any tips for first time e-bay bidder

[Smiley]

saw something I liked and wanted to know if you all had any tips to being a succesfull bidder. thanks

[larryp2]

decide the maximum you want to spend. bid that amount when there is about 30 seconds left in the auction. you'll tend to get your item at a lower bid as others will be unable to respond to your maximum in that time frame.

[EPOJoe]

Ditto what LarryP2 said. It's always best to wait till the end of the auction so you don't needlessly drive up the price and excite other bidders. Just be careful you don't get so excited during last minute bidding that you type in your user ID incorrectly, realize you now only have twenty seconds left, try typing it in again, only to misspell it a second time, then freeze up, paralyzed with excitement and fear that you won't be able to get the bid in on time. Sounds silly, but I've been there more than once :) Also, try to avoid sellers with low feedback ratings, listings with no photos, or listings showing only catalog shots of items. There are a whole lot of great sellers out there, but these days it seems like there's an equivalent amount of scam artists.

[sellsworth]

I find that there are very few good deals to be had for bikes and bike parts on eBay. Do any of you agree?

[Doc Hollywood]

Ebay is a cult. There are people that make their living on eBay. Others basically "live" there. It's huge!! One man's junk is another man's treasure. I just sold some very used ski bindings $10.00 that I bought almost 20 years ago for $100. The were top of the line. I wanted to keep them, but the ski shop that I use wouldn't mount them because they were "too old", so I put them up on eBay and asked a $1.00. Several people bid on them. Turns out the person who bought them from me needed the back piece of the binding because their's broke. It was great for him becasue the bindings work great and now he can use his again without buying new stuff.

My approach on buying on eBay is decide on a maximum, bid with the proxy feature, forget it until the auction ends. Don't get caught up in the last minute bid thing or try to "snipe" in the last 10 seconds. Ifyou play that game, you always end up paying more than you really should. Don't forget to ask questions BEFORE you bid. For big ticket items, don't send a personal check or money order, negotiate a CC or Paypal transaction. Feedback rating is good, but don't let it rule your decision process. I bought some computer software from a guy who had a great rating only to get stiffed, I filed eBay fraud, but they nver did anything. I also filed US Mail fraud, and that went nowhere also. The USPS has bigger fish to fry.

If something isn't right or feel right with the auction, it probably isn't. I would say over 98% of the people on eBay are honest and decent. It's the other 2% that you have to be careful to avoid.

Doc

[EPOJoe]

Sellsworth,
Deals, on anything, on eBay, generally only occur on items that are incorrectly listed or which are so obscure, there are very few others looking for that item. Also, now with the "Buy It Now" feature, there's a chance of getting a deal on an item as long as the Buy It Now price has been set without a knowledge of actual value and you're the first one to see the auction. Anomalies do occur, and occasionally you can get a great price on something when for some reason or another, bidders just don't seem to be there, and the seller hasn't protected themselves with an adequate reserve. The strong point of eBay isn't in finding bargains, but rather in being able to find items that simply would be very, very difficult to turn up in any other way. It can also give you the ability to purchase an item that's been previously used at a significant savings over new, and this can be a sort of "bargain" in itself. For the real bargains, I'd head for the garage sales and flea markets :banana:

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . because I have found some very good deals on eBay. They are usualy not for “popular” stuff, though, but instead for niche type items I am interested in, particularl stuff I never got around to buying in the catalogs because it was just too high.

Examples . . .

• Pearl Izumi Vortex shoes--the ones with the red and yellow flames on them--$49 (originally about $130)

• Bell Evo2 helmet in yellow--$35 ($80-90?)

• Festina titanium chronograph watch--$45 ($200)

• Back Yard Burgers A-Tex winter jacket--$50 (I contacted the seller and subsequently got jersey, bibs, vest, A-tex gloves, and cap, all for $100)

• Cannondale Black Lightning jersey and bibs for $90 ($170 in the Velogear catalog)

These are all NEW items, most with original boxes, tags, or bags.

