Why do eBayers drive prices.

[The Russian Bear]

Seriously why do people insist on having a bidding war days before the product is due to finish? Take this for example, Witcher 2 CE sealed which has over 4 days until the auction finishes but it is already at £82 and had a starting price of 99p no reserve.

Why can't people wait until towards the end of the auction to bid instead so that the prices stay reasonable. I mean i got the Shogun 2 CE for £31 thanks to everyone bidding on it in the last minute.

Please share your opinions

[asiak75]

As a fellow seller and buyer in eBay I know exactly were you come from.
Bidding at the last moment is usually to keep the price as low as possible and I agree thats a good way to get a bargain...sometimes.
But then again some items that are listed have an initial value so low that some people just want to secure that the item does not get changed or edited. So they do that initial bid for 0.99 cents. As a seller i have many times observed that depending on the item you have listed it can go from start to finish bidding up slowly or just get bid up at in the last couple of minutes in the auction.
Sometimes when i am interested in a particular item such as at the moment a listed Assassins creed press kit book i wait till up to the last 24 hours and then start to bid on a regular base bid by bid. 20 seconds form the end, and of course if i really want it i will set the bidding increase price quickly to a 10er above my last bid. sometimes it works and sometimes well i get outbid and then again I am happy i did not win because it went of the roof.

[Venner]

I never understand this either, if theres somthing i want i add it to my watch list and bid the 99p to start it then wait till the last 20secs to bid again. But many times people will over bid me with 5days left which i dont understand.

[gurpswoo1]

Alot of the time, bidders see the listing but can't be bothered to wait or remember the time it ends, so they put their maximum bid in.

There is also the practice of the seller inflating the price early to get people to put the maximum bid in.

[thefunk007]

Well it depends how badly you want it, some people if money does not really matter will just bid what they are willing to pay (for example £100.00), then buyer B tries to outbid buyer A by putting what they are willing to pay for it (in this case say £50.00) with only two bids the item now sits at £50.00.

Yes it's frustrating, I always only bid within the last few seconds, but miss out quite often

Although that Collectors Edition is much sought after now

[lhurgoyf]

Originally Posted by thefunk007

Well it depends how badly you want it, some people if money does not really matter will just bid what they are willing to pay (for example £100.00), then buyer B tries to outbid buyer A by putting what they are willing to pay for it (in this case say £50.00) with only two bids the item now sits at £50.00.

If you bid what you are willing to pay with 5s left on the auction it avoids the whole bidding war issue, and also ensures that you don't have second thoughts and bid more than you wanted to (out of gut reaction).

Sniping programs are another story. That is just cheating. I have and always will snipe an auction with < 3s left, in person. If you can't do it in person, you lack the determination and don't care enough about winning the item.

[MrBubbles]

Originally Posted by lhurgoyf

If you bid what you are willing to pay with 5s left on the auction it avoids the whole bidding war issue, and also ensures that you don't have second thoughts and bid more than you wanted to (out of gut reaction).

Sniping programs are another story. That is just cheating. I have and always will snipe an auction with < 3s left, in person. If you can't do it in person, you lack the determination and don't care enough about winning the item.

I disagree. Sometimes I'm looking for a specific item and if the seller comes from the US chances are big the auction will end in the middle of the night in Europe. I don't have the time to stay up all night, and if I want a item really bad I use a sniper. No cheating, it's just a service where you have to pay for.
Sometimes Ebay is running slow for some reason and you won't be able to snipe an auction yourself in time. I have missed out on some great items because of that reason.

[lhurgoyf]

Originally Posted by MrBubbles

I disagree. Sometimes I'm looking for a specific item and if the seller comes from the US chances are big the auction will end in the middle of the night in Europe. I don't have the time to stay up all night, and if I want a item really bad I use a sniper. No cheating, it's just a service where you have to pay for.
Sometimes Ebay is running slow for some reason and you won't be able to snipe an auction yourself in time. I have missed out on some great items because of that reason.

Set an alarm and take the 2 minutes to place a bid. Like I said, if you are using a program to do the bidding, you don't want it bad enough. Half the time I do it from my phone... notification goes off for < 5 minutes hit bid button with 5s left and done. I've used this practice for 13 years on ebay, even back in the day on dialup, never a problem if you know what you are doing.

What you want is a silent auction where everyone can just write their bid down, with no one else knowing, and at the end the person who wrote the highest wins.

[asiak75]

If two or more person want the item badly and you bid in the last moment. Its not an auction anymore in my eyes its a lottery game since it is time that is a factor.
I think since I am on eBay everyday almost and my dear wife works even there i can guaranty you that its not a question of if you get it but rather when you will get it. how many times I have seen auctions going over the top and suddenly 2 days later someone puts up the same item as buy it now/ Best offer for a fraction of the price...

By the way just saw that in case:
http://cgi.ebay.ie/Witcher-2-Assassi...#ht_595wt_1139

[gurpswoo1]

I got my copy on release day, has some rips to seal ( Thanks Shopto). I might get rid of it at these crazy eBay prices.