eBay

hyunjaenaru · ‎05-31-2013

I came across a beautifull Japanese doll that is unfortunately an auction (or maybe not unfortunately) and this is my first time bidding on an item.
I've read up on bidding and sniping and different techniques I could use to somewhat make sure I could win the bid but I have a bit of a 'problem' and a few questions I'd like to ask as well.
The problem is, well there's someone else bidding on the item but this person is really frustrating because I've seen them bid on many other auctions of antique Japanese dolls from the same seller as well as different sellers and they tend to really drive the price up by bidding early (luckily in my case aside from this 'annoying' bidder there isn't anyone else that I know of)

To combat this, I was thinking of sniping at the last few minutes because I really really want the doll but I don't also want to pay too much But I have a few questions

1) Can you still use the ebay proxy biding system within the last few minutes of an auction? because I read that it doesn't matter when you bid but the highest bid usually wins so technically speaking if I had the highest bid and I put it in , let's say 2-4 minutes before the auction closes and by chance the other bidder counteracts, would the proxy system take over for me and keep bidding until it reaches my maximum? (I did research and kind of found out the range their maximum tends to be)

And also
2) Could I put my max bid as an amount I'm not really willing to pay, sort of like a 'fake' or 'dishonestly' higher than what my real max bid is so that I can ensure winning? And if I do do this, given that I put it in at the last few minutes would I then pay the second highest price (Which would hopefully be low given that the other bidder had the illusion they were winning and didn't have enough time to drive the price up) or would I have to pay my max bid I stated?

reallynicestamps · ‎05-31-2013

Yes, you can 'snipe' at the last minute. You have to have confidence however in your high bid, because there can be delays and you may be bidding against sniping programs.

DH uses "esnipe.com". I'm not sure on the details, but basically after you work out your maximum bid, you give it to the company and they bid for you at the very last second.

There may be a charge for this. And don't forget to work out your actual cost with shipping-- especially with the recent introduction of the Global Shipping Program for US sellers, which can greatly increase what you think your shipping will be.

The advantage is that you can be asleep and the program bids for you. Also you can't run into the basic problem with the "ridiculous bid" which is that there could be someone who is insane enough to bid almost as much as the "ridiculous bid".

So if you want to spend no more than $100, and the shipping is $25 , then you log into esnipe and bid $75 for the last two seconds of the auction. If the next highest bid is $63.01, you win at $64.01. If the highest bid is $101.01, someone else wins at $76.

BTW, if the Global Shipping Program is involved your shipping may be $50 instead of $25, because it will include a fee to Pitney Bowes, duty and sales tax. If only USPS and Canada Post are involved this will be substantially lower (and sometimes the postie doesn't bother with trying to collect, but don't count on it.)

hyunjaenaru · ‎06-01-2013

Sorry I Forgot to mention that the item was coming from Japan So I'm not sure if the Global Shipping Program would apply? 😧 I Hope it doesn't!! I live in Canada so if I do win the item I think just Sal or Japan post and Canada post would be involved

And Thank you but I didn't want to use ensipe or some other third party program to 'snipe' I meant to say I wanted to manually snipe if that was possible but wanted to know if the ebay proxy system (where once you make a maximum bid ebay goes in and keeps bidding on your behalf if someone else bids higher than you to make sure you're on top) Would work in the case of 'sniping'

hyunjaenaru · ‎06-01-2013

I'm sorry for the second message but as you said Reallynicestamps

"So if you want to spend no more than $100, and the shipping is $25 , then you log into esnipe and bid $75 for the last two seconds of the auction. If the next highest bid is $63.01, you win at $64.01. If the highest bid is $101.01, someone else wins at $76."

Does this mean If I do win I have to pay what the other bidders maximum bid was? or what their highest bid in the auction was?

And now I'm a little confused also because Ebay said that you only pay the second highest price and I thought this meant the second highest bid price instead of the second highest maximum price

referring to your example like you said if the highest bid is around 101$ would it be that the other person doesn't have to pay 76$ but actually lower because by the time two minutes pass by there isn't enough time for ebay to really bid on my behalf so to speak?

pjcdn2005 · ‎06-01-2013

if I had the highest bid and I put it in , let's say 2-4 minutes before the auction closes and by chance the other bidder counteracts, would the proxy system take over for me and keep bidding until it reaches my maximum? (I did research and kind of found out the range their maximum tends to be)

Yes the system would take over and increase your bid if someone else was bidding against you.

2) Could I put my max bid as an amount I'm not really willing to pay, sort of like a 'fake' or 'dishonestly' higher than what my real max bid is so that I can ensure winning? And if I do do this, given that I put it in at the last few minutes would I then pay the second highest price (Which would hopefully be low given that the other bidder had the illusion they were winning and didn't have enough time to drive the price up) or would I have to pay my max bid I stated?

You would pay the maximum bid that you won with. The bids go up in increments...I'm not sure what they all are but let's say that in this case the increment is $2.50 and the current bid was $50. You put in your maximum bid of $100 and the bid would go to $52.50. If the auction ended then, that's what you would pay. But it's possible that another bidder is using a proxy as well so it might raise the bid to $55 and it would keep going until the auction is over or until one bidder's maximum had been reached. If the other person's maximum was $90 and there was time for the program to put $92.50...you would win and pay $92.50. If the auction ended before your last bid was put in, the other bidder would win and pay $90.

I hope that helps.

I don't think it is a good idea to put in a fake number...put in the maximum that you want to pay.

reallynicestamps · ‎06-02-2013

Fortunately at this time only US sellers can use the Global Shipping Program. I think it was instituted because US sellers are very challenged by details like some people don't live in the USA (because everyone knows that Hawai'i is a small town in Kenya, right?)

Canadian and overseas sellers are more sophisticated about geography, foreign currencies and shipping.

Just sayin'

lacemaker3 · ‎06-22-2013

2) Could I put my max bid as an amount I'm not really willing to pay, sort of like a 'fake' or 'dishonestly' higher than what my real max bid is so that I can ensure winning?

There's a term for this -- it's called "nuclear bidding". The problem with doing that, is if another bidder also snipes the auction, then you could end up winning for more than you are really willing to pay -- that would create big problems for you (and no one to blame but yourself).

Other bidders sniping happens a lot, actually. I snipe all auctions that I bid on, and I frequently find that other users are also sniping -- most of the time, I win, because I always do a true snipe -- I bid the maximum amount I am willing to pay. But, I have encountered nuclear bidders a few times -- they waste the seller's time and money because they refuse to pay their legal obligation. As a matter of principle, I will not take a second chance offer if there was a nuclear bid on the listing -- that isn't fair to me.

If you win and refuse to pay, then you would get an Unpaid Item strike. If you get 2 or more of those, most sellers will block from buying or bidding on their items, so your eBay buying would be extremely limited.