbornness and competitiveness built into us. It's human nature. The trouble with VW parts is the parts are for your pride and joy and people will bid extra to stand a better chance of winning the part for their beloved one. Damn VW's are money traps… they are more than a car… the character they have makes them almost human it's scary!

Yeah but where do you define "have to"? ?1000000? Everything has a price, and nothing is so rare that there's only 1 of them.

Tian said

I just 'won' an immaculate set of All Red lights for my Cabby off the bay after bidding with six seconds to go. They were at @ ?29.99 all the way and I got them for ?1:00 more. BTW my max bit was ?50:00 and that's what I put in.

I suppose the 'secret' is to bid late and bid with your MAX bid and if you loose then so be it.

Tian :mrgreen:

Exactly the right attitude It's Ebays money making ploy… let the sheep bid early… be smart… snipe. Be smarter still and avoid Paypal were possible. Robbing b*******'s!!! :evil:

paul_c said

kins said

paul_c said

Its a human issue - why does early bidding encourage others to bid? Is the entire internet community like sheep, or something? Or maybe it only applies to rare VW stuff huh (scene points).

It's that "I have to have it" factor and the stubbornness and competitiveness built into us. It's human nature. The trouble with VW parts is the parts are for your pride and joy and people will bid extra to stand a better chance of winning the part for their beloved one. Damn VW's are money traps… they are more than a car… the character they have makes them almost human it's scary!

Yeah but where do you define "have to"? ?1000000? Everything has a price, and nothing is so rare that there's only 1 of them.

You don't need to define it. An item is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. If it goes for $1,000,000 then that's its value to that particular individual. It's crazy but true.

Well that's Capitalism. If you bid, you need to define the amount you're prepared to pay. If you seriously want it, put a serious amount of money in. If you're just speculatively wanting something, put a lowish amount and you might be lucky.

What's so bad with Paypal? Its fees are relatively high, but apart from that its quite safe, etc? Safer than sending cash through the post? And safer for a seller to receive it to secure goods selling, eg on our own forum?

paul_c said

What's so bad with Paypal? Its fees are relatively high, but apart from that its quite safe, etc? Safer than sending cash through the post? And safer for a seller to receive it to secure goods selling, eg on our own forum?

I hate PayPal too, in fact I hate the whole Ebay/PayPal thing but there's nothing around that can touch it so we all use it.

The fees for placing an item in Ebay can be high depending on what it is and then there's the final fee when the item's won and then you have the PayPal fees, it all mounts up!!!

Basically whoever created Ebay and then added PayPal onto it is a genius, lucky git.

Tian

paul_c said

Well that's Capitalism. If you bid, you need to define the amount you're prepared to pay. If you seriously want it, put a serious amount of money in. If you're just speculatively wanting something, put a lowish amount and you might be lucky.

What's so bad with Paypal? Its fees are relatively high, but apart from that its quite safe, etc? Safer than sending cash through the post? And safer for a seller to receive it to secure goods selling, eg on our own forum?

Yes it's safe and convenient…. but you sure as hel pay for it. Do you think there fees are justified? The trouble is Ebay and Paypal are partners in crime and they look after each other. Everyone uses it and they have the monopolized market.  :roll:

The Paypal company is owned by Ebay.

i just won an arguement with mrs wooders. she's having an off day.

paul_c said

Well that's Capitalism. If you bid, you need to define the amount you're prepared to pay. If you seriously want it, put a serious amount of money in. If you're just speculatively wanting something, put a lowish amount and you might be lucky.

What's so bad with Paypal? Its fees are relatively high, but apart from that its quite safe, etc? Safer than sending cash through the post? And safer for a seller to receive it to secure goods selling, eg on our own forum?

Society today is nothing but capitalism. What is money any way? It's either a piece of paper, round metal disc or a electronic figure in a bank! It's something that's been brain washed into us by the government to help govern us… to make sure we play by the rules… so "the system" functions fluidly. It doesn't mean anything…. or does it?

paul_c said

The Paypal company is owned by Ebay.

