Seller's on EBAY Playing Games??

atruvirgo · Post by **atruvirgo** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 7:39 am

I am getting the feeling that many sellers on Ebay are playing games in the last few hours of a bid. I have bid several times the past few weeks on cpap items. I am the high bidder up until the last few hours then all of a sudden the bid starts increasing from 5-10 dollars to 40-50 dollars. I think that when they see that low bis with not much interest they bid under another name so that they don't have to honor your bid and then they re-list the item in hopes of getting more money. If they want 40-50 dollars then thats what they should set the bidding war at. Seems a little shady to me!!!!! I bid on a 406 mask/headgear because it's the smallest headgear that I can find and twice this week I think the seller out bid me!! Anyone have 406 mask or headgear to sell???? I'd be interested!

MRH · Post by **MRH** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 7:51 am

It alwasys seems to me whenever I watch a item on E-Baythey always seem to do what you say. Going up in the ending minutes, if I want something ususally I just wait until the last couple of minutes and thro my maximum bid, and still get outbid in the last few seconds a lot of the time. But I suppose that people could be doing like you think too.

Mark

JeffH · Post by **JeffH** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 7:59 am

As a former ebay seller, that's how a typical auction works. Those interested wait until the last minute to bid trying to make their bid the least it can be. Get several people doing that at the same time and the prices rise rapidly at the end of an auction. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as I can see.

dinkytink · Post by **dinkytink** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 8:13 am

Could be other reasons, too.

Lots of folks don't bid until near the end so as not to drive the bids high early on. Plus, if you bid early on a 5 or 7 day auction and a great 3 day deal shows up, you kick yourself for bidding early.

And serious folks purchase sniper software services so they never even bid until the last seconds of the auctions. You'll never even see them in the auction till the last bid when they scoop it up.

And now they have the new feature of bidding assistant (or something like that) at ebay that will bid on each item in a group you're interested in at your price until you win one. Haven't tried it yet, but I suspect it won't bid on a mask until the last one's bidding has closed so you can't end up winning two. That would seem to prevent a lot of early bids, too, especially if the auctions are close together. I'd like to hear the details from someone who's tried it.

Could be your theory, too.

ddpelp · Post by **ddpelp** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 8:27 am

I have used Ebay for years selling and buying what you are describing is totally normal... much like a regular auction you might attend.. many folks that want the item want it as the best price. If you bid early you are also showing your interest. I have found wait.. watch the item then during the last few mins you will see close to what the item will sell for .. if you are still interested then bid your max and like already stated by others you might still get out bid.. BUT also better to not drive up the price of an item early in the auction. I saw a Quattro bid up to 105 bucks!! and 3 days to go . now that is dumb..

atruvirgo · Post by **atruvirgo** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 8:28 am

hmmmmmmmmmm...I never had this happen with mics.low ticket items..just with CPAP items. Just seems odd to me.

jabberwock · Post by **jabberwock** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 8:34 am

Debbie,

I don't think the sellers are playing games. I frequently don't bid early, so as not to drive the price up, as dinkytink mentioned. So I often wait until the last minute if I can, and jump in with my max bid. It does frequently work for me. Other times, I will put an early bid in with a low maximum and watch what happens.

I don't have access to as many auctions as you do, since I can only bid on items that are available for shipping to Canada. I did see that you were bidding on a F&P 406 that I have been watching, and was going to suggest that we kind of share, to keep the price down. Might have worked, but I see that someone else has now outbid.

I am beginning to think the best way on this one is to just buy it from cpap.com since it is not much more there than they go for at auction, and it is not a pricey mask.

Dinkytink, I have not looked into the assistant yet, so I don't know how it works. I agree that it would be interesting to hear from someone who does know.

Bonnie

atruvirgo · Post by **atruvirgo** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 8:53 am

Thanks for the tips. I am not much of an ebay'er or an online buyer persay...just thought i'd try getting a back up mask. Oh well maybe someone here will have what I need and I can buy it from them!

JeffH · Post by **JeffH** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:15 am

atruvirgo, it's the simple law of supply and demand. Popular items get bid up, and run of the mill items don't. Been playing on and watching ebay for years and that's how it works.

snoregirl · Post by **snoregirl** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:17 am

I agree with the resonses above having bid and sold on ebay in the past.

One other thing to note is that there are people out there who just don't know what things are worth or don't care, and will pay over what you could buy for online new (or in a store for that matter).

I sold a pair of used snowpants (really nice condition, but nothing special, and fully described) to some woman in UTAH who "needed them desperately for her child as there were no more in the stores). I went to LLBean and other popular mail order places and there were plenty of snow pants to be had.

So in addition to last minute bidding (I also do this always when I want something) there are those who will just pay over retail or online retail who haven't done any research (impulse buyers??) Who knows what their motivation is.

JeffH · Post by **JeffH** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:24 am

In ebay's early days, you could go buy stuff at walmart and put it on ebay and make money. I've done it.

Not that way now, but people used to go nuts over ebay auctions.

oceanpearl · Post by **oceanpearl** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 11:17 am

There are also people who get emotional about it and can't stand for someone to beat them out.
My bids go in 7 seconds before the end of the auction.

dinkytink · Post by **dinkytink** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 11:21 am

My advice on ebay:
(Take it or leave it... at least it's free)

The trick with ebay is having time or money.

If you have more time than money, then know what you want and what you're willing to pay for it. If your bid is reasonable, and you keep bidding it on each mask, you will win one. Check completed auctions to see what is reasonable. Remember that you chose time as your investment and don't get discouraged as you lose auctions. All you need is one win, not EVERY win. It's a perception thing.

If you have more money than time and don't want the hassle of auctions, then filter for newly listed Buy It Nows. They're usually cheaper than retail. Sometimes by half.

If you're simply curious about fit, then go for used masks. They're cheaper, easier to win, and can be disinfected. If you don't love the mask, then the regret is smaller. If you do love it, then you'll feel better about making a higher than reasonable bid to win a new one quickly... and you'll have a backup mask for extra parts or to lose... er... take on vacation, etc.

To save time, do a search and make it very specific. Save your search as a favorite search. Check the box that says it'll send you emails.

Hope that helps you feel less discouraged.

jabberwock · Post by **jabberwock** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 11:33 am

Excellent advice dinkytink! I admit to occasionally getting caught up in the "she who wins, wins" thinking, where I end up paying more than I intended just so I could win the item.

When I first "discovered" ebay about a year ago, I spend over $2,000 on shoes before I got a grip and realized it was real money I was playing with

I need to be more patient

Bonnie

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 12:05 pm

And there are snipe sites out there that allow 3 or more free snipes per week. I always snipe if it's something I want.

Brenda

Mask

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