Yes, it looks like that. I see the same item listed 8 times with various bids ranging from one cent to $32 and quite a few apparent bidders . But there is one listing to "Buy it Now" at $125. I suspect $125 is the going price and any lower bids are automatically outbid by a shill of some sort. I'm losing faith in Ebay, and I have an outstanding case where the seller accepted payment and never shipped the item. I got a message from Ebay advising me not to pay for the item if I hadn't already done so. It was a small loss of $10 and I'm waiting to see if Ebay will cover the loss. Ebay claims somebody hacked the seller's account and the real seller is not to blame, but I don't know how that can be done. Seems like if someone hacks an account, they would also have to also hack PayPal to get any money. And what good does it do to sell something with someone elses account if they can't get the money out of PayPal? And if they can get the money out of PayPal, why bother selling anything? I might get some clue when Ebay answers in 72 hours.
It's not important at all, IMHO, for anyone with normal decent broadband service. The only requirement on the timing is that it be so close to the ending time that Joe idiot can't _react_ to the 'outbid' status. Aside from that, it's actually slightly to your benefit to be a bit _earlier_, since if the difference is less than a bid increment the lower and earlier bid will stand. IOW, if you bid $243.50 3 seconds before the end, and another person bids $247.50 a couple of seconds later, you'll win, since his bid did not exceed yours by the bid increment.
Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
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I know exactly how it works, you retarded f*ck. I used to beat them when TIMING was the key.
Since they void multiple windows now (something else you are clueless about), there is now way to beat auto-bidding in the last minute unless your bid goes in at the last millisecond before the bidding is closed, and the computer does not have time to add the auto-bidder's nest bid.
YOU are the clueless bastard. *I* know EXACTLY how it works.
If you're going to confine you bids to the last seconds, then you only get to make one bid for practical purposes. By late bids, I meant within the last few minutes.
Well, you're mistaken about that.
And it remains true that there's no point in making multiple bids.
If the seller ends up winning the auction, then he has to pay the commission on it to Ebay without actually having sold anything. As strategy, it makes no sense.
The seller can avoid that by retracting their winning shill bid. If your bid was outbid, and that other bid is retracted, and followed by another bid a bit below your maximum, then you have grounds for suspicion. Otherwise no.
I've bought a couple of bits of second-hand hardware that, after I'd given the seller positive feedback, turned out to be flakey, so I tend to think carefully before going down that path now.
But Ebay can be useful for finding obscure items that ordinary stores don't sell. Caveat-emptor is definitely the appropriate expression.
On May 19, 9:30=A0pm, Bill Bowden wrote: > I have bought a few items on Ebay with good transactions, and was > recently looking at a true sinewave inverter (12 volt DC to 120 VAC) > 300 watt Continuous, 600 watt peak, and so I bid $60 maximum but was > outbid by $7 and lost the auction. I then noticed the same item was > for sale again in just a few hours (maybe 18) and so I bid again with > a limit of $60 and again lost the auction with a final bid of $65. And > so I bid again on the same item with same limit of $60 and was outbid > again at $61.12. And then bid again for the 4th time on the same item, > and again lost the auction for $61.00, just $1.00 more than my limit. >
I'd say your main problem is bidding $60 for something others value more. Did you check 'completed listings' for the item to see what other have sold for? Are you one of those guys who bid up in little increments? I almost always beat out those guys because they're so predictable. Another 'trick' is that some sellers mis-spell a manufacturers name like Harmon Kardon - it's Harman. Or Techtronix. Years back I got a Fluke 80060A at a real good price because the seller goofed up and I found it. He wasn't happy but it's not _my_ fault he can't spell.
Yesterday I missed out on a Metcal soldering iron by the bid increment of $1. I eSniped it 6 seconds before the end but the winner came in 2 seconds before. I don't know if he outbid me by $1.01 or $1000 because the bid increment was $1 but I don't care. There are more and I'll get one of them at my price. So will you.
I can reliably get to less than one second. If Ebay screwed around with the time like that they would go the way of Ubid. Remember them? I thought not.
Yeah, "feedback" is a stupid concept. Sort of like filing a police report in 80 characters (or less).
I had pretty good results with my eBay purchases. But, that was soon after eBay was born. I've not used my account in probably a decade (?)
Yes, for oddball items. Unfortunately, I think many people use eBay as a "general store" and buy things there that they can probably find locally -- if they *looked* (though I can understand that many folks might not want to invest the time, etc.)
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