I'm not surprised. It's just a money making ploy. Ebay will be sorry when people start using a cheaper auction site with cheaper Pay Pal type company. Can you name any company that doesn't have competitors? It's just a matter of time.

kins said

paul_c said

The Paypal company is owned by Ebay.

I'm not surprised. It's just a money making ploy. Ebay will be sorry when people start using a cheaper auction site with cheaper Pay Pal type company. Can you name any company that doesn't have competitors? It's just a matter of time.

Yes, eBay and Paypal are companies, and as such they have a duty to make money. If you want to be quids in, buy shares in them.

In theory they are competitive but the problem is they're a "network", and the success of a network is a strong function of the number (percentage) of users of it. So, with one dominant player, its difficult for a smaller competitor to make any inroads. The area they will be able to, is on quality. (This is partly why I want to try and drive up the quality of our classifieds area).

The only way to avoid Paypal/eBay fees is to look at an item on there and go pick it up and pay cash. End the item early.

No transfer fees, no end of auction fees.

Fight the Man, man.

Peace.

yradave said

The only way to avoid Paypal/eBay fees is to look at an item on there and go pick it up and pay cash. End the item early.

No transfer fees, no end of auction fees.

Fight the Man, man.

Peace.

That's naughty! I may or may not know a guy who does this:

If I… I mean he see's something I… I mean he want's I… I mean he "asks the seller a question". My… I mean his…. question is usually something along the lines of " Would you llike to sell me this item now outside of ebay? If yes how much?" That way you dodge all fee's and you don't get in a bidding war.

I am in no way admitting or condoning the terrible terrible behavior… even if it is most excellent and krafty  

kins said

yradave said

The only way to avoid Paypal/eBay fees is to look at an item on there and go pick it up and pay cash. End the item early.

No transfer fees, no end of auction fees.

Fight the Man, man.

Peace.

That's naughty! I may or may not know a guy who does this:

If I… I mean he see's something I… I mean he want's I… I mean he "asks the seller a question". My… I mean his…. question is usually something along the lines of " Would you sell it me now outside of ebay? If yes how much?" That way you dodge all fee's and you don't get in a bidding war.

I am in no way admitting or condoning the terrible terrible behavior… even if it is most excellent and krafty  

If I were a seller and people stated approching me making offers and asking to stop the auction, I'd keep it running becuase:

- the type of people that try this are normally the savvy ones who don't want to pay over the odds.
- it shows genuine interest in the item, so I'll let it run and see what happens!

It works both ways, with eBay….I've sold loads of stuff and some have reached prices I'd never imagined they would!

paul_c said

kins said

yradave said

The only way to avoid Paypal/eBay fees is to look at an item on there and go pick it up and pay cash. End the item early.

No transfer fees, no end of auction fees.

Fight the Man, man.

Peace.

That's naughty! I may or may not know a guy who does this:

If I… I mean he see's something I… I mean he want's I… I mean he "asks the seller a question". My… I mean his…. question is usually something along the lines of " Would you sell it me now outside of ebay? If yes how much?" That way you dodge all fee's and you don't get in a bidding war.

I am in no way admitting or condoning the terrible terrible behavior… even if it is most excellent and krafty  

If I were a seller and people stated approching me making offers and asking to stop the auction, I'd keep it running becuase:

- the type of people that try this are normally the savvy ones who don't want to pay over the odds.
- it shows genuine interest in the item, so I'll let it run and see what happens!

It works both ways, with eBay….I've sold loads of stuff and some have reached prices I'd never imagined they would!

It depends how well you know the market. If the buyer is prepared to offer way more than you are expecting you may as well take it. If it's a low ball figure… you as the seller may as well tell the to go whistle. Sometimes it's worth selling or buying outside of ebay… sometimes it's not. Good businessmen/women know what to call and when.