EBay Bid Changes

[Larry]

I haven't bid on anything on Ebay for about 3 months until the other day.
I had put up the only bid on a CM20 by MRC. No one else bid on it till about 55 sec.'s before the close. I had my pointer on Instant Bid waiting for the 10 or 15 sec. grab & found out the hard way that Ebay changed that little item. Now, when you hit instant bid it goes into another page for you to put in the amount of the bid. So, I lost the bid by 35 cents because I didn't know about the change. BUMMER!!!!

 

[lmackattack]

last I recall you put a bid and then clicked "ok" then had to confirm your bid on the next page? been like this for a few years????

 

[julienjj]

The best you can do is contact the user feedback team and tell them you dislike the way its work now. if there is enought imput on this way they will likely do the change.

 

[tooter]

I haven't bid on anything on Ebay for about 3 months until the other day.
I had put up the only bid on a CM20 by MRC. No one else bid on it till about 55 sec.'s before the close. I had my pointer on Instant Bid waiting for the 10 or 15 sec. grab & found out the hard way that Ebay changed that little item. Now, when you hit instant bid it goes into another page for you to put in the amount of the bid. So, I lost the bid by 35 cents because I didn't know about the change. BUMMER!!!!

Hey Larry,

What I do is to open one ebay auction window with the item description and the running clock counting down...

...then open a second ebay auction window of the same item description...

...and enter my bid in that one...

...then let that one advance to the confirm bid page...

...but I don't click on "confirm bid" yet...

...then I go back to the first page and watch the running clock...

..and then click on the second page and hit confirm bid when the time is short...

...and hope for the best.

Greg

 

[Larry]

last I recall you put a bid and then clicked "ok" then had to confirm your bid on the next page? been like this for a few years????

Before when you hit "Instant Bid" it would only go up like 50 cents & it was instant. You didn't have to go into another page to confirm your bid. This has just happened lately. It just makes it harder to get a last minute bid. While your confirming your bid after hitting the Instant button you could lose. I like the old way.

 

[Larry]

Greg,
I'll try that today if I find something I can use. lately there's been so many high priced vehicles on there it takes up space for all the good stuff. LOL

 

[Larry]

There sure has been some good prices on ""HOYardSale"" lately. I bought a brand new in the box Athearn 44-9W SP for $25.00 w/free shipping this week & they shipped it Priority mail. Last nite late there was a whole bunch of Athearns on there for $25.00 ea.
Gp's, Sd's & NIB. Nothing I need though. Most of the guys selling on there take PayPal & MO's, etc.

 

[SRN]

I have never used Instant Bid, but from your description of events, it sounds like it is no longer "Instant."

It doesn't surprise me. They change stuff on that site for no apparent reason, and not always for the better. Ebay exists today as a successful business only because it was first and managed to get a death grip on the market.

I use Tooter's method, myself.

 

[Rico]

I do the same as Greg, if it's something I have to have.
Otherwise I just put in a high bid and hope for the best.
I've tried to join that yardsale thing but keep getting rejected.

 

[ianacole]

I take the bid and forget approach: I bid the maximum amount that I am willing to pay with shipping, and walk away. If I win, great, if not, it will pop up again.

 

[tankist]

that's how i remember it working. i was also under impression that it was supposed to be instant. lost auction the only time i tried to use the feature. now i just open two windows, one to monitor the item and one for the bid in last 2-3 seconds.

 

[Dougget]

I'm the same way. I really don't want to get caught up in last second bidding. Bid and forget works for me. Sometimes it really works well... I recently bought a Dupont tanker car (new in box) for $0.01. Yes, one penny. Plus $5 shipping. But still, a brand new tanker for $5. Not a bad deal.

Having said that, I've lost many more auctions than I've won...

Oh well, it's fun to play
Doug

 

[D94R]

Two solutions:

Either set your max bid high enough you're still happy if you hit that mark and let Ebay up your bid for you.

Or

Use one of the many programs out side of Ebay that will bid at the last second for you. This sometimes helps to keep bids low since you won't be doing bid battles until the last few seconds possibly, then there isn't enough time to raise the price with multiple bids (if the other people are upping the bids by the minimum).


