How to Win eBay Auctions?

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by midas1, May 12, 2020.

  1. medoraman

    medoraman Supporter! Supporter

    Wow, not a good article about sniping at all sir. Ask around here what sniping services people use. The 4 in that article seem very expensive. I wonder if they pay money to be placed in that article.
     
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  3. midas1

    midas1 Exalted Member

    "The 4 in that article seem very expensive. I wonder if they pay money to be placed in that article."

    I don't know the answer to that. The Snipe thing is new to me.

    Just lost two more auctions by .50cents. I'm learning I guess.
     
    Last edited: May 17, 2020
  4. midas1

    midas1 Exalted Member

  5. Derrick Combs

    Derrick Combs Well-Known Member

    You wait until the 3 seconds left is changing to 2 seconds left. You drop your max bid right then. If you're there highest at the end you win. I never bid before then ever. Then there is no time to frenzy. I've lost things I should have ever higher on. But I once won by .01 literally. You win some you lose some
     
  6. midas1

    midas1 Exalted Member


    That's been working a lot of times. This morning I won an auction at 3:46am and lost a couple at 8:30am. The lack of sleep is getting tiresome. (pun intended). I've got to use a sniper because I'm participating in way too many auctions. Got at least three more this evening. Just lost another by .50cents.
     
  7. bradgator2

    bradgator2 Well-Known Member

    But you have no idea what their max bid was. You might have lost by 50 cents.... but they could have wanted it WAY more and their max bid was WAY higher.

    If my max is 40 bucks. I’ll do a max bid of $40.45 or something in the last few seconds. You win some, you lose some.
     
    Etcherman and midas1 like this.
  8. midas1

    midas1 Exalted Member

    I just bought an antique stock certificate offered by eBay that was not on auction it was offered at a fixed price, however several people were "watching" the certificate. What does that mean? Does that mean the price is negotiable? Why was it being watched? I didn't want it to get away I bought it at the offered price.
     
  9. bradgator2

    bradgator2 Well-Known Member

    Many reasons to watch something. You might want to compare items. You might want to take a closer look later. You might be selling something similar and want to track the price of this one. You might want to buy it next week when you get paid.

    I have had terrific luck lately with the seller making ME an offer on something I was watching of theirs.
     
  10. Lehigh96

    Lehigh96 Toning Enthusiast

    I use Gavelsnipe.
     
    midas1 likes this.
  11. midas1

    midas1 Exalted Member

    C_arizona mining.jpg OK, I "watched" a list of certificates. My plan was to bundle a group of certificates then contact the seller to see if he would cut me a pkg deal for shipping and a cut on the bulk order price. I couldn't figure out how to retrieve my "watched list." The one certificate was so unique and w/ the "watchers" I didn't want to take a chance on losing it I bought it. Ouch.
     
    Last edited: May 17, 2020
    imrich likes this.
  12. midas1

    midas1 Exalted Member

    I'll check it out.
    Thanks
     
  13. midas1

    midas1 Exalted Member

    "I have had terrific luck lately with the seller making ME an offer on something I was watching of theirs."

    I noticed that w/ a few cameras. Good tip. I won't be so anxious next time.
     
  14. White Ger. Shep. Lover

    White Ger. Shep. Lover Well-Known Member

    Yep, it's what I do. My "max bid" minus 15% is the way I roll on these auctions. I do not win that many, but in the whole scheme of things, that's not such a bad thing. You should be winning only about 3-5% of the ebay auctions that you enter. Anything more than that and you are most likely bidding too much. The only drawback with waiting until the final few seconds is getting shut out due to technical difficulties beyond your control. Rekindles memories from a few years ago. Late night auction on a beautifully NT 15-S Lincoln, looked dead red.....actually RB.....torn between 62-63.....seller was not a coin person......most of their items were clay animal figurines, dolls, charm bracelets and other "exciting" trinkets. Anyway, things were setting up very nicely for a great deal. I couldn't believe the weak action on this coin. With only 1 minute remaining, only $85 had been bid. I popped in my bid of.......think it was like $320 with 5 seconds left and my screen froze.....I must have whacked my bid button 20 times in those 5 seconds, but there was nothing I could do. The winning bid was only $183. It was kind of like having that trophy sized muskie right on up to the boat and then having your line snap just as you're about to net him.
     
    -jeffB and midas1 like this.
  15. midas1

    midas1 Exalted Member

  16. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    To do what account for non existent buyers fees on eBay or to account for the free shipping that almost everyone does on the site?

    To win 5% or less of bids you have to bid on a minimum of 20 things. Any win below that is above 5%.

    That's fine if that's how someone wants to do it, but by no means should that be presented to someone as how they should be doing things.
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2020
    medoraman likes this.
  17. imrich

    imrich Supporter! Supporter

    I suggest the best tool is your educated brain in conjunction with the advanced eBay function disclosing past sales on their system.

    JMHO
     
    midas1 likes this.
  18. Jim Dale

    Jim Dale Well-Known Member

    I didn't read all of the messages, but I have two thoughts. My first thought is about sniping. When ebay was young and I was interested in certain type of vinyl recordings, I would bid on them, then I would watch that item. It was in the last nanoseconds a bid would cut me off and I would lose. I got a buddy that taught me how to snipe, but that was a long time ago. My other item is that about 40 years ago, I bought a Canon AE-1 Program 35mm camera, which was one of the best at the time. I had zoom lens and flash attachments and I loved it. It is now sitting in a camera bag. Now I can take pictures from my telephone or a small digital camera and get pictures that I don't have to do as much as I used to. Lack of interest, I guess. Now it is coins. Oh well!
     
  19. LA_Geezer

    LA_Geezer Well-Known Member

    Precisely why it is crucial that one uses a sniper. My sniper places the bid at 1 second left on the auction. Using a tool that posts a counter bid microseconds later would have to include an algorithm that evaluated a sniper's bid as the sniper would not have time to react.

    If a sniping tool is used correctly, it can assure the sniper that he will either win or not, depending on how other bidders have conducted their own bids. Knowing that others are usually conservative with their bids, a sniper will be successful if his snipe is set at or just below FMV.
     
  20. midas1

    midas1 Exalted Member

    "Precisely why it is crucial that one uses a sniper. My sniper places the bid at 1 second left on the auction.. . "

    What is the name of the sniper you use?
     
  21. erscolo

    erscolo Well-Known Member

    I avoid bidding for something. I have done it twice, and won both times (a Pioneer reel to reel tape deck and a mint state Washington Quarter), but find that I have gotten better coins and other items buying for the stated price or best offer price.
     
    midas1 likes this.
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