Does anyone have any luck buying on ebay?

[chase]

Just wondered if anyone ever has any luck buying/bidding on ebay? Keep going in there every day bidding for Hamster cages & various other things. It always say immediately that I have been out bid. Seems some things with postage cost more than going to a pet shop & buying new.Although still keep looking its nearly as addictive as HC.
Any Tips/Secrets??

[I_am_plankton]

I'm an eBay addict and have been using it for years.

My best tips are to bid late, sort of in the last 25 or 30 seconds, and to place as high as you want to go. Don't bother bidding days early as then the price will go up and up so the end price will be high. Use a snipe tool, www.justsnipe.co.uk is fantastic, I know BVH uses it also, and I always win every single auction with it.

For cages, it is best to look for ones local to you that you can pick up as they will be cheaper than the ones going for postage.

Always shop around also, and try different search strings since some items won't be listed obviously

Good luck!

[chase]

Thanks a lot guys, think I was bidding too early and getting outbid.


from a-nearly-ebay-addict

I find sometimes that putting in my maximum bid early on is very effective as it discourages people from carrying on bidding when they make a few bid attempts and are still outbid.

Wasn't it Bunsey who tried the sniping tool and it didn't work and she lost the auction???

[arlev]

Originally Posted by I_am_plankton

I'm an eBay addict and have been using it for years.

All good advice, plankton. Late bidding is very effective.

Here's another tip - if you see an item with a Buy It Now price and a Starting Price, then bid the minimum Starting Price *immediately* to remove the possibility that it can be 'bought now'.

That way, you should get it for less (but remember the Buy It Now price and don't bid over it! Else it won't be a bargain)

[arlev]

Originally Posted by chase

Thanks alot guys ,think I was bidding too early and getting outbid.

And one other thing (really must remember to write everything in one posting)...

...remember that Ebay is not automatically cheaper than reputable 'new' retailers. Shop around and look for prices on good sites. I have stopped buying DVDs on line because the 'shop' price is normally cheaper 'new' than it is for a secondhand copy on Ebay.

I'm sure that this happens a lot with hamster equipment, too.

[Bourne Valley Hams]

Originally Posted by East London Chick

I find sometimes that putting in my maximum bid early on is very effective as it discourages people from carrying on bidding when they make a few bid attempts and are still outbid.

Wasn't it Bunsey who tried the sniping tool and it didn't work and she lost the auction???

She made the mistake of not trusting the tool and putting a manual bid in too which confused the system.

[Bunsey]

the same thing always happened to me. I kept loosing cages in the last few seconds and I couldn't up my bid quick enough. I've started using the snipe tool now and it really does work. the only time i've lost with it is when the bidding went over the max bid I'd entered.

[babyboos]

search under the topic rather than keyword hamster cages for example and sort by distance then only bid on those within easy travel distance so save postage

[chase]

Thanks for all your tips I will give it another go