I have found there are some great deals, but the other guys are right. Decide what you are willing to spend and don’t vary. Don’t bid on something unless you can “snipe” it in the last 15 seconds and never bid unless you can be sitting right there at the computer when the auction ends. I open one window to view the item, open another and place my bid to the “bid confirmation” page, then time it with a stopwatch and then just hit the button to launch the missiles. I’ve gotten it down to 5 seconds before, but now usually hit at about 15 seconds because I’ve found that sometimes the eBay clock hiccups and I miss the end by a few seconds.

I also never get too emotionally attached to an item. If I lose, no big deal. There will always be something else in the future. You can find just about ANYTHING on eBay if you keep looking. It’s also great for picking up clothing from smaller clubs around the country so you can show up at your club ride in something nobody else has--if you are into that kind of thing. (And I am!)

Conversely, if you are selling and want to frustrate snipers, time your bid to end between 3-6am Sunday morning, when everyone is either asleep or hung over!

Go get ‘em, Smiley! I look forward to seeing you in some cool new eBay duds when I come down in April!

BBDave--*Master*Sniper*

[Keith A]

Plenty of good information has already been provided. But I'll reiterate a couple of points and add a few of my own...

• Don't get emotionally attached to the item -- you'll end up spending too much on it if you do.

• Read the sellers feedback to get a feel for who you are dealing with. Also check out how long he as been on eBay, so you know if he/she has some experience.

• Look at the previous auctions for the same item to find out what the going price is on eBay.

• If this is an item that is still in production and can be bought retail or mail-order -- check out these prices. I see people paying more than mail-order all the time on eBay. Here's a perfect example on a set of Dura-Ace cranks (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3659268250&category=56195) that went for $182.50 plus shipping. I've seen these for $169 quite often and Jensen has them for this price right now.

• One thing I almost always do (especially if the item is more costly one) is to ask the seller a question about it. I like to see what kind of response I get from the seller -- such as how long did it take them to respond and what was the tone of their message. There have been a couple of times, that the seller was a smart a$$ and so I decided I didn't want to deal with purchasing an tem from that person. If it is obvious that the seller is a business, then I typically won't send them a question unless I really need to find out more information.

• Use your head and not your heart!

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . particularly about the feedback. I think twice--then a third time--before bidding on anything from any seller with zero feedback.

Also a good point on checking mail order prices. I just got a jersey from ProBikeKit for $20 ($32 with shipping) that I am seeing for $40-50 buy it now on eBay.

I have also had that same experience with asking questions. It's amazing how often sellers go to great lengths to describe clothing, then leave out info about the size!

BBDave

[gt6267a]

i think there are many good points so far in this post. my .02 is that i find the deals happen on higher priced items that are slightly used where a wholesale/retail value is hard to determine. i.e. it is rare to get a deal on a 2002-3 bike, but very likely to get a deal on something from 97-98.

[zap]

:) my friend.

I agree with everything BumbleBee has stated. Set your limit and snipe if the price hasn't climbed past your limit.

When sniping, you might want to bid a maximum to prevent software snipers from out bidding you to easily. For example, if the current bid is $90 and increases in $1 increments, you might want to place a maximum bid of $95 in the last 10-15 seconds. Your bid will go up to $91 until someone bids higher but they will need to bid more than $95 to beat you. This is one of a few strategies.

Have fun.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . with:

Doc--I have had exactly the opposite experience. As long as you practice self-discipline and snipe it, you will usually both get the item you want AND get it for the lower price. I have never won an auction where I make a bid and then "forget about it until the auction is over" because that just runs up the bidding and you can see it in the bid list. I have looked and I see my bid, then up to 10-12 bids a minute or so apart by the same person, probing to see what they have to bid to beat my "maximum."

