Who are these eBay microbidders and do they ever win?

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Vegas Vic, Oct 16, 2014.

  1. RabidRick

    RabidRick Sardonic Devil's Advocate

    I agree about tracking items.

    I'll do this knowing I won't get the bid, but then it's on my radar.

    There's a limit to the watch list, anyway.

    That said, people sometimes miss things. I've seen $300+ items go unsold. it was relisted and went for over 400. I wanted to see what woulld happen but I didn't really want the item because it was an EL hecte and completely off center and worn. I should have bid at least *something* and I would have gotten it.

    But I agree -- I see the same thing all the time with my bids. I genrerally will only bid wholesale or less on an item, unless I REALLY want it.
     
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  3. geekpryde

    geekpryde Husband and Father Moderator

    What is it with coin collectors and cats? :confused:

    Personally I'm a dog person, which makes me a weirdo on this forum. Oh wait, I like CAC, so I was already the local weirdo. :p

    Back on topic, I sometimes places small "marker" bids as others have said, but mostly I just use sniping software to track and bid. Sometimes a coin I am tracking goes way out of my range and I just "delete" my bid in the sniping software and stop tracking it, which works better than having to see alot of failed bids in eBay. If I change my mind on a coin, again, I just delete my bid in the software, no one else is the wiser.

    I do sometimes put in crazy bids for a coin, but it's not pennies. I'll do $333 on a $1500 coin, been doing this for years. Maybe if I do it a 1000 times, I'll eventually get lucky? really takes no time, so there is no down-side.

    p.s. The type of dogs I love are pits, here is one of mine no longer with us:

    Home Pics 193.jpg
     
    mark_h and treylxapi47 like this.
  4. mark_h

    mark_h Somewhere over the rainbow

    Heck - I do this all the time on heritage. Heck - sometimes I even bid 5k or 6k on choice item. I recall there was one of these items I stayed as the high internet bid until the live auction - buy the time they were through I think my bid was about 30% of what it realized. I find it fun and one day like geek I hope I win.

    I have also seen coins get relisted in an auction format and go higher than the last buy it now. I have also seen coins bought, relisted at the auction price + 20 or 30% and sell again. It is also kind of funny to see them sell on heritage and then 3 weeks later they are on ebay marked up 50%.
     
  5. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    Ah, there was a BIN listing on eBay in the last week or so that I wish I'd bookmarked. It was for a few unremarkable coins, BIN at $20 or so, but the description was just a link -- to a completed eBay auction, where the same exact group of coins sold for $8 and change!

    Now, maybe the (current) seller did a nice cherry-pick at $8, and the coins are worth every bit of his asking price. But this just seemed like a really, really ineffective way to sell people on his BIN price...
     
  6. jeffusa

    jeffusa Member

    People that bid like that are called "nibblers" on Ebay.
     
  7. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    Found it:

    RARE Three (3) 1923-S Buffalo Nickel 5 Cent ~ U.S. Coin Lot !! 5c Semi key Dates

    Looks like nobody bit, not even at the $9.95 starting bid.

    You've got to work harder than that if you want to make money buying on eBay and then selling the same stuff on eBay...
     
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