Ebay

[jennyjoan]

I am bidding on an item I would like to get - there are 11 bidders and the bid will be finished at 8.33 - on Friday night.

Is there a sneaky beaky way I can get it. you know you waiting for the last minute - the minute ticks into seconds and you have to jump into that last second. Any wee tips you could give me

[Buenchico]

'Sniping' (i.e. using special software or web-based systems to get last minute bids in) isn't officially allowed by eBay but it's impossible for them to stop it.

I've never used any of the sniping services myself, so I can't recommend any particular one but several review sites suggest that Gixen might be worth a try:
https://www.gixen.com/index.php
(Gixen is a rarity in that it's genuinely free. Most other sites expect you to pay a monthly subscription, even if they advertise themselves as being free).

[jennyjoan]

oh no Chris - I am sure there are people who do that - but no I'll just go through the procedure as quick as I am - and if I get it - I get it - and if I don't - I won't be crying anyhow lol

[bainbrig]

The easiest way is obvious. Rather than thinking “how cheaply can I get this?”, think “How much would I be HAPPY to pay for this?”

Then put in a bid for THAT amount. So if the item is £5 and you’d be happy paying £20,bid £20.

Then forget about it. If you get it for £20 or less, you should be happy!

[hc4361]

I always use sniping software - it avoids a bidding war and if the item and ensures I never pay more than I'm happy to. If I'm outbid, so be it. I'm not always able to put a bid in at the last minute so I use JustSnipe

https://justsnipe.com/signin

[bainbrig]

Just to say that the 'sniping' software doesn't do any more than I suggested above - you only pay the maximum bid (i.e. you DON'T pay the £20 unless the bidding gets up that far). If the item goes for say £10, and no-one else bids £10, you get it on the basis of your maximum bid.

BB

[jennyjoan]

BB yes I plan to up my max - absolutely no interest in sniping.com - have lived here too long with too many snipers so sniper is a dirty word to me.

[horseshoes]

I collect postcards of my hometown, and the ones I DON'T have are now pretty rare; if they do appear on eBay, I do exactly as Bainbrig says, and I put in my highest bid, as much as I'm happy to pay, usually around £25. It usually works for me, but even at that price, I have lost out on a couple of occasions.

[hc4361]

horseshoes, if you were to put your bid in during the last few seconds of the auction, whether manually or by sniping software, it might stop other bidders upping their bids to outbid you.

[pastafreak]

I decide what I want to pay...then put my bid in at the final 9 second mark. If I get it, great. If not...well I didn't want to pay any more anyway.

[Old_Geezer]

There may still be sniping software out there sometime. Going back a fair while I used one that ran on my PC. Saved giving details to some external server. I saved some poor sots from buying stuff that wasn't worth buying, but was never thanked.

[Ryzen]

Use sniping software or decide what you want to pay and bid 4 seconds from the end.Do not bid before the end as this gives others chance to consider a higher offer and only goes to up the price for everyone.

[bainbrig]

Jennyjoan. Sorry you’ve been close to troubles; hopefully these days it’s more peaceful.

One advantage of upping your maximum and walking away is that you never get involved in auction fever - unless you like the ‘rush’ - I prefer a quiet life, and I suspect you do too...

BB

[jennyjoan]

Well - I won't be bidding tonight after all. Just looked at the highest bidder amount + the postage - sorry but you could buy this item at that price.

No I'll keep on looking.

[bainbrig]

Jennyjoan. Wise woman. Often things on ebay are cheaper on Amazon! Nowadays I always look at both sites before deciding where to put me money. (Recent example: Simple soap liquid, 6 for £6 on Amazon, £4.50 EACH on ebay!)

[hc4361]

You need to shop around more than eBay and Amazon. I have found Tesco Direct, Argos and independent shops cheaper for some things than either of those two giants.

So easy to shop around online.

[bainbrig]

But few others will deliver a £5 item, will they?