I use both ways, and never let emotional bidding take over for me. I set my limit and stick to it. I usually come way under what I'm willing to pay for items.

 

[I_luv_bridges]

I think there are other people like me, that are willing to pay more than their maximum bid once the auction comes close to the end.

Many times I have upped my max bid for an iem I really wanted.

Now I never even enter a bid until the last two seconds of the auction.

Bidding your maximum amount too soon may cause the price to raise higher than it would of had you put in your max bid close to the end of the auction, where a the high bidder thinks he has already won.

 

[SRN]

Now I never even enter a bid until the last two seconds of the auction.

You must have a really fast Internet connection. I have pushed it to five seconds, but never have attempted two.

I did fumble finger once and slid in at the very last second to win. I've always wondered if any other bidders noticed that. Some people get really upset with sniping.

Bidding your maximum amount too soon may cause the price to raise higher than it would of had you put in your max bid close to the end of the auction, where a the high bidder thinks he has already won.

Yes, sniping saves you money in the end. A couple of Italian college professors did a study on it and proclaimed it a technique that really does work.

 

[Larry]

I have won a few bids in the last few seconds. Once I did it & thought I had lost, but the other person must not have been using the Instant Bid like I was & he/she lost to me.
Before the starting prices got so high last year I won a lot of real nice engines in the last 5 to 15 seconds in the 25 to 35 dollar range. I won a Atlas new switcher for $35.00 around midnite & there were about 25 bidders. The seller had started out at 99 cents, which was awfully low for this engine. After I won it the seller Emailed me & said I was real lucky to get it at the low price. The other nite about 11pm I got an Atlas switcher for 20 bucks & it had free shipping. they only made $10.00 after shipping.
I've been pretty lucky at getting stuff at low ball prices. Even the stuff from China that I had got free shpg. before they started charging for shipping.
Now, the prices are way to high on the good stuff. I've noticed lately that the Matchbox vehicles that can be bought at WM for $4.97 are getting $15 & up. I guess people don't know you can get the stuff at WM.

 

[julienjj]

if you are willing to take some chanc.e, using a sniping software might help you bid closer to the end, i did it few times and had good result (at 2 sec !!!), but once my computer crashed during the night and didnt bid.

 

[diburning]

Hmm, the 1-click bid works fine for me. I tend to snipe because I tend to get stuff at low prices that way.

 

[dgwinup]

Sniping is the best way to get the items you want at the price you're willing to pay. Some people don't like sniping, but that's because they don't want to use it themselves. They claim is gives someone an "unfair" advantage. Tough cookies! Snipe 'em right back and quit complaining! LOL

if you are willing to take some chanc.e, using a sniping software might help you bid closer to the end, i did it few times and had good result (at 2 sec !!!), but once my computer crashed during the night and didnt bid.

You must not be using a good sniping program. All the ones I know about don't keep your snipe bid on your computer; it is stored on their server. You shouldn't have to have your computer on at all. You definitely don't need to be there to watch it unless you just can't wait to see if you won. And with sniping, you'll win a lot.

I snipe all the time, often when I'm already the high bidder. Keeps those last second watchers from beating me out for a nickel! My snipe program won't bid if I already have the high bid so I'm never bidding against myself. Most of the time, though, I don't have a bid on the item and no one knows I'm going to be bidding, not even the seller.

I've done the two windows approach a few times and won sometimes but I like the sniping better. I can snipe with my highest bid without effecting the auction bidding. Too many times I put in a bid with my highest amount, only to lose by the bid increment.

I don't bid higher than I'm willing to pay for an item. If I don't win, no big deal. The same item will come around again sometime.

Previous posters have noted the higher opening prices recently. I agree, opening prices seem to have gone up. There are fewer bargains on e-Bay any more. They're still there, but you have to search for them.

My opinions. I'm sure others disagree.

Darrell, quiet...for now

 

[Larry]

I finally got the 1 click bid to work. Thanks for all of the comments, but, keep going. Gives us all idea's how to beat the other guy.