Ebay...ever been caught in a bidding-frenzy?

[Greenheart]

When you look at the cost of new blocks and specific bits for boats, it's very appealing to shell out a few quid on 2nd hand stuff which may or may not really be a bargain.

I have dreams of kitting the Osp with an asymmetric. But usable old kites aren't in plentiful supply, so I happily put in a bid for a biggish one over the weekend, at £90...

...and as there were only hours left, I reckoned I would probably get it. Of course, I was outbid, so I upped-it a bit, and was outbid again...final winning bid? £180.

The danger is that whatever is being offered, always seems of singular significance at the moment I look at it. No matter whether I actually needed it...

...so, blocks...which of us doesn't use them? Which of us wouldn't rather have a useful little stock for a fraction of their new retail price?

I'm interested in what forumites think this tub-full is worth, and what it may finally fetch. Currently £42. Pity the seller didn't put an open tape-measure in the pics...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tub-of-Pu...-Sailing-Cruising-racing-Dinghy-/171243473264

View attachment 40072

 

[Poignard]

' Ebay...ever been caught in a bidding-frenzy? '

Yes - it was great. I was the seller

 

[Kelpie]

Job lots can be worth it in some cases, generally when it's cheap stuff. Most of my stainless fixings that I've used over the years came from two big tubs I got on eBay, 1kg a piece, for a fiver each. Never regretted that one. But half the time you find to do a proper job you actually need a different sized screw, bolt, nut etc than what is in the rubs. Oh well.
I suspect it would be the same with blocks. You generally need a particular type- swivel, double, cheek, becket, jammer, etc etc- and chances are it won't be in your tub when you need it! So by all means pick up what you need on eBay, but maybe don't splash out on things that you don't have a use for unless they are really, really cheap. IMHO.

 

[Iain C]

The big stuff is Barton plain bearing and too big for a dinghy. The other stuff also seems to be quite nasty and plain bearing...not much good either.

Do not underestimate the work required to convert a dinghy to a workable asymmetric...and also if the kite is from a popular class with some life in it, it will go for good money.

 

[stevebrassett]

Plus there's £10 delivery, so that's 52 quid, with 4 days to go. Then you have to consider how many of them will actually be useful to you. I'm guessing that, as they have dinghy mentioned in the title, they might not be that big.

Oops - just realised the OP mentioned an Osprey - forget the last comment, then.

 

[[70521]]

Ebay...ever been caught in a bidding-frenzy?

No! I have a price that I will go up to (usually not very high), enter that. Then watch the bid war seeing it go up to, and sometimes higher than, the price of the item brand new.

 

[Strathglass]

I just decide the maximum (including post) I am prepared to go to. I then manually enter that amount in the last few seconds before bidding closes. I never put a bid in with a long time to go as that just ups the price.

 

[Greenheart]

...watch the bid war, seeing it go up to, and sometimes higher than, the price of the item brand new.

It is crazy, quite fun too, even if you're not the seller...once I'm outbid in a way I don't want to challenge, I quite like to see it go sky-high, so I know I didn't just lose the purchase.

I get a feeling bidders decide they just must have it, so having nailed their colours to the thing, they can't back down and keep topping any new offer.

I just decide the maximum (including post) I am prepared to go to. I then manually enter that amount in the last few seconds before bidding closes. I never put a bid in with a long time to go as that just ups the price.

Smart. I'll remember that.

 

[Seajet]

Maybe a different sort of bidding frenzy, but I know someone - now a forumite here - who had never sailed in his life, but home alone with a bottle of wine, got bored and turned to E-Bay...

He thought it might be a hoot to own a ' yacht ' so bidded for a grp 22' twin keeler; and was rather shocked when he succeeded !

I gather the rest of the weekend was spent wondering how to tell SWMBO when she returned; still it sort of worked out, the boat made a fun place to live on during the divorce !

- For others reasons I'm assured.

 

[D&T]

I cannot understand why anyone bids days in advance of the auction end. Good for the sellers of course, but totally pointless for buyers. I bid in the last few seconds at a price which I think is fair and if I win, then great and if I am outbid by someone doing then same, then I look for another item, I never get carried away. Further, bidding with minutes to go, just lets other buyers online know someone else is also online and therefore that buyer looses his/her advantage

 

[obmij]

Outboards and inflatables go for pretty silly prices. I had a few late night 'ebay madness' moments and every time got outbid by someone drunker / stupider than me.

