Ebay

[AbbaDJ]

Why oh why do people bid for things days in advance on Ebay?

[Oneeyedvic]

Why not? I always do.

 

My reasoning is that I am prepared to pay a certain price for a product and will bid accordingly. Either I get it at a price I am willing to pay, or  I don't get it as I have been outbid.

 

Pretty simple really.

[stranger_uk]

I agree. If you know the maximum amount that you are prepared to pay, and not concerned about losing if the final amount exceeds your maximum, then you can bid  in advanced. I guess it's partly convenience - post your maximum and check at the end to see if you're in there or not.

[souldriver]

I agree with the above.  If I see something i want with no bids yet, starting at 99p then i bid somethhing like �10.  Then keep my fingers that no one else out bids me and i get it at a low price.  If i do get out priced then good luck to the winner i will look at other similar items. 

[cherrybomb]

Hasn't anyone heard of shill bidding? Why put your max bid on at the start of the auction and let dodgy sellers using other name's take the price up slowly making you the buyer pay more. At the end of the auction if the item is still below your max, bid then and you could be getting a bargain. If you suspect shill bidding do a search on the bidders user name to find out what sellers items they have been bidding on for the last month; sometimes it's so obvious it's hilarious. 

[Oneeyedvic]

Yes, I am aware what schill bidding is - but it is irrelevant. If I deem something is worth �10.00, I put in a bid for �10.00 bacuase that is what I think it is worth. If it goes for less, then bonus, but I still don't mind paying �10.00.

[Ray the DJ]

I agree, it does seem silly to waste a bid by bidding to early.  It's odds on that your bid will be beaten. 
But, if you're the seller, you want the bidding to start as soon as possible.

[Yanet77]

I like bidding at the end AbbaDJ, makes it much more exciting when you can outbid someone who's been winning the auction all week.... ;)

[AbbaDJ]

I have to agree with yanet77's response - it's all well & good putting in the price you're willing to pay at the very start on the auction, but by doing that you've shown you're hand & are 99% more likely to get outbid. I understand the concept of Ebay, but the excitment is definitely in the final few minutes when you shaft someone who's watched it from day one!

[d0gsb0dy]

I'm a scumbag. I use a sniping programme that puts in a bid 15 seconds before the end of the auction. :)

[Oneeyedvic]

got to say you are stupid then. By bidding at the end, all you are doing is spending more than you want to. If you think somehting is worth �10.00, then will you pay �11.00 for it? If I have bid �10.00 at the beginnning of the auction, if you bid �10.00 at the end, you will lose.

The only way you will win is if you bid �10.50 which is more than I would be prepared to pay.

 

It really isn't difficult, tricky or clever. It's an auction.

[AbbaDJ]

In a pickle - but if you've put your max bid in & only you & Ebay know what it is, as soon as someone puts in a bid, that is lower, they automatically get an email saying they have been outbid - so surely if you wanted the item you would just keep upping your bid until (providing it was within your budget) you were the highest bidder? 

[Yanet77]

Oneeyedvic, i think it's a bit harsh for you to call other people "stupid" just because you don't agree with their answer. Ebay is an auction site and half the fun, in my opinion, is to try and outbid other people on something that you want. Sometimes, as you say, it can be a little risky as you may go over your maximum bid by... oh i don't know... 50p?! (eek!) Nobody said it was difficult or tricky, people are just answering AbbaDJ's question by giving their opinons on the subject, there's really no need to question other people's intelligence is there?

[Oneeyedvic]

Firstly, apologies if I have caused offense.

Personally, if something is in a shop for �10.00, I think someone is stupid if they give the shopkeeper �10.50.

This is what people are doing if they are bidding at the last minute.

If you wan tto 'shaft' somebody by bidding in the last few minutes, then go ahead. You are simply paying more than the other person is prepared to pay. As I said - pretty simple stuff really.

[Le'Grank]

How about you all just get a life....????