For some unknown reason, I like coins in lucite. I have different sizes and shapes with various denominations and countries. I saw one that was different with .99 cent start, $4.95 buy-it-now. Well, I figured nobody else would want it so I waited. A bid came in and the BIN disappeared. Figuring the other guy was cheap like me, I put in a bid at $5 but it wasn't enough. Three hours later with 15 seconds to go, I bid $10 and it wasn't enough. With just a couple seconds left I shot off a bid of $12 and won at $11.50. If only I had just paid the $4.95 at the beginning I would have been spared a few bucks and a lot of effort. Anybody else want to share a story where you shot yourself in the foot? Thought you guys might enjoy my minor tale of cheapness and woe. Here are sellers pics.
In my experience NEVER PRE-BID. If you want something never let anybody else know you are out there. Watch the auction and bid in the last few seconds. If somebody else wants it they will jump over your pre-bid and are always ready to bid again thinking you or somebody else is out there. I call this technique, DROPPING THE BOMB.
I had an incident kind of like it, but not to me,(trust me I have made tons of mistakes just not this one). A dealer has mispriced a coin. I was looking at other coins at his table, and as soon as I saw this coin someone else picked out I knew the dealer made a mistake. So did the dealer apparently, but he is a good guy and was going to honor the price. The buyer, though, got greedy and tried to get an $800 coin for less than the $260 price listed. The buyer asked if the dealer would take $220, the dealer looked at the coin, said No, and put the coin in his pocket. The buyer then asked to buy it at $260, but the seller said he would have honored that price if the buyer had just paid it, but the counteroffer nullified the dealer's original $260 price. Sometimes if its a bargain as is, just pay the listing price.
>So, let's suppose that you have a dozen or more items that end within seconds of each other. Do you use a hydrogen bomb? No, the best method is to use a sniping service because you "set it and forget it". You never, never want to get involved in a bidding war resulting in paying more than you intended. That's for bidiots! >If there is an item that you really want, contact the seller and make him/her a reasonable offer. It doesn't matter if there is a BIN or Make Offer or whatever. All they can do is say "No!" I used this technique many, many times for a single item to as many as 44 items from the same seller, and it never failed me. >If you just want to try and get something "for cheap" then you shouldn't complain if you lose. Chris
Not at all, just felt dumb enough to share. If I really screw up, I probably won't start a thread about it.
Eh, I would. Come on, we are all coin friends here. I feel comfortable enough to admit my errors in front of you guys as much as successes. I bought a really pretty Sicilian bronze a few months ago at an auction that ended up being a fake. My friends here helped me find that out and get a refund. We all make mistakes. Anyone who collects coins and say they have never made a mistake probably means they do not know enough yet to realize the mistakes they made.
Even if you bid in the last few seconds, the other bidder can have sniping software and you are going to be outbid most times.
Wait, so a seller with an auction with a bid on it can cancel a BIN even if bids are already placed? It doesn't lock out the option to cancel the BIN?
That's my whole point. Somebody bid the .99c start so the BIN option disappeared and I was stuck bidding against the other guy. If I just pulled the trigger on the BIN instead of waiting to try and get it for .99c, I would have saved time, money and effort.
How did it disappear. I would think it would be locked in once a bid was placed so the seller can't change the BIN number or delete it similar to how the description is locked in. I could be wrong though. I've never received a bid and though "I have to go delete the BIN now"
If there's a buy it now and the item has sold for at or less in the past with "sufficient" quantities, then you should always BIN. Otherwise, bid at the last second what your maximum would be, and you'll pay the second bidder's price + up to the next increment. There's your best strategy.
Since I don't sell on the bay I don't know if there is a seller's posting option not to kill it, but anytime that I have placed an opening bid it automatically killed the BIN.
I made the mistake of dropping a bid on a coin when I should have waited for the last seconds of the listing. It ended up costing me double what my initial bid was.
I'm guilty having done this before as well. I also sometimes find it amazing how many people will bid up certain items like mint sets in auction way above what other sellers are offering them at lesser BIN prices when there's nothing special about them.
Also I have had a best offer submitted and someone used the BIN option. Tried to save a few bucks and lost the coin.
