How does e bay work?

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Oscarpop

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I found an item I wanted to buy, placed my maximum bid and let it run.

Up until about 10 seconds before the end of the auction my initial bid stood. Then it all went mental and ended up about 50% higher.

Do people really sit in from of their computers waiting for the last second or is there some jiggery pokery i don't know about.

I thought that auctions tended to increase with some in a fairly linear fashion with a bit of a rush at the end, but nothing for 9 days then a mad flurry? I am missing something aren't I


Oooh and before you tell me this should be in the lounge, I was bidding on a specific marine product. :)
 
Oscarpop said:
I found an item I wanted to buy, placed my maximum bid and let it run.

Up until about 10 seconds before the end of the auction my initial bid stood. Then it all went mental and ended up about 50% higher.

Do people really sit in from of their computers waiting for the last second or is there some jiggery pokery i don't know about.

I thought that auctions tended to increase with some in a fairly linear fashion with a bit of a rush at the end, but nothing for 9 days then a mad flurry? I am missing something aren't I


Oooh and before you tell me this should be in the lounge, I was bidding on a specific marine product. :)
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by placing a max bid all that happens is your wonga is "drip feed" as others bid against you, also others know there is another serious bidder about. all this does is inflate the price as a bidding war starts.
keep your powder dry & Snipe it ;)
 
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Most seasoned ebayers will bid in the last few seconds, I bid with 2 seconds to go on things that i want, this stops me increasing my bid on impulse and paying more than i want, and it also stops other bidders increasing their bid after i have bid, so potentially it saves me money
 
Like top donkey I decide what I will pay and bid in the last few seconds. It sometimes may catch out other would be purchasers who are lulled by no more apparent bids.
I believe that you can get ebay to somehow post a late bid.
Very frustrating for buyers and sellers alike!! but good fun.
 
Oscarpop said:
I found an item I wanted to buy, placed my maximum bid and let it run.

Up until about 10 seconds before the end of the auction my initial bid stood. Then it all went mental and ended up about 50% higher.

Do people really sit in from of their computers waiting for the last second or is there some jiggery pokery i don't know about.

I thought that auctions tended to increase with some in a fairly linear fashion with a bit of a rush at the end, but nothing for 9 days then a mad flurry? I am missing something aren't I


Oooh and before you tell me this should be in the lounge, I was bidding on a specific marine product. :)
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I have not yet attempted to buy anything that was likely to attract much competitive bidding but watched a few items that I might have been interested in.

What you describe seems pretty common

Very few if any bids early then it all goes berserk in the last few minutes.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I think it must have been sniping tools. The other bidders had something like 7000 positives, so I guess they do it regularly.

Doesn't really seem like cricket though? But I am probably being old fashioned :)
 
OTOH it went for 50% more than you were prepared to pay.
You can't really complain unless you WERE prepared to pay more, so should have bid higher.

As has been said, these snipers might get you something at a lower price, but if it's something you really want then using the eBay maxbid works right up to the last second.

BTW I've seen stuff sell at more than it would cost to buy new elsewhere - euros selling at 15% higher than the current exchange rate for example!
 
Hoolie said:
OTOH it went for 50% more than you were prepared to pay.
You can't really complain unless you WERE prepared to pay more, so should have bid higher.

As has been said, these snipers might get you something at a lower price, but if it's something you really want then using the eBay maxbid works right up to the last second.

BTW I've seen stuff sell at more than it would cost to buy new elsewhere - euros selling at 15% higher than the current exchange rate for example!
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No, I actually won it. However the opening bid was £100, I bid £152 as a max and up until about a second before it was still at £100. Then 3 people put bids in.

Couldn't figure out how ( until now).

And I do believe I still got myself a bargain.
 
Yes the last few seconds is the most exciting you get a real buzz if your bidding amazing that items are on e-bay for weeks and it all boils down to the last 2 or 3 seconds. Try to see what is the least amount you can beat the next highest bidder by bidding odd amounts (2.63) etc, my record is 7 pence would you not feel pi**ed knowing that.

Still a great site with lots of bargains.
 
ive never tried a sniping tool and i dont think many do. the fun is in the kill, and i set myself a max (usually) and bid that in with less than 1 sec remaining. i do the bidding for my whole family as they always lose their nerve and bid in far too early, giving their opponents time to counter.
the best bargains are the ones ending in the early hours.
at 4.00am i won an unused leather m/c jacket with tags still on, which retails at £330 for £28 last week. £7 delivery mind!
 
Oscarpop said:
Do people really sit in from of their computers waiting for the last second or is there some jiggery pokery i don't know about.



Oooh and before you tell me this should be in the lounge, I was bidding on a specific marine product. :)
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Yes people do bid like thT unless there is a Buy Now option. I usually have two browsers running one ready on the BUY page the on the product page (refreshing).

Its a fun came some you win some you lose.
 
Sniping is just about trying to get something for less. If there is something that you really want, just put in your maximum bid and you will either get it or someone else will pay more than you thought it was worth.
 
sailorman said:
with a sniping tool that just what happens.
place you max & go down the pub
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You don't need a sniping tool to do that. Place your maximum bid on day one and go to the pub every day - eBay ups your bid in increments as other people bid, it doesn't reveal your maximum. It then sends you an email to tell you whether you have won or not which you can read when you get back from the pub.
 
I always put in a low bid early if no one else has bid. This way the seller can not sell to a buyer who comes along and offers to buy now when there is not a buy now option. Some sellers get a bit panicky when there seems there is little interest.
 
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