Some of you guys need to learn how to bid on auction sites

[Captain Kilowatt]

Along with last second shill bidders.

AKA Radio-xxxx

Shill bidders will be there last minute or not. When I see an auction with four days left and already it has a few dozens bids I just pass on it. Too much interest from people that will get into a bidding war. Not worth it. I figure the fewer people that show interest in something the fewer and less often the bids will come in. That's why I jump in in the last few minutes. One auction I was having trouble making a bid with less than a minute to go. I then realized that i had forgotten to login before bidding. :laugh: I made my final bid and hit submit with less than 10 seconds before the auction ended. I won.

 

[Se7en]

It's only money...

FA SHO

 

[N8YX]

To each his own I guess. Sometimes the stuff bought on Ebay is just plain NOT available new and extremely hard to find used. That's why some of us look to Ebay. I was able to pick up some Kenwood TS-820S accessories that are almost 30 years old and very hard to find. I paid an exceptable (to me) price for somethings that I could not otherwise find. I agree that some people get caught up in the frenzy but some people simply are willing to pay what it takes to get what they want and not necessarily just to beat out the other guy.

Thread bump.

Those of us who use and/or repair older, less-common gear (think Cubic, Drake, etc) find eBay a godsend when it comes to sourcing parts, rigs and accessories.

I got lucky in the search for certain Cubic stuff twice at Dayton...and many more times than that on eBay. Time is money to some of us, and if one pays a bit more online for a piece of equipment it saves the trouble and expense of running to every hamfest under the sun in search of that rarity.

The above being said, if an item is still in production then I'll most likely not get into an auction over it.

 

[elect1mike]

I agree sometimes guys get carried away I saw a yaesu vx5r with no extras just radio and plug in charger go for 250.00 plus 10.00 shipping a bit much in my opinion

 

[Lefty]

It depends,
If I'm selling I want all you high rollers to slap your "Johnsons" on the table and bid like Arabs at a hooker convention.
If I'm buying, then stay the f**k away!

 

[DuckSoupe]

ebay

I look for the 14 return policy, it has to be either new or said to work. I sometimes just buy it outright. I had one bad experience. I bid on a CB that said worked but had a few lights out on channel selector. I could fix that. Well I put in a $25 bid and won the auction. Luckily i paid with Paypal. The check never was picked up. I figure he did not like the price. I advised both Ebay and Paypal by phone. Ebay gave me his Email address and phone number. I tried three times to email him and he did not return answer. I then called him and the phone was disconnected.Ebay said to cancel. I called Paypal and they got my money in short order. Please use Paypal and be careful. I bought a sears roadtracker 40 base in mint condition for $30. It was said to have no plug and was hard to find. I haven't been able to find plug but is worth having fixed.One person I bought from emails me about things they are doing and their radios. My next buy is a 10 meter dipole for my president 2510 which I listen to until I get my license . A base station is in the future,but I will buy off a dealer.
Eddie

 

[The DB]

I have no problem not following the conventional wisdom of this thread and bid early. I'll bid what I am willing to pay for an item. More than 9 out of 10 times I'll still win it.

Someone almost always tries to bid me up in the end, trying to manipulate the system and get a bargain. It doesn't matter to me as if I win whatever it was it was within the price I expected to pay for it, and if they win well good for them, they ended up paying more than I was willing to.

If you are willing to pay a descent or slightly more than descent price the last minute bargain hunters will have to choose between a fair (or more than fair) price or loosing the item.


The DB

 

[johng1970]

yep, all us dumbasses really needed a lesson on how to bid on e bay, duhhhh.

thread title sounds a bit condescending, did you loose out on an auction due to someone being prepared to dig a bit deeper than you were? because that's how it comes across, either that or you think you have superior intellect to others on this forum, either way, it don't do you any favours.

Are you trying to say he's 5 by 9 on the BS meter?

 

[Turbo T]

Some of you guys are total marks and ebay has sen you coming!The idea of an auction is not to be the guy that wins the auction at all cost! The idea is to get an item for less then you would spend retail for a used item or at a swap meet or from Craigs List or classifieds in local newspaper etc..... It never fails that some fool will spend more for the used item on ebay they could by it from HRO used! I often see people get close enough to the retail price to have been able to buy said item new or as a demo with just a few more weeks of saving!

I understand their are people with more money then brains but come on already.......If you want to pay 75%-90% of what an item cost's retail just go buy a new item and get the warranty and leave ebay for those of us with more brains then money!

So have a plan, research, set a limit, wait until the last minute or use bidding software, be willing to walk away! Always ask for a discount if it is over $300-$400!

The problem is, eBay is a place where everyone and anyone can log on from anywhere and buy stuff. Yes some stuff sells for crazy prices, but the reality is, it's not only you who has an eye on it, it's everyone else too.

So the seller starts off at a low price and then a bidding war commences. The item is bid up to what some consider astronomical for it's value. Might not be good for the buyer but the seller is loving it. Sure it might piss you off, but someone was and is willing to pay that much when they clicked the bid button.

And if you think eBay is bad...you ever watch Barrett-Jackson? Granted it's a classic car auction, but you'll see classic american iron from the 50's, 60's and even into the 70's that sold new for not more than $5k....hitting the mid to upper 5 digits and sometimes even into the 6 digit range....for a trailer queen but doesn't handle, stop, accelerate or have any of the safety features implemented in today's cars....most people would think you were totally brain dead to pay the kind of cash for those cars, especially to just sit in your garage....but to the guy that's buying them, well it was obviously worth it to him to pay what he paid.

As for sniper bidding, I do agree with you on that. I'll sniper bid as much as I can, but unlike some, I do have a life outside of the internet and cannot/will not sit for hours on end watching an auction....so I'll post the max I'm willing to pay for said item. If I win, then I win. If I get outbid and lose, oh well.

 

[Mudfoot]

Most snipers use a program to automatically bid within the last few seconds of the auction.

Just set your maximum bid and let the software do the rest.

 

[SmackDown]

May I add that more buyers and sellers should use the USPS. As there seems to be people who try to steal and get profit by deceptive means the Postal Police are a good deterrent. UPS and Fed Ex don't have an equivalent security force.


3's

 

[mr_fx]

WAit!!! don't tell them that, they will stop paying mad stacks'o'cash for all my old gear!!! WTF are you thinking you are going to upset the balance and the WILL GET YOU!!!