Author Topic: E-bay tips (seriously) (Read 5833 times)

dave_mc · « **on:** February 03, 2008, 06:15:49 PM »

Hi guys,

i'm kinda thinking of buying something on ebay... i guess does anyone have any tips about how to "win" an auction? one of the things i want has no reserve, the other has a reserve which hasn't been reached yet... which is better, to try to snipe it in the last few seconds, or to enter in your maximum bid and hope the proxy bidding does its work?

how safe is it, really? How about paypal? (both items claim to be covered up to a certain amount if you use paypal)

would you buy from someone with 0 feedback? (they have started up an ebay shop, to be fair, and offer 7-day returns, i suspect they're just new, they have pictures of the item etc.)

it's entirely possible I'll chicken out, lol, but I might as well ask to see. As you can probably tell, I'm totally new to ebay, by the way.

Cheers guys. :)

Will · « **Reply #1 on:** February 03, 2008, 06:24:12 PM »

I don't usually set a large maximum bid, but over the course of the auction, bid steadily/manually.

have had issues with paypal, suddenly denied that you have a source registered :?

dave_mc · « **Reply #2 on:** February 03, 2008, 06:27:39 PM »

thanks. :)

what do you mean by "denied that you have a source registered"?

sambo · « **Reply #3 on:** February 03, 2008, 06:29:28 PM »

Definitely best to try and 'snipe' in the last few seconds in my experience. Although if there is very little interest in the item/no bids, then the seller sometimes just withdraws the listing altogether. In the case of a shop I doubt that would ever happen though.

If you are going to try and bid late, best to do it RIGHT at the last minute. Last SECONDS to be precise. Just don't leave it too late. If you're dead serious about winning something, get a stopwatch or something, and sync it with how much time is left on the auction (saves refreshing the page constantly). And then you can time the bid so you hit the button right in the dying moments. Sneaky, eh! :twisted:

I use my dads ebay/paypal account, and never had any problems so far. You're biggest problem is probably getting an arsehole seller. Like the Jackson I won a while ago for a cheap price, (the guy hadn't put a reserve on), and he refused to sell it to me. Other than that, you should have no problems.

The 0 feedback thing I'm not sure. Get in touch with them beforehand, and try and determine their sincerity if you're unsure. Plenty of good pictures is usually a good sign of a genuine seller (as long as the item their depicting is the genuine article of course). If it's a new, private seller, with one picture taken from a website, and a limited product description, then obviously be wary.

Common sense basically. But everyone has to start somewhere, so 0 feedback doesn't mean "uh oh".

Hope that helps somewhat. :D

PoshCollins · « **Reply #4 on:** February 03, 2008, 06:33:49 PM »

I had a 'Jolly' experience getting my latest guitar.

He wanted a minimum bid of about $1000 for something worth a lot less that. When you have a bar-steward like that all you need to do is drop them a mail asking the reserve price.

The guy was rude about it all when I offered him $500 for it (That's a good price considering there was a day to go with my bidding at $300 of which I knew he was gonna re-list it).

The auction ended and he demanded more than than what I bid for it( $750!!).
I had a lil' bet with him that I would let him relist it and whatever the bid went up to I would buy it. And what a result I got! $400 and a negative feedback for him after he/she/it was such a sore loser.

Any other Ebay stories?

dave_mc · « **Reply #5 on:** February 03, 2008, 06:34:33 PM »

EDIT: ^ thanks. :) from what i'm hearing, people seem to have more horror stories of people refusing to sell at the price, rather than being gipped. am i right?

thanks sam, that's a good help.

could someone explain how the sniping works, though? surely, even if i do get in in the last few seconds, if someone else has set their maximum bid as higher than mine, their bid will be updated to be bigger than mine automatically? or am I wrong there?

I know about the 0 feedback... everyone has to start somewhere (i'll have 0, for example). The description seems kinda limited, but he does have about 4 or 5 pictures of said item. and, as i said, the fact the dude has a shop (where he's selling a bunch of band t-shirts as well) seems to suggest he isn't on the gip, but i guess you never know. he seems to have been registered for about 3 months... again doesn't necessarily mean he's on the gip, but hard to say.

PoshCollins · « **Reply #6 on:** February 03, 2008, 06:37:25 PM »

Quote from: dave_mc

EDIT: ^ thanks. :) from what i'm hearing, people seem to have more horror stories of people refusing to sell at the price, rather than being gipped. am i right?

thanks sam, that's a good help.

could someone explain how the sniping works, though? surely, even if i do get in in the last few seconds, if someone else has set their maximum bid as higher than mine, their bid will be updated to be bigger than mine automatically? or am I wrong there?

