Ebay

It's usually a better strategy to bid at the last second or use a sniping service. If you bid early, folks can just chip away at you until they get to your max, taking time to think about it at every step. That opportunity is lost with a last second bid, and you will find your success rate improving... at least that's been my experience.

ebay just got too crazy for me to put up with. I have much better luck on other sights.

I have bought several items off of EBAY, but the trouble is the sniping services or software, If you are not watching an auction at the time it ends and are prepared to bid in the last min you will have little or zero chance of winning

I usually bid once high enough to take winning bid , then raise my maximum bid maybe 50c.
It makes it look like I've bid and then thought about it and raised , other bidders seem to take this as it could be a much higher maximum than it actually is..seems to work

It used to be different on eBay..we are all looking for a deal...but what they have been charging for shipping lately...when you tack that on to your winning bid..it seems to me its rarely a bargain..most of these guys have little or no overhead..but they get you with the shipping !!

Yeah , a lot of them are fair with shipping but too many have the true value of the item already just by shipping cost alone.

What with the paypal/ credit card thing, I can't sell & I can't buy. I don't deal with paypal or credit cards.
Cash, check or Postal MO. I can understand not taking a cash or a check but a Postal MO, c'mon.
So I'm doing Stampoffers, Stampwants & Stamphead.
BTW : ebay said they were going to crack down excessive S&H. it looks to me like it's worse.

My problem is when I find something I like, I bid a fair price, then some guy will snipe the item with an outrageous bid. Things seem to go for prices that just don't make sense. I don't get it.

I agree ,sharksfan! Just take a look around at the prices on anything stamp wise on ebay. I am amazed at what they are asking for Error/freak stamps,etc
Just can't figure it out.
Gussyboy1

It didnt used to be that way...if I want a 99 cent cover I have to add 1.50 for shipping and handling ..now a 99 cent cover is 2.49..sorry I dont need it that bad..and there are guys with deep pockets who do not care anything about realistic value if they want something..eBay started out as a buyers market and ended up a sellers market ....

I am totally against the sniping service....it takes all the fun out of an auction and should be banned. It is by far the worst tool allowed by ebay. Other auction sites take a different view and there can still be fun to have by bidding late. But the truth is, most bidding takes place at ebay...fact !
I dissagree about the bargains. There are many bargains to be had if you look around. Check out the Cinderella section and look for sellers who know nothing about stamps.
Last week I purchased a very high catalogue [$400] Israel item for just a few dollars because it was listed under Cinderellas and any budding Israel collector after that item would have missed it ! It was totally misplaced and poorly described. I was lucky.
There is a 2001 GB smilers sheet being offered right now for $13 having failed to sell the first time around ! The catalogue value is $280 [SG cat]. It is also listed in the Cinderella section of the auction.
I have also purchased some nice Cinderellas this past week for very little money. Due to the credit crunch, there appears to be more bargains around at present than usual.

I've done okay; I guess it all depends on what you're bidding on. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't, and that last minute can be a killer.

Just last night I was edged out by under a buck for a lovely Egyptian UPU set that was in among a bunch of other Egyptian issues.

There's always next time.

I don't understand the issue with so called snipping? I guess if your trying to low ball for a bargain then you may have a problem.

However as a fact I have never lost an ebay auction that I wanted to win. It simply just can't happen.

Now there have been ones that I have lost because I reach the limit of what I thought the value to me was. However I don't treat that as a lost but as some fool paying to much.

Ebay isn't for bargains that is what garage sales are for. With that said I have stolen some auctions but that is rare when you are bidding on something nice. In rare cases I have found a rose in a outhouse but I seldom have time to put into searching for misplaced items.

I am not searching for misplaced items !
As a cinderella collector I look for cinderellas but sometimes come across listing erorrs. I was lucky admittedly, but there are many bargains to be had. Especially in these cash-strapped days.

Regarding the sniping, it just takes the fun out of it. On other sites where there is no such thing, you can enjoy bidding against one or more bidders long after the closing time of the auction...it's fun and is what auctions are all about. Ebay is not fun but all about luck, albiet with more bargains !!

Londonbus1.....Collector on a shoestring

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