That Ebay Addiction

[Mad Hatter]

Originally Posted by Jack Straw

I simply do not get this hangup.

What does it matter when someone bids? Why is it "cheating?"

The fact that someone uses a sniper should have no bearing on whether or not you win the auction. The dollar amount of their max bid will, but not the timing of it.

I agree Jack. For some people its not the kill, but the thrill of the chase. I imagine the thrill seekers make Ebay selling a little more attractive for the sellers

[domerthefrog]

Originally Posted by basko

Gunbroker (an online gun auction) uses a 15 minute rule. Meaning the last bid has to be uncontested for 15 minutes before the auction will end. In my opinion that's a fair way to do it.

I like that, but i think on many ebay items, it will make the auction go for entirely too long.

[Jumes]

Not a fan of sniping software either. For one thing it takes all the adrenaline out of the process.

[Crazycoonass]

As you can see I was feeling a little poetic the other night, but what drives me to do it is that every now and then you hit jackpot, just the other night I won this...


Beutifull (at least it will be when I get done with it) Scandia, a Stanwell 2nds for only... get this... $2.25, the shipping was a little high at $8.00 but no way Im gonna complain about getting a Stanwell at that low a price. If the seller is legit and the pics true I didnt see any fill or chips, guess Ill find out in a couple days.

[mrsmitty]

Originally Posted by Crazycoonass

As you can see I was feeling a little poetic the other night, but what drives me to do it is that every now and then you hit jackpot, just the other night I won this...


Beutifull (at least it will be when I get done with it) Scandia, a Stanwell 2nds for only... get this... $2.25, the shipping was a little high at $8.00 but no way Im gonna complain about getting a Stanwell at that low a price. If the seller is legit and the pics true I didnt see any fill or chips, guess Ill find out in a couple days.

Find out exactly how much it cost to ship and ask for the difference in a refund. If they aren't willing to don't hesitate to contact ebay about it. I've grossly over paid on shipping and contacted ebay and got the difference back. I can understand tagging on a extra $1.00-1.50 if you had to pay for the packaging but that's my limit of exception.

When I sale on ebay and theres atleast a $2.00 difference in the actual shipping cost vs what I charged, I refund the difference back to the seller. Since I dont have 100% acurate scale my predictions sometimes are a bit off. Sometimes people get a deal on shipping when I guess a little less lol but that doesn't really bother me because I'm usally pretty close.

[MarkC]

Originally Posted by mrsmitty

Find out exactly how much it cost to ship and ask for the difference in a refund. If they aren't willing to don't hesitate to contact ebay about it. I've grossly over paid on shipping and contacted ebay and got the difference back. I can understand tagging on a extra $1.00-1.50 if you had to pay for the packaging but that's my limit of exception.

Wow. Silly me, if I think the shipping is too high, I just don't bid...

[mrsmitty]

Originally Posted by MarkC

Wow. Silly me, if I think the shipping is too high, I just don't bid...

Sometimes its just to good of a deal to pass up on, knowing that they're over charging and that I can report there gauging and get my extra money back. Most powersellers already know this and will just refund you the difference. I ordered a blu ray player and they charged me $25 for shipping when in reality it was around $14... Needless to say I got my $11 back and got a blu ray player for $30 shipped.

[bart727]

Edit - nvm, I think that site used to be free. I'm sure there's another free one out there now.

Hidbid.com is a sniping service that gives you 5 free snipes per week.

Originally Posted by Mad Hatter

I agree Jack. For some people its not the kill, but the thrill of the chase. I imagine the thrill seekers make Ebay selling a little more attractive for the sellers

Not a fan of sniping software either. For one thing it takes all the adrenaline out of the process.

One of the main reasons to snipe is to take the adrenaline and excitement out of the bidding process, so yes, if that is something you like, sniping isn't for you.

If you take a more business-like approach to buying on ebay, sniping is definitely for you.

As already mentioned, regardless of when your bid is placed, you still have to have the highest to win. Sniping doesn't guarantee winning, it's more of a time saver for bidders who want to remove the emotion from the bidding process, and avoid drawing unwanted attention to an item.

The best idea when bidding on ebay, decide on your absolute maximum bid, place it (or schedule your snipe - better idea), do your best to forget about it, and go about your day. If you win, great. If you lose, the winner paid too much.

Try thinking 'there will be another one come along if I don't win this one'.

[MarkC]

Originally Posted by mrsmitty

Sometimes its just to good of a deal to pass up on, knowing that they're over charging and that I can report there gauging and get my extra money back. Most powersellers already know this and will just refund you the difference. I ordered a blu ray player and they charged me $25 for shipping when in reality it was around $14... Needless to say I got my $11 back and got a blu ray player for $30 shipped.

I've got to be honest; I've been using eBay for many years, buying and selling, and I've never heard of eBay forcing someone to refund shipping. I find it hard to believe. And, frankly, I find the idea of bidding on something and then negotiating the details after rather than honoring one's bid and sticking to the terms one agrees to by bidding to be dishonest. Sorry, I don't mean to be a jerk here, but this whole thing sounds fishy to me.

[MarkC]

Uh...I apologize for the tone of that last post. I had a bad experience with a buyer on ebay (who decided that it was quite alright to pay however he wanted to pay rather than jthe ways I offered in the auction; nothing to do with shipping) and let that color my comment. Please forgive my stridency; I honestly didn't see it until I smoked a bowl and calmed down...

[Crazycoonass]

When I see a shipping cost that is to high I calculate the total of what Im willing to pay and thats all I bid, for this pipe the shipping was 8$ and I had decided on a 15$ limit, so my top bid was 7$ The auctions change everyday so I really dont sweat it if I lose, Im sure there will be "something I have to have" the next day. When Im lowballing I find I go through like 10 items before I get lucky.