2 minute all out, full scale, no holds barred ebay battle!

Ah, the last minute. Time to battle it out.

Nothing like a little mental stress to keep you sharp.

I always seem to envision a giant conspiracy of last minute bidders who hack into my computer and make my browser unable to load the item's page in the crucial last 2 minutes. That seems to be the pattern.

I just went $60 above what my initial bid was on a small audio tape set, and I imagine it will go even higher as emotion completely overcomes logic.

Who else gets caught up in the action and enjoys the hell out of it?

Success,

Erik Lukas

Hi Erik,

> Who else gets caught up in the action and
> enjoys the hell out of it?

I know what you mean! :)

Though I've done it more in real life auctions than on eBay.... (I'm not much of an auction buyer, though.)

Auctions are funny things. Sometimes, you can pick up ridiculous bargains.... And other times, you can think - why the heck did I bid so much for that??!?!! :)

I did an interesting experiment once.... I was selling some MP3 Players, which I happened to get brand new for a very cheap price (liquidated stock). I placed them on an online auction, with two different approaches....

The first approach, I started the bidding at a high number. The second approach, I started it as a $1 auction, with no reserve.

To my surprise, the $1 auction ended up going significantly higher than the other auction - for two identical items - thanks to a "bidding war"!

I've experimented with this with other items since then, and it's an interesting approach for eBay sellers.... But, I've found out, it only seems to work on items that are desired by a wide section of the community. If the item is too "specialized" in how desirable it is to people - you may get only one bidder, and have to sell it for $1 !

Anyone got any other eBay tips or experiences to share? :)

- Dien Rice

> Ah, the last minute. Time to battle it out.

> Nothing like a little mental stress to keep
> you sharp.

Erik,

I used to do that...sweat it out during the last minute of an auction, hoping my browser didn't crash or my ISP connection didn't slow to a crawl when I placed my final bid...the adrenaline rush, the sigh of relief when you win, or the depth of despair when you lose during the last six seconds. Especially when you got up at 3 a.m. to catch the end of the auction.

Now, if I'm serious about an item, I will set a maximum price I will bid, and then I turn it over to Bidnapper.com. If it goes above my price, oh well. Otherwise, I'm 99.9% sure to get the item at the lowest possible price without showing my hand until the last minute of the auction. (I'm not sure what happens when two or more bidders are using Bidnapper.com on the same auction?!)

Oh, the joy of victory, and the agony of defeat!

I think I'll go find something to bid on...

JDB




Starting Over, or Starting Again?

> Especially when you got up at 3 a.m. to
> catch the end of the auction.

Well, if you don't, someone else will! :)

> I think I'll go find something to bid on...

Sounds good. I'll meet you there. Just don't swipe anything out from under my nose. Please... :)

I'll have to check out bidnapper. I haven't really been that involved with online auctions until now. I'm the late majority, I suppose, compared to all you early innovators.

Success,

Erik

I win just about every auction I bid on with Bidnapper. It always puts my max bid in within 5 seconds of the end of the auction.

> Well, if you don't, someone else will! :)

> Sounds good. I'll meet you there. Just don't
> swipe anything out from under my nose.
> Please... :)

> I'll have to check out bidnapper. I haven't
> really been that involved with online
> auctions until now. I'm the late majority, I
> suppose, compared to all you early
> innovators.

> Success,

> Erik

Hi JDB,

I've used Bidnapper too - it's pretty good!

However.... I found this free alternative. (Bidnapper lets you have a few free trial "bid snipes" but then you have to pay - the fee is reasonable though. I have no complaints.)

I haven't tried this alternative free "bid sniping" service myself yet, though - so I can't say anything about it, apart from the fact that I know it exists.... :)

It's called "HammerSnipe". Link below....

- Dien


HammerSnipe - a free "bid sniping" service....