Ebay question

danger_mouse_tm

How come when I put something on ebay for auction only. I always get a message from someone asking for a buy it now price to end the auction early? Why can't they just bid on it?

KT10

Cause people are impatient and don't want to have to wait. Human nature, we live in a society that's gotten used to instant gratification.

That, and they don't want to get involved in a bidding war only to be sniped at the last possible second.

nava

danger_mouse_tm wrote: »

How come when I put something on ebay for auction only. I always get a message from someone asking for a buy it now price to end the auction early? Why can't they just bid on it?

You add to what KT10 said some buyers might think the item will go to expensive if it goes on to an auction, specially if the seller is new.

danger_mouse_tm

It's often happened me where I have been snipped at the last second by just a few cents! It's very frustrating. I even tried waiting until the last second until someone told me that people were using software to bit at the last second and I hadn't got a chance of beating it.

I think I will the let auction run on. It's just a cover for a convertible car that's been siting in the garage for the last 3 years. Ten more days won't make much difference!

Kenjataimu

danger_mouse_tm wrote: »

It's often happened me where I have been snipped at the last second by just a few cents! It's very frustrating.

eBay bidding is done in increments so it can look like you lose by a few cents when you miss out.

For instance, you might bid €5 on something, I'll swoop in last second and bid €10 as my max bid.
If the listing ends at that, my bid will be the next increment after €5 so I'll have won it for €5.50 (or whatever the next increment is)

Even if you had time to make a bid after mine & put your max as €7, I would have still won it for €7.50 (approx), if you get me.

Its very easy to think you are being consistently outbid by only a few cents because of this, where in reality you are outbid by another €3 (using my example)


My tactic for buying is deciding on what my max bid will be and submitting that with a few seconds to go.

If someone beats my max, I don't feel too hard done by... I just tell myself that they probably went a lot higher.

A Dub in Glasgo

I always snipe and if I am not around, I will use sniping software. People need to remember that it is not the last bid that wins but the one who has bid the most. Nibblers are far more irritating than snipers. Moral here is bid the maximum you are prepared to pay and then walk away

To the OP, is the BIN price offered higher than the current bid? If it is, would you be happy to accept that if the auction runs it course? You may well find that the item does not sell or sells for less

NuMarvel

Sorry for bumping the thread, but I have a related question. I've listed an item on eBay (auction only), and someone has asked if I'd add a Buy it Now price. I've googled eBay's policy pages, and I'm getting conflicting answers as to what I'm allowed to to. Some say I can't do it after bidding starts, but some say I can't do after the auction starts.

I haven't received any bids yet, so can anyone shed some light on this? Has anyone here done it before? I've checked to see if the listing will allow me to add a BIN price and it will, but I'd rather not run foul of eBay.

danger_mouse_tm

Leave it go to auction. That's what I did. The guy that wanted me to end the auction early was offering me 50 for a car part I started at 1 dollar. It sold in the end for over 300!

NuMarvel

I might do, but I just want to be sure that if I do add a BIN price, I won't get a slap on the wrist from eBay.

firestarter51

you wont unless you have bids on the item already

NuMarvel

firestarter51 wrote: »

you wont unless you have bids on the item already

That's the answer I was hoping for, thanks .