Ebay - how do you deal with "Watchers"?

[Guest]

I don't understand the waiting till the last minute thing anymore. I used to do it but it no longer makes sense. There's a maximum I'm prepared to pay for something so I just bid that, if I get out bid by 1p so what I had a fixed highest bid Take an auction I bid on the other day. After loosing the auction I went and did a bit more searching for a CD and found it on amazon.com cheaper than the second hand CD even including postage from the States! Always pays to do more research.

 

As for watchers, it means nothing, I've had 30 people watching an auction that didn't sell and no-one watching an auction where I got a bid.

[Liose 10]

Talking of Ebay...there is the Win the Invites to the Victoria and David Beckam world cup pre-party on the NSPCC auction site...

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/David-Victoria-Beckham-World-Cup-Football-Party-Invite_W0QQitemZ6628137145QQcategoryZ16071QQcmdZViewItem

 

Was on at 60k last night...just checked and it's at 100k. If there are any millionaires reading this and you fancy buying me the tickets - please feel free...It's my birthday on 24th May so it will be in time for when the auction ends!!!

 

What a lot of money for charity...although there is seriously more money than sense...

[Guest_225 10]

Leave it to the last 5 seconds instead! AuctionSniping - you know it makes sense

 

Yep. I use http://www.bidmate.co.uk and get three free snipes a week which is mostly enough.

[Guest_225 10]

Made up drivel. Perhaps i your case, but not in others. It doesn't matter how many watchers you have, it'll sell or it won't. Whatever price it ends up selling for it sells for..

 

I know what I'm talking about. I buy and sell a lot on eBay and even got a mention in Bizarre Magazine last month for my unusual items. So it's not made up drivel. I've noticed that my items which attract the most watchers always get more bidders at the end and more bidders mean higher prices. It's basic supply and demand.

 

What you mean is, you haven't mastered the art of using eBay so bid a week before it ends.

 

I said the exact opposite. Please read a post and understand it before replying, especially if you're going to reply aggressively,

 

PottS

[Martin_s 10]

I've been using eBay a lot to source printers and the like but for the first 2 months, and even now I'll watch auctions to get an idea for just what sort of limit to set or if my own budget limits are even worth bidding with.

 

Sniping is something I've started doing though purely and simply because someone will always push the price up to your limit if you bid early and that means it costs you, as a buyer more... granted it's a pain in the butt to be on the opposite end of that equation but at the end of the day watchers have to be a good thing if it gives you an idea of just how much people are after what you want.

[42fta 10]

Ah well, at least someone has placed a bid now and still two days to go.

[Dardandec 32]

Sniping is absolutly essential if A-You seriously want to win the item and B-You dont want to bump the price up to the max.

[42fta 10]

Undersand what you're saying about sniping, but doesn't that mean that sellers are going to add more and more to the "fixed" price, by artificially bumping up the cost of P&P to acquire their desired income? Or are you assuming that everyone does that anyway?

I try to be fair by keeping mine at the actual weight post cost "plus one step" (eg set P&P at rate for 600g if package weighs 500g, the difference to cover the cost of packaging, fees etc).

 

I recall the words of someone on the stock market who said "Always leave something for the next man", meaning cover your costs and make a little profit, but sell while its still tempting for the buyer to hope for further gains. Seems a good principle for Ebay to me.

[Martin_s 10]

Undersand what you're saying about sniping, but doesn't that mean that sellers are going to add more and more to the "fixed" price, by artificially bumping up the cost of P&P to acquire their desired income? Or are you assuming that everyone does that anyway?

Ultimately people are going to pay what they are willing to pay and you'll see that a lot of businesses will work on the basis of BIN (Buy it Now) to ensure they cover their costs.

 

The practice of extortionate P&P is one that's covered in the T&C for eBay but to be honest it's not something I've seen tackled too much and quite frankly eBay and Paypal are just plain cr*p at policing their rules and policies..

 

For myself I only buy on eBay when I know I can't get what I want easily elsewhere or when I'm out for a bargain.. Selling, I rarely expect to make a profit but it doesn't hurt to get rid of stuff that's clogging up space..

[scottishdude 10]

If I want a particular item and not in a rush for it I shop around on eBay for the best deal ie item cost + postage. I then put a watch on about 1/2 dozen and hopefully get a good deal.

The time the auction finishes is important too if you want a bargain.after 9am till 3pm weekdays is best if you can find a listing finishing then as eBay is quieter then ( in theory )

If I'm selling I like to end my auction around T-Time at the weekend. More punters on then

[Dardandec 32]

When people charge silly amounts for postage this puts me off buying thier item and I suspect it does a lot of other buyers too.When I sell an item I do make my postage realistic as does 42fta.But 99% of my items are pre packed and ready to go as I do guarantee a fast service.Their then weighed to find the exact postal cost + 50p to cover a jiffy bag or the like.Most of my items are buy it now so I add about £2.00 to the price I really want to help cover listing fees etc.