I know about the 0 feedback... everyone has to start somewhere (i'll have 0, for example). The description seems kinda limited, but he does have about 4 or 5 pictures of said item. and, as i said, the fact the dude has a shop (where he's selling a bunch of band t-shirts as well) seems to suggest he isn't on the gip, but i guess you never know. he seems to have been registered for about 3 months... again doesn't necessarily mean he's on the gip, but hard to say.

I think Sniping is when someone puts a bid in at the very very last second.

What is it your bidding on anyway?

dave_mc · « **Reply #7 on:** February 03, 2008, 06:39:16 PM »

^ thanks. yeah, i know, i meant did sniping beat automatic bidding if someone else has set up automatic bidding with a higher maximum price than my sniped bid?

and i'm (possibly, if i can summon the courage) bidding on some guitars, of course. :)

PoshCollins · « **Reply #8 on:** February 03, 2008, 06:42:59 PM »

Quote from: dave_mc

^ thanks. yeah, i know, i meant did sniping beat automatic bidding if someone else has set up automatic bidding with a higher maximum price than my sniped bid?

and i'm (possibly, if i can summon the courage) bidding on some guitars, of course. :)

No Problem.

I guess if two automatic bidding types are going at it I wonder what will happen :lol:.

Then regarding your request is only one thing you can do. PM the seller and possibly settle it outside of the bid.

I guess the only way to beat the robot is be a robot :P.

Jonny · « **Reply #9 on:** February 03, 2008, 06:47:05 PM »

Quote from: dave_mc

^ thanks. yeah, i know, i meant did sniping beat automatic bidding if someone else has set up automatic bidding with a higher maximum price than my sniped bid?

and i'm (possibly, if i can summon the courage) bidding on some guitars, of course. :)

If I had your Legra, my life would most likely be complete. Most likely. PDT_006

Will · « **Reply #10 on:** February 03, 2008, 06:47:55 PM »

Paypal just decided that there wasn't a bank account(source) linked to it.
Kinda handy when halfway through trying to pay, contacted the seller and explained, sent a cheque.

Crazy_Joe · « **Reply #11 on:** February 03, 2008, 06:52:58 PM »

I just bid in the last 30 seconds and you pretty much guaranteed a win, the only thing that can go wrong is that someone else has a higher maximum bid than you, in that case they win it. But i just put a figure as high as whatever i'm willing to pay for the item in, in the last 30 seconds and usually you win.

PoshCollins · « **Reply #12 on:** February 03, 2008, 06:59:06 PM »

I think it depends on what guitar your going for too.

WezV · « **Reply #13 on:** February 03, 2008, 06:59:47 PM »

i have just has a slightly dubious thing happen on ebay.

i was bidding on a pedal against someone else , it got up to £27 - a fair price for the pedal but my maximum was about £33.. actually i wanted to pay less than that but i must admit to getting caught up in the bidding.

Then i was slightly dissapointed when the item recieved a few more bids in the last half an hour that took it over my max by about 50p.

nothing strage about that i know but Half an hour after its finished i get a second chance offer message from the seller that says

Quote

Hey, thanks for bidding on the pedal. Some bloody new member outbid you and then emailed saying they can't pay! Its still available if you fancy it. If not I can just relist. Regards, Roy

so now i am a bit suspicious. would someone really change their mind so quickly and if they did would they be so quick to let the seller know?

What i really dont like is that the second chance offer came with a price of my maximum bid of £33 rather than the highest real bid of £27.

I know its not much money but it makes me suspicious that the seller was just trying to push the price up by getting another account to bid on the pedal... anyway i am bidding on some other stuff but if i dont get them i may make him a fair offer of £27... dont see why i should pay more than that since no real bidders offered more

Scotty477 · « **Reply #14 on:** February 03, 2008, 07:03:22 PM »

I have a 99.8% (635) feedback rating, which is split 50/50 selling/buying

I would be very careful about 0 feedback sellers - particularly if they are selling high value items.

Also be aware that there is the issue of Cinese sellers punting fake high end guitars. They're usually easy to spot though. A genuine seller is equally easy to recognise imho.

Never get involved in haggling before or after an auction ends. The price that it ends at is all you should be paying and you should know exactly what the shipping cost will be to your address.

If the seller asks for more money or refuses to sell, simply refer them to ebay regulations and ask when the item can be expected to arrive at your address. If the response is the same leave negative feedback outlining why its a negative.

As a buyer I always let the seller leave feedback first