Losing an eBay auction

[AssassinsRaider]

Have any of you ever lost an eBay auction, bidding on a collector's item? If so, how angry/upset were you? I was just outbidded in the last 2 seconds by 40 cents. I'm extremely upset, since I've been looking for that Lara Croft desktop statue for a good 5 years, and it was cheap and new.

[kittychloe]

Ive grown used to it as i never have as much to spend as the person next to me '

[mosavon]

I've lost a few items before, but if its a Biggie i'll make it mine no matter what.

[HIPPEEDUDE]

Lost a few more times than i can count,most of the times by just $0.50 or a few dollars in the last few seconds. It can be damn frustrating especially if its something that doesnt come up very often or hardly ever at all. If this hapens,the auction is being sniped,so you have to snipe too if you want to win what you really want,its the only way to go unfortunately. As the saying goes if you cant beat them just join them

[NaughtyDogJames]

Even though you lost it for that much the person probably put more in and there will always be another one. What's more frustrating is when you win something and it's not as described. Yeah the best way is to snipe something when you really want it.

[gu8]

Originally Posted by AssassinsRaider

Have any of you ever lost an eBay auction, bidding on a collector's item? If so, how angry/upset were you? I was just outbidded in the last 2 seconds by 40 cents. I'm extremely upset, since I've been looking for that Lara Croft desktop statue for a good 5 years, and it was cheap and new.

should have put a few more quid on the table mate, made sure you got it no matter what

[Saturn]

My life is all about losing ebay auctions. Oh, and also the basic needs like eating, sleeping, working, etc.

[kittychloe]

Originally Posted by Saturn

My life is all about losing ebay auctions. Oh, and also the basic needs like eating, sleeping, working, etc.

Yea, stupid needs always causing loss of ebay items..

[Dreamcazman]

You have to learn how to bid, simple as that.

Best advice I can give is bid a high amount (to clear the highest bidder's amount) and at the last possible second (usually in the last 10 secs). Chances are you won't pay anywhere near what you bid and it won't give anyone else a chance to bid again. Also check the feedback of the other people bidding, if they have a low number, most likely they're eBay noobs so you may have the upper hand.

If it's an item I must have, following the above, I very rarely lose.

[Saturn]

Originally Posted by Dreamcazman

You have to learn how to bid, simple as that.

Best advice I can give is bid a high amount (to clear the highest bidder's amount) and at the last possible second (usually in the last 10 secs). Chances are you won't pay anywhere near what you bid and it won't give anyone else a chance to bid again. Also check the feedback of the other people bidding, if they have a low number, most likely they're eBay noobs so you may have the upper hand.

If it's an item I must have, following the above, I very rarely lose.

In the end, it doesn't really matter that much how soon you bid if we're talking about a special or important item targeted by collectors. Lots of people use different tactics, including exactly the same you mention. It's all about how much you pay for it in the end. If you place your max, it can still be outbid by someone else and you won't have time to increase the bid. If you are not going to pay the max when you place your last bid, then you're not really trying and it's natural that you lose. I do that plenty of times when I want something more common but expect to pay the least I can. Losing is part is the strategy sometimes. Some members with low feedback sometimes know those strategies well too. I came up with that too after my first few auctions.