Ebay strategies???

[ShortBuSX]

There are some small parts(guitar electronics) that Im interested in, the ites are all priced at $0.99 as the starting bid, 3 of the items I want have only one bidder whos placed the minimum bid for the items...the auctions end in about 7 hours on each of the 3 items.

What do I do to win these and pay as little as possible?

Im thinkin I wait till about 10:30 - 10:45 and see whats what...but then what?

In the meantime Im gonna contact the seller and see if I can get to only charge me one shipping charge...thatd save me another 10 bucks. *shrug*

Any suggestions???
I have no Ebay savy.

[ShortBuSX]

Come on...geeez!
Strategies...I need em...I want deze parts!!
Help a fellow fretter out mang...I want these on the cheap.
:poke:

[sunvalleylaw]

I'd help if I could. I just try to put in my top price I am willing to do, with sober thought, as close to the end of the auction as possible. Often, an item has been bid up beyond that by then. I typically get frustrated and end up buying on craigslist, or even Harmony Central when I want something.

[ShortBuSX]

I typically get frustrated and end up buying on craigslist, or even Harmony Central when I want something.

Yeah, I dont Ebay much except BIN items...but these parts are kind of rare/unusual, not much interest so Im not gonna find em much anywhere else.
Dont get me wrong, I'll find em again, just not at these prices.

[t_ross33]

http://www.auctionsniper.com/

Good luck

[just strum]

I enter my bid in the last 5 to 10 seconds. I've been pretty successful. I have a top price I will pay in mind before I enter my bid and I wait until the end. I don't like getting into a bidding war - advantage the seller. So by bidding in the last seconds I avoid a bidding war and I don't get lured into trying to be top dog.

[duhvoodooman]

My advice:

For regular auctions, get yourself an account at an online "sniping" service like AuctionSniper.com (http://www.auctionsniper.com/default.aspx). These services allow you to automatically place a bid a few seconds before the auction closes. So you do your price research, decide what is the largest bid you're willing to make on the item, set it up in your "sniper" service and then--VERY IMPORTANT--don't look at the auction again until it ends!!!!
Why?? Because following an auction and getting caught up in the bidding is how you screw yourself on eBay. An auction is not a game or contest, and it's not a test of your masculinity or toughness or force of will or anything else of the kind. It is a matter of economics. You set up your bid based upon what you are willing and able to pay. If somebody outbids you, so be it. You've made your own decision and you've controlled the situation.

The way such a bid works on eBay is that the bid amount that's actually placed is only high enough to beat any other bids, so you don't have to worry about overbidding. For example, if you put in a maximum bid of $75 in your snipe service, the next highest bid is $60, and the minimum bid increment is $1, you'll win the auction with a bid of $61.

The purpose of sniping is so that nobody who is bidding manually has time to react to your bid and outbid you before the auction ends.

You pay a small fee, but only if you actually win the item. If you're outbid, there's no charge for the snipe service. Absolutely the best strategy for bidding in open auctions! :AOK:

EDIT: I see that while I was typing out my response, Trev & Strum have chimed in with the same basic advice. Great minds, as they say....

[tjcurtin1]

I enter my bid in the last 5 to 10 seconds. I've been pretty successful. I have a top price I will pay in mind before I enter my bid and I wait until the end. I don't like getting into a bidding war - advantage the seller. So by bidding in the last seconds I avoid a bidding war and I don't get lured into trying to be top dog.

Brilliant thinking, Strum! I follow exactly the same strategy:D

[mrmudcat]

yep :munch: :munch: dowhattheysaid :munch: :munch:

[ShortBuSX]

Eh, Im trying to win 3 auctions at once...that sniper site didnt inspire me to sign up...Ive got an hour left, Ive figured out how much I wanna spend, if I save anything its gonna be a buck or two:whatever:
If this doesnt work I'll likely buy it now.:thwap:

But the upside is I refuse to get into a bidding war just for the sake of winning...thanks for that reminder...and putting a cap on it is great advice too, thanks all!:AOK:

Wish me luck...$30 is my limit(total) on all 3 items(shipping figured into it)...well see how I do:confused:

[ShortBuSX]

5 minutes looking good...2 out of three, I let the other go, it exceeded the limit. :bravo:

[ShortBuSX]

Yeah I won!:bravo:

I won this MIJ jack and cup for $6.57 + $3 for shipping
http://i4.ebayimg.com/02/i/001/0a/45/c165_35.JPG

And this MIJ pickguard for $8.51 + $5 ofr shipping
http://i16.ebayimg.com/02/i/001/0a/45/c21f_35.JPG

I was bidding on a MIJ 5 way switch witha couple of pots attached, but I think they werent exactly the ones I wanted/needed(I think they were of a newer model MIJ)...but I DID BIN this switch, which I think is the exact replacement switch form my MIJ, mines a lil scratchy and I wanna do a wiring mod(and I want it to look clean and OEM, for my sake and my sake alone).
http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/43000047/Images/1/MIJ%20strat%20switch.JPG

I keep getting, "why dont you just use OAK and Switchcraft part???"...but Id really like to keep this one OEM like and give the MIJ parts their due, their moment, to give em a try and see how the quality really is. For the most part, aside from a scratchy switch, and a bent up jack, I love this guitar and wanna kinda restore it a lil in some areas and age/relic it in others.
The switch though, I think is a real high quality part, Ive tried the OAK, its nice too, but this MIJ one has some nice solid indents, very possitive...you aret flipping this while strumming very often.
$100 MIJ + $40 in replacement parts = :rockon:

Thanks for the tips guys!:AOK: