On 22/11/04, Peter Smekal, discombobulated, unleashed: >Hi all, slightly OT maybe, but what do you think is a good eBay-strategy: >1. Decide for a maximum bid, place it early, and then stay cool and just >wait and see if you win,
Sometimes have to if I can't be there at the end of the auction. >2. Observe the bidding "from outside", and get involved in bidding just at >the end, with the risk of getting infected by "bidding frenzy" (rising your >maximum bid several times, like the gambler who just wants to play just one >more time to hit the jackpot)? No. You forgot: 3. Observe the bidding "from the outside" and have your highest possible bid - that is, the absolute maximum you are prepared to pay for the item, ready in a separate window. In the main window, keep the auction going, refresh the window once a minute so you get a feel for how short a time you can get away with posting (refresh does the same as posting the bid - it tells you how long it took from your pressing the button to reading the fresh page, measured in seconds, usually 2 or 3), and sit on it right until 6 seconds to go. Closer if you can. Then bid. The advantage is that if you really want something, you don't help to artificially drive the price up in the meantime, so that you pay close to your max at the end. With a bit of luck, you'll get it with a decent margin between the winning bid and your maximum. If it goes over your maximum, walk away. If someone else snipes as well, with a higher maximum, tough luck. If you really want something badly, bud very high and very late. You stand more of a chance of getting a bargain than by bidding early and watching helplessly as some plonker keeps upping the high bid by a dollar (or whatever currency) every ten minutes! HTH Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________
