Ebay and auction watch: let us know if you see something

[rogerzilla]

If the seller revises the auction and removes the reserve, do you then have to buy it? Doesn't matter for a quid; but £349 for a bike you don't want and wasn't worth the money

Edit: if the reserve was dropped to, say, £200, it looks like your £349 bid would be dropped to £199: https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/listings/selling-auctions/reserve-prices?id=4143

I'm not sure I'd want to test it!

 

[Kempstonian]

If the seller revises the auction and removes the reserve, do you then have to buy it? Doesn't matter for a quid; but £349 for a bike you don't want and wasn't worth the money

Edit: if the reserve was dropped to, say, £200, it looks like your £349 bid would be dropped to £199: https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/listings/selling-auctions/reserve-prices?id=4143

I'm not sure I'd want to test it!

Yeah, maybe that wasn't quite as good an idea as I thought!

 

[BalkanExpress]

Does anyone get a perverse pleasure from starting the bidding on such items with £1, knowing the reserve is £350? It's like having a big red button marked "This doesn't do anything, but you can push it if it makes you feel better".

Maybe I am watching too much “Flippin’ Bangers” during lockdown, but, don’t most auctions work like this? Guide price, reserve and a starting bid; if there is a bit of competition the bids go up and you get the price you want, or else you strike a deal with the highest bidder or take it home.

 

[rogerzilla]

If someone sets a reserve on an eBay auction and states what it is, you can bid with impunity below that reserve and it makes not a jot of difference. It's nonsensical.

Ebay's main flaw, however, is the fixed end time. There is no point in bidding until the last five seconds. Bidding earlier just gives other buyers a chance to think about it and to top your bid.

 

[Kempstonian]

If someone sets a reserve on an eBay auction and states what it is, you can bid with impunity below that reserve and it makes not a jot of difference. It's nonsensical.

Ebay's main flaw, however, is the fixed end time. There is no point in bidding until the last five seconds. Bidding earlier just gives other buyers a chance to think about it and to top your bid.

I always put in the highest price I'm willing to pay. It doesn't register unless somebody else bids you up to it, and if I eventually get outbid they are paying over the odds for it IMO, so I'm not disappointed. One problem with last second bids is that there will be several people doing it if the item is a popular one - and you could still get outbid.

 

[rogerzilla]

I always put in the highest price I'm willing to pay. It doesn't register unless somebody else bids you up to it, and if I eventually get outbid they are paying over the odds for it IMO, so I'm not disappointed. One problem with last second bids is that there will be several people doing it if the item is a popular one - and you could still get outbid.

You're more likely to pay the highest price, or something very close to it, the earlier you bid. You give others a chance to decide that maybe they do really want the item and will pay an extra £5 for it.

Ebay encourages you to bid early for your maximum amount because they make more money from the higher final sale price.

 

[DCLane]

Peugeot in the wrong category, Northampton, £20 start: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PEUGEOT-BIKE/202959339939

@biggs682 ?

 

[rogerzilla]

It's massive!

 

[biggs682]

Peugeot in the wrong category, Northampton, £20 start: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PEUGEOT-BIKE/202959339939

View attachment 513508

@biggs682 ?

Thanks @DCLane i am in total lockdown and have missed so many bargains on facebook market place and e bay over the last 10 days

 

[Gunk]

Peugeot in the wrong category, Northampton, £20 start: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PEUGEOT-BIKE/202959339939

View attachment 513508

@biggs682 ?

I think that’s a bike I sold earlier this year.

 

[Kempstonian]

You're more likely to pay the highest price, or something very close to it, the earlier you bid. You give others a chance to decide that maybe they do really want the item and will pay an extra £5 for it.

Ebay encourages you to bid early for your maximum amount because they make more money from the higher final sale price.

But if everybody else is holding back they won't know how much you have bid, will they? If the bidding is at, say, £20 for an item and I bid £70, the bid only goes to the next increment (£22) and not to my highest bid. Somebody bidding at the last moment would have to put in more than £70 to get the item - and if it stands at £22 they might only bid around £40-50, thinking they would get it. If they bid more than £70 good luck to them because its more than I would be willing to pay. The problem with last second bidding is that you have to get it right.

 

[rogerzilla]

Your bid goes to £22, so I bid £25. Your bid goes to £26, so I bid £30. Your bid goes to £31, etc.

Better auction sites (which nobody uses, as eBay has critical mass) will extend the auction by a short time if there are very late bids. This makes last-minute sniping less rewarding.

 

[Kempstonian]

Exactly. So if you want the item you'll have to bid me all the way up to my maximum. Go above that and the item is yours - and you'll be welcome to it because its more than I would pay for it. But after you have put in your fourth bid or so you are probably wondering what my maximum bid was... lol

 

[biggs682]

Exactly. So if you want the item you'll have to bid me all the way up to my maximum. Go above that and the item is yours - and you'll be welcome to it because its more than I would pay for it. But after you have put in your fourth bid or so you are probably wondering what my maximum bid was... lol

Bit like poker 😂

 

[Chris S]

A pair of Raleigh RSWs in the Wolverhampton area. The starting bid is £40.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Ralei...g:Kz8AAOSwrohebkN9&LH_ItemCondition=3000|7000