Eventually bought the inflatable from the onsite marina chandlers for less than a 'lightly used' ebay special once postage was taken into account.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

I can't remember the last time I bought anything by bidding on E bay. I've bought plenty on Buy It Now prices.
Auctions on E bay seem to mostly be a recipe for wasting money these days.

 

[William_H]

The container of blocks may be OK. of course there is the excitement of wondering just what you have bought. I have found that the nylon/plasitc sheaves deteriorate in the sun and with use so often must be replaced. It is of course a pain to drill or grind out mounting rivets and replace the axle with ss tube and a screw and nylock nut but even the replacement plastic sheaves seem expensive locally now. yes I have seen suppliers in UK that seem to provide a better product even with roller bearings than what is available here. good luck with the purchase if it happens olewill

 

[l'escargot]

I cannot understand why anyone bids days in advance of the auction end. Good for the sellers of course, but totally pointless for buyers. I bid in the last few seconds at a price which I think is fair and if I win, then great and if I am outbid by someone doing then same, then I look for another item, I never get carried away. Further, bidding with minutes to go, just lets other buyers online know someone else is also online and therefore that buyer looses his/her advantage

If someone had put in a bid higher than you were prepared to go the week before, they would still have won. The highest bid always wins whenever it is put in. The only thing that last minute bidding prevents is someone upping their bid when you outbid them.

 

[ytd]

there are traders who trawl ebay looking for auctions with a lot of bidders and then buy the item hoping to resell it at a profit. If they can't resell it at a profit they raise a dispute and get their money back from the original seller. I got caught selling an amplifier that lots of bidders bid up to near the new price. No idea why. When she raised a dispute I went back through her feedback and saw she left lots of negative feedback on sellers. She bought hundreds of items a week but never sold any. Must have used a different identity to sell. No option really but to give a full refund including freight and be wary next time there's a bidding frenzy.

 

[Koeketiene]

Ebay...ever been caught in a bidding-frenzy?

No, I use a sniping tool (www.goofbid.com)

When I look at an item, I decide beforehand how much I'm willing to pay for it and enter that amount in Goofbid.
I then never look at the item gain. At the end of the auction I will find out whether I've won it or not.
If I have: good (and often for less than I had been willing to spend) If I haven't: something else will be along shortly.

 

[Neil_Y]

Trouble now is they will all use a sniper and you loose your advantage Talking of kites there's a 49er asymetric kite for sale on dinghy bits facebook page for £150.00

 

[Greenheart]

No, I use a sniping tool (www.goofbid.com). I decide beforehand how much I'm willing to pay for it and enter that amount in Goofbid. At the end of the auction I find out whether I've won it or not. If I have: good (and often for less than I had been willing to spend).

If you've entered a single, fixed bid with Goofbid, how have you ever got the item for less than you had been willing to spend? Why would you have bid a lower sum than you were happy to spend, if you weren't willing to respond as the price went up?

Talking of kites there's a 49er asymetric kite for sale on dinghy bits facebook page for £150.00

Thanks for that, but Iain C has finally persuaded me that I'm better off using the Osprey's standard, symmetrical spinnaker.

 

[Kelpie]

If you've entered a single, fixed bid with Goofbid, how have you ever got the item for less than you had been willing to spend? Why would you have bid a lower sum than you were happy to spend, if you weren't willing to respond as the price went up?

As I understand it, the snipe tool enters bids just like a real person would. I.e. the bid entered is simply the minimum increment above the previous bidder's maximum bid.
The only reason to use a snipe tool is because of people's apparent inability to set a price, enter it, and sit back and wait. Which is the concept that eBay is supposed to work on...

 

[Greenheart]

...the bid entered is simply the minimum increment above the previous bidder's maximum bid.

I see. That will explain why, each time I put in a higher bid for the sail, I was instantly outbid. What happens if two or three, or ten electronic 'snipers' are competing? For some reason I can't help visualising David Dickinson waving a gavel about a hundred times a second and flopping off the stand with heart-failure.