An email to my eBay competition…

I am very serious about my eBay buying. I am also very serious about getting the best price I can. I appreciate that you are also interested the item and wish you the best of luck winning the auction. I would like to suggest a method of getting this item at the lowest price possible, so that, if either one of us wins, we will win at the lowest possible price. My method only works if you are also looking for the best price. If you have a ceiling price that you are willing to bid and don’t care for the best price, then you can ignore the rest of this email, and happy bidding. If you do want the best price then keep reading.

So, if you are this far you must want the best price. In that case DON’T bid. Don’t bid until the very last moment, or at least, until a very later moment. Bidding now, with 6 days to go, only jacks up the price. Most ‘eBay-ers’ think that you need to be the high bidder to win. They are obsessed with being the high bidder. They need to learn that you only ONCE have to be the high bidder, and that time is when the auction closes.

There are three types of ‘eBay-ers’:

Fools: Bid many times, only just enough to be high bidder, only to be bested in the next hour by another fool. This continues until one or more of the fools get to/past their threshold, that had they bid that amount in the first place, the bid price would not even be close to yet. They may also be cheapskates who think they are in the ‘Bid Once’ category below, and bid a sub fair price, but are really just fools. The seller loves these bidders! Fools don’t get the ‘eBay’ idea, and ruin it for the rest of us.

Bid Once: These bidders follow the ‘eBay’ idea of auctions that they will get the best price up to the limit they set. They are foiled and or forced to pay more by the fools. These folks understand that if they bid a fair price, they may not get the item because of fools, or because someone is willing to pay more. The seller is fine with these bidders, they are good customers.

Last Second Bidders: These bidders want a deal. They want the lowest possible price and are willing to chance a click race to win at that price. I’m in this category. These bidders respect the ‘Oncers’ and loath the ‘Fools’. Sellers don’t like the ‘LSB’ because they get a lower price because of them.

Where do you fit? I suggest that you set a timer, an alarm, mark your calendar, etc. and bid the last second. Then all of us have a chance at the LOWEST price. If you are worried you’ll miss it, then you might as well bid now, and bid high! If you’ve done that, good work, and good luck! If you are bidding like a ‘Fool’, please stop. You are ruining my deal. If you are hoping for a last second deal, why are you already on the board? I hope you have a fast connection, nerves of steel, and a fast click finger! :)

My Humble Strategy

Clark