Been bamboozled er..sniped on eBay

Why bid higher than you want to pay? Why not bid as much as you want to pay (and then place your bid near the end of the auction)? Or is that amount with the 20% markup the amount you really want to pay?

 

Hmm . . . good question. I usually ask myself at what price I would walk away if I saw the item in a used CD store. I guess that I add 20% only because I don't like regretting it when the selling price is $1 more than I wanted to pay. You're right though , maybe that is my real max.

I can never wait until the end of an auction. I always forget, especially since auctions typically end during the morning, Tokyo time, when I am actually working.

 

That's why I started using a sniping program. Even though I save things in my eBay, I forget when auctions are ending most of the time. It's not some sinister plot to "bamboozle" anyone. Try it and see.

 

Saves setting your alarm for an auction ending when you are trying to get some "shut-eye".

 

who cares ?

bid your max bid, if you lose it will turn up again. this is ebay after all, another will come along.

 

I agree. The last time I decided that I absolutely had to have an item (partly because in 20 years of buying CD's in Japan, I had never even seen the item before), I stayed up to monitor the auction and won -- but it cost me over $400.

I don't think that there is anything wrong with sniping, though.

 

I am not a fast enough typer and my connection is slow so I do it 20 seconds before. Won a lot of discs at very very cheap prices.

 

All the more reason to use a sniper service, I'd say

 

How safe are they? I really wouldn't trust other people with my ebay ID and password.

 

I've used this auction sniper service for ages and never had any problems.

 

as a matter of fact I have wound up getting stuff for dirt cheap compared to what i would have paid. it pays off to have patience.

 

All those logos at the bottom make it look safe. I guess between those and your lack of issues, it must be safe.

 

Yes, yes - I know.

Helps to be physic, like me.

 

I watch much more than I bid. Know your going prices, and the keywords (significant search terms) that the sellers are using to get those prices.

Then bid on the auctions that are badly identified

I'm far too lazy to watch auctions, for the most part. A sniping service means I don't miss any item even if I'm at work. Or asleep. It's of little use if you're looking (say) for anything cheap to make a few bucks on; for that you really have to be online trolling the sections continuously as I did a couple of years ago for records and electronics. There's some really good BIN deals pop up and it's definitely shoot first or be sorry.