EPO--I agree with you about being able to find obscure items--it's perfect for that. But eBay also has it's place as a tool of convenience--you could go to literally dozens of garage sales and never find the selection of stuff you find on eBay in half an hour. Sure, you may find a huge bargain eventually at a garage sale, but meanwhile you've wasted a whole lot of time and gas. Why? I'd rather be out riding . . .

BBDave

[rovergar]

This is another way people will make money on Ebay. I was ready to buy a stem for my Mountain Bike. Less than $20. great price for a stem that was new and sold for $70 at LBS. The seller did not list a specific shipping cost so I asked him what the cost would be. He wanter $26 to pack and ship the stem!!! For that price it better be delivered by a hot blond......

Watch for "hidden casts"

[BumbleBeeDave]

I have seen that a few times, too. I see nothing wrong with seller asking you to add 3% for eBay fees to a $50 item, but inflating the shipping really turns me off. Makes me wonder what else they are trying to conceal.

BBDave

[gt6267a]

more than once, i have asked a seller to double check shipping costs and had them reduced. this past time the reason given was something like, "ohh, that was the fee for another item and i forgot to change it ... " overall the guy seemed legit, but that was a bit suspicious.

i definetly think some individuals pad shipping fees.

at the same time, i will admit to having charged too little for shipping and had to eat $1-2... a few weeks back i sold a number of items with a shipping cost of $6.50. all three items ended up costing me $7.50-8.

[Doc Hollywood]

BBDave,

Snipping and Bidding - Snipping is fun and you get a thrill out knowing you beat the clock and the others. My point is, if you don't have time to sit in from of the computer and play that game, then bid as much as you feel comfortable with with the proxy vote, and forget it until the auction ends. If you win great, if not, there will be another, identical item along very soon. Also, lot's of people get caught in the Snipping/Last Second bid excitement and sometimes end up going over their original limit. Probably okay if it is a dollar or two, but not many dollars.

When I bid on an item, I usually bid early in the auction as the first max bid takes precedence. That way if someone comes along and bids my max, I will always win, unless they put in another bid. For example let say I want to buy some cycling shorts. I think that they are worth $50, but the bidding is now at $10.00. I enter $50 in the proxy vote and then forget about it. If someone comes along and enters $50.01, then they win and I move on. No big deal.

As far as feedback, you right, be a little more cautious of someone having zero or one feedback, especially if they are selling/buying a big ticket item. For the small stuff (<$50), I am less concerned. If I have any doubt, I always ask questions. Time to Response and Answer is what I go by. However, remember at one time, you also were a eBay newbie. My real concern is those sellers that have registered the same day or a day before their auction starts nd are selling something several hundred dollars + .

Also, most newbies will do a great job with the first few ebay transactions so they can build up their positive feedback. I can't stand sellers that say that they won't sell to newbies or only if the email them first.

Doc

[dave thompson]

I love eBay, I've had almost 300 buyer/seller transactions in the years I've been there. Almost all my buying experiences have been good. Not so good ones have been resolved satisfactorily.

Like OP have said, be aware of what you are buying (ask questions), be aware of shipping costs (ask questions) place a firm value, according to you, on the item and stick with it (unless rare or highly disireable) and, bet of all snipe! Here is a link to a great sniping tool that has gotten me many an item: http://www.auctionstealer.com/home.cfm There are other sniping tools out there that are somewhat better, but they cost money. This one is free. While some eBayers equate snipers with bike thiefs, all is fair in love and eBay!

[EPOJoe]

BumbleBeeDave,
Of course, you’re right. I think my problem is that I didn’t define “bargain” sufficiently. Being a professional estate sale/garage sale/flea market hunter and eBay seller, I spend six days a week hunting these venues for items that are typically sold for ridiculously low prices; often less than five percent of their actual used value. Since I spend most of my days hunting, which I know most folks can‘t do, interesting stuff turns up at an amazing rate. These types of “bargains” are difficult to find on eBay. The “bargains” you’ve mentioned, on nice stuff with very substantial discounts, do show up on eBay, and with a pretty good level of frequency.