Ebay OA Bidding Tactics - Why bid early?

[Jesusjon]

I've noticed that on quite a few Ebay auctions, a piece of art will, on Day 1, get several bids.

 

Now, I could certainly understand some reasons for bidding early -- the item is only worth $X to you so that's what you decide to bid, and if you don't win, oh well. Or you don't check Ebay a lot so you put in your bid early. But I don't feel this explains all this early bidding. (which drives the price up by auction end) Certainly it provides comfort to sellers, knowing their item is already getting attention. But for buyers, what's the point? Maybe they're not really serious about winning the item but just want to bid a bit on it?

 

Isn't the better strategy just to snipe, and put in a max of whatever you're willing to pay? This would tend to offer the opportunity for a better "bargain" when time runs out on other bidders who didn't have the foresight to put in high enough maxes.

 

Have people had *any* luck bidding early and still winning the auction? (without basically coming back and sniping an auction you were already a bidder on) I've noticed that it's usually the last minute sniper who wins, not any of the early bidders. (with the exception of those who throw down the gauntlet with a sky high max who just take on all comers)

 

Thoughts? Perhaps few will want to share their strategy

[nik]

I have sold OA on auctions with people using that "snipe " mentality only to see it go from $140 to almost $700 in less than 20 seconds.

 

If its a piece that you want (without a reserve) know what your willing to spend, than why not just let it out on the table. Whats the worst that can happen? you wont win it or you really cant afford it.

[mister_not_so_nice]

The only time I have won OA was a on a commission or some other non-published or low interest item. Any item I bid on prior to 1minute before auction close I really don't think I will win(so why bid? thats another thread altogether).

 

Of course anyone with over 50FB knows that in a bid war the real winner is the seller. My motto is it doesn't matter who is high bidder longest, just who is high bidder last. Of course sniping is a double edge sword, especially in the OA market. Sure your gonna snipe your "max", I do too. But if my "max" is not high enough and I have time, somehow I can squeeze a few more bucks out and bid again.

 

So my strategy is basically one of two things:

1) If i'd like to have it, but don't need it, I'll bid early.

2)If i REALLY HAVE TO HAVE IT. I'll watch it and snipe at the end. This way others don't even know if I have found it, hopefully lulled into a false sense of security and have a low bid in. (BTW, Solar, ignore this post).

 

Mike

[divad]

Well there are a few good reasons to bid early, at least once.

 

1) Once you bid, a seller cannot make changes to the auction, e.g, he can't extend the time of the auction, change the description or photos, etc. He can still end the auction early up until 12 hours before the end of the auction, but if he has a few bidders he will be less inclined to do so. He can always add description and other photos, but many sellers don't know how to do this, it generally does not add to the "look" of the listing, and often detracts.

 

2) Putting a bid in is also the best way to actively track the items you seriously want to acquire. You can watch it or set up a snipe, but I find that I don't pay that much attention to either of those methods.

 

3) Placing an early bid also informs other serious players that you are serious about this item, and may effectively ward off some competition.

 

The downside is that any bid, and multiple bids tend to draw attention to an item, and confirm to some people, the desirability and validity of an auction.

 

What is beyond me is the practice of "stacking" your bids - I don't see the value of this at all.

[Jesusjon]

See, I agree with Mister. It seems like those bidding early would be pleased to win at the price they've put in, but don't *really* want to win. Like, they won't get up in the middle of the night to put in their final bid.

 

As for "why not get your max out on the table"? Let's say you've got all the money in the world to blow but you're still a shrewd businessman (after all, you didn't get all that money by throwing it away). You want to get the best price, period. The best way to do that is put a bid in with only seconds left so that someone else can't drive you up an extra $XXX that they normally would have if they had another opportunity to "scrape up" the additional funds to their previous max You win the auction either way. You just save money by sniping.

 

Although -- has anyone ever seen two serious snipers put in absurdly high maxes (relative to the piece) and then the winner gets stuck paying $9000 for something that was only worth $400? Heh.

 

Diva makes a great point with #1!

 

And yeah, we need to block Solar from reading this thread!

[Point Five]

1) Once you bid, a seller cannot make changes to the auction, e.g, he can't extend the time of the auction, change the description or photos, etc. He can still end the auction early up until 12 hours before the end of the auction, but if he has a few bidders he will be less inclined to do so. He can always add description and other photos, but many sellers don't know how to do this, it generally does not add to the "look" of the listing, and often detracts.

 

I'm not an OA buyer, but as a fellow ebayer I much agree with this. I'll often put in a lowball bid early on to "hold" an auction, even if I plan to revisit it & rebid closer to the end time...I feel like having at least one bid in helps minimize the chance that the seller will pull the auction or tinker with it in some way.

[Thomas]

If it's something I like but could live without then I bid early and conservatively. If I win, great and if not then oh well.

 

If it's something I really want then I figure out my absolute maximum and then snipe at the end. This significantly reduces the chance of someone else bidding again to run my price up and if on the off chance that someone else bids more than my max at the end and wins, I don't get caught up in a bidding war and pay more than I thought the piece was worth.

 

Sometimes I get caught in the middle though. There's a page on ebay right now that is 50.00. I'm thinking of bidding 60-75 now or maybe as high as 82.00. I haven't decided yet whether it's a piece I really want or if I only want it if I can get a good deal on it. hehe

[fable]

I always snipe, whatever the cost of the item. I snipe my max, so i never lose anything by sniping that i would win by bidding manually, but i bet i have paid a hell of a lot less over the years by doing this.

[Solar]

And yeah, we need to block Solar from reading this thread!

 

BWAHAHAHA!! I know all your tricks now!

[Jesusjon]

And yeah, we need to block Solar from reading this thread!

 

BWAHAHAHA!! I know all your tricks now!

 

NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

Well, Solar knew that I was a sniper anyhow, as if my wonderment at those who bid early wasn't a big enough tip off.

 

It would be sweet to engineer individual distractions to keep known snipers from sniping auctions you knew they'd be in on. Like trees crashing in their front yard just minutes before the auction ended...hmmm.