E-Bay (Newbie)

[JediMaster]

Ok I know I am a late starter But I am just a NEW EBay user. Signed up on Thursday & biding for LOTS

I wanted to ask if any here use E-Bay a lot? If yes do you use any Tools to Buy?

Like: http://www.auctionlotwatch.co.uk/lotsnipe.html or any site/program to show whats only got 1hr left (or less) & is under £1

The http://www.auctionlotwatch.co.uk/lotsnipe.html looks GOOD, but is it 1) Allowed, & 2) Safe?

Cheers

[Bifta]

The main problem is that you HAVE to supply your ebay username and password to bid ... I wouldn't give that to anyone.

[Halcyon]

I use ebay loads but do not use any auction tools or any of the Sniping tools out there.

The main thing they do is help you bid on auctions when you are not present so as long as you make sure you put a safe amount you want to bid, then the software does the rest for you.

Some software just has a good clock running and makes sure it places your bid at the last second. Its perfectly allowed to be done but very annoying when someone snipes you and you loose the auction by just a milli second.

As for the program that searches and puts all items under £1 or with only one hour left..... You can do this within ebay by clicking on the site to arrange the items in any order you wish, by price, days left, etc. There is also a link to all items ending now.

The only thing I would be careful with is making sure all the sites you use do not ask for your ID information and not ask for any payment credit card details.

Good luck ebaying. Its addictive isnt it ! Have fun

[Spurs007]

No one can snipe you if your original high bid is more than theres. That said, best advice to Ebay I feel is stick to your high limit, items are like buses, theres always another one along sooner or later. It amazes me that so often people pay far more for items that they could buy cheaper new from the shops. Its so easy to get caught in a bidding war if you dont stick to your guns.
Again have fun!

[skyblueheroes]

Exactly. I saw a new Ipod Shuffle for £112 today.

They are only £99 from the apple site (albeit with a slight delay). Is it just cause they want it NOW, or because some people are thick ? Probably both.

I used to use it for just buying stuff (nothing more then £50), but have really got into it recently. I've been selling loads of unwanted DVD's, Games and CD's.

Best thing is not to get carried away. As other people have mentioned, you can get caught up in a bidding war and pay over the odds. State a max bid and walk away if its not enough.

[Halcyon]

Sometimes items go for pennies and sometimes thousands. It just depends on the amount of goods for sale (if there are less everyone will focus on one item), amount of people interested in the goods, the time of year eg. no one will buy a Christmas CD in Summer, and the rarity of the actual goods.
If only 10 were made all over the world, there will be more bidders hunting for it and paying more as it is very hard to get hold of.

It also depends on when you auction your items as if you have items finishing when everyone is at work, you will have less people bidding on it than on a Sunday night when everyone is mostly at home.

Then comes the presentation of the goods. The better described the product is, the more likely it is to sell.

[Gareth]

Good points, Hal. Also, adding a photo - even if it's not a photo of your actual item, but just borrowed from Google - can add lots to getting more views of your item, and hence more interest and hopefully a higher end price.

By the way, there's loads of people who buy stuff at ebuyer, dabs, scan, etc... and sell 'em higher than they paid. Last year, people were buying Harry Potter optical mice for £3 each and then selling them on ebay at £10 each + shipping! Not a bad markup.

[Halcyon]

I bought a Cd for £2.50 and sold it for £34 about 2 years ago.
I was well happy.
Its just a matter of searching around and you need to have time to look for the right items that sell.

As for bidding, check out the sellers feedback. Good feedback from custommors is a good way of knowing that you are dealing with a reliable buyer.
Oh and make sure you check out postage costs. Most of the time they are listed, however you can ask sellers a question anytime.

[JediMaster]

Thanks ALL.

I am learning all the time & love E-Bay

[luftys]

Do your homework,see what price it sells for in the shops
Dont put in a price of £2.00p put £2.01p that can help a lot

watch out for P&P that can put the price up

I love bidding in the last mins its great fun,some times you win others you lose,but that half the fun of it

[JediMaster]

Originally Posted by luftys

Do your homework,see what price it sells for in the shops
Dont put in a price of £2.00p put £2.01p that can help a lot

Good POINT