Any "ebay" experiences?

[SIGNUPMONEYTODAY]

Over the past month I have made over 40 bids at ebay. I am constantly "outbid" by someone else. A lot of these "outbids" seem to come at the very last minute and happen around 7-9 PM Eastern time. At this 7-9 PM time frame the site is so slow I can NEVER make a re-bid. Anyone else have the same things happening? Are the dealers bidding on their own stuff, bidding the price up or "locking out" bidders at the last moment?

I don't seem to have any problems over at Yahoo and have been the successful bidder most of the time, for the EXACT same merchandise which is on ebay.

Thanks for the in-put!

[ShainaT]

I buy alot of things on eBay. What I always do is put in the MAXIMUM price I will pay upfront. This way I don't have to worry about being outbid. If I am outbid, so be it. There is always someone else selling what I want eventually.

I don't understand why people put in one price and then keep re-bidding. It seems so much easier to decide what price you will pay and then put that price in as the maximum bid.

[kathleen2]

That has happened to me many times at Ebay. I think Ebay is great for the sellers, bad for the buyers. There are no deals there. I agree, put in your maximum bid, and then if you lose, so be it. A lot of the time I see people paying more for something on ebay (factor in shipping) then they could've bought new! I used to try to buy Pottery Barn Kids stuff there, and I finally realized I'm better off buying from the catalog. Just my opinion.

[cata5]

I think ebay is for sellers, too, but I recently bought a video game for $15-$18 cheaper than I could find it anywhere in my area. I was unsure about what I wanted to pay and didn't put a maximum bid. Went back half an hour before it closed and ended up winning. I think you can find deals but many people pay way too much! I often wondered if sellers manipulated the bids. It seems like it would be fairly easy to do.

[millervt]

I've been on ebay for years and year and years...back before it was ebay, in fact. I even have a copy of the official ebay book autographed by ebay's founder in appreciation of my help in their computer area. Ah, those were the days.

Back on topic, more and more bids come at the last minute (my last purchase I bid at the last second, just to cut it close). Its your best bidding strategy, for various reasons, if you can pull it off. Regardless, your best plan is to search the completed auctions for similar items, see what price range they sell for, figure out your maximum bid, and then place it as late as is convenient for you. Be careful not to get caught up in a bidding war; many people do and overpay.

The funny thing is that I see a lot of sellers complaining about how low the prices are, and buyers complaining about high they are. There are bargains to be had, but you have to be patient and know your prices to find them.

As far as sellers manipulating bids, its not that prevelant, from what I can see. Certainly very few reputable (high feedback) sellers will risk this, since they will get banned from ebay if caught (and ebay has software that does search out suspicious bidding patterns). In general, you can always deal with this by merely bidding the amount you want to pay, and, worst case, you'll have to pay that amount. I always bid lower than retail, and lower still for new sellers who might be playing such games. your risk from a bad seller (versus, say, Wal-mart) is higher on ebay, so you should pay lower than retail to take into account the fact that some of your purchases will be disappointing - perhaps not is as good condition as expected, damaged in shipping, etc.

Ironically, one of the areas that is the worst is the one I'm usually in - computers. Fraud tends to be higher (its easier to claim to have, oh, 10 of the latest PCs and then "sell" them to the highest bidder), plus prices tend to be close to retail, so I generally don't buy from there (but I do sell..anyone need a 15Gig harddrive? he he ). Plus no rebates from ebay purchases. Other problem areas include video games and music (illegal copies) and antiques (repros instead of the real thing), but buy from a "good" seller and you can do well there.

[tahnee]

You're probably getting outbid because of [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] They are great for placing last second bids.

I sell a lot of stuff on Ebay, made some money and gave some great deals-mostly this one. If anyone needs some really nice designer kids or women's clothes check me out!

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

[HoneyBeeMD]

I have had good experiences with ebay. I usually buy toddler clothes for half of the orginal price. You have to know your prices. I bought a leap pad for my daughter for $15 less at walmart that the listing prices.

[Velvet_Phoenix]

I have only bought once, and had a pretty good experience too. I am also currently selling something on ebay and I have noticed that there are some users who go around snatching stuff up at the last minute by out-biding people. I am not sure what these people are up to, but as long as they are buying stuff from me, I am fine with that!!!

As for being outbid, I had luck buying a Soviet Posters without any problems. maybe it depends on what you are buying?

Cheers

[liquidcarebear]

Most people just "watch" the item and then bid at the last moment. Thats what I do.

[deedeesaz]

I think the last minute bidding will depend on what the item is and if there are alot of proxy bids being done. If an item has alot of interest, there tend to be bidding wars early, which will drive up the price. Smart shoppers wait until the last minute and try to figure out what the top proxy will be. Truthfully, if I see something I really want, I try to buy it in the last few seconds. That helps me get the final bid in. And I try to bid one penny over the dollar amount. Someone may bid at the same time as me, say $ 25 but my bid $ 25.01, one penny over may win me the item.

Browse through and make sure to check the feedback for the seller..... and happy auctions !!