Bidding for Your First Item on eBay
by Brian McGregor
The first time you make a bid on eBay is quite a moment for most of us.
Your mind is flooded with concerns about whether you'll win, is it safe, have I made an error, what happens next?
If you've yet to make that first bid, here are a few things to remember.
1. Bid on Auctions Which End Soon
You will have a better chance of winning if you place your bid near the end of the auction period. Better still, if you can arrange to bid in the final seconds you may well be the winner.
If you find an item in which you're interested, but which isn't ending soon, it'll pay you to watch the item rather than place a bid now. By placing your bid too early in the auction, you're probably helping to drive the price up. This is great for the seller, but not for you.
One way in which you can ensure your bid goes in at the last moment is to use a service known as sniping. Sniping software provides an automated way in which bids get placed on your behalf on the item you've specified. If the item you're after is highly popular, the chances of you winning by attempting to place bids manually in the final few seconds of the auction is low. Snipers will usually always beat manual bidders.
Proxy bidding is an alternative to sniping. This is a facility provided by eBay in which you decide the maximum you are prepared to pay for an item and enter this as a proxy bid.
With this in place, the eBay system will bid on your behalf up to your maximum amount, but only as much as is necessary to maintain your position as the winning bidder.
You can find out about proxy bidding on UK eBay here.
You can find out about proxy bidding on US eBay here.
2. Use "Buy It Now"
Occasionally you might find the auction process can be frustrating as a bidder. You've done your best to place the winning bid, only to find you've been outbid in the final seconds by "snipers".
There is a way which is increasing in popularity in which you can get a great deal on eBay without having to wait until the end of the auction. What you do is look for auctions with a "Buy It Now" price.
Whenever you perform a search on eBay, you will find search filtering options on the left column of the page. One of these options is a check box for "Buy it Now." If you select this, the search results will be filtered to include only those items with a "Buy It Now" price.
It doesn't matter how long an auction listing has to run, the "Buy It Now" indicator means you can buy the item instantly at the given price. It can be very satisfying to skip the uncertainty of the auction process and just buy the item now.
3. Buy Only from Reputable Sellers
It is wise to avoid bidding on items from sellers without a good track record on eBay. Every eBay member has a feedback rating.
This rating is made up of feedback given to the member by their buyers/sellers. The feedback rating is the number in parentheses to the right of the eBay member's user ID. Beneath the feedback rating there appears a percentage which indicates the proportion of feedbacks which are positive.
Although not a complete guarantee, it is safer to buy from sellers with at least 10 feedback rating and with 99% plus positive feedback.
Be careful in your bidding, but do have some fun.
About the Author
Brian McGregor is an internet business creator, consultant and author. He is the author of several books including 'The eBay Formula', an essential guide to selling successfully on eBay. He has also written many articles and is published on the internet and in the printed media. He is also editor of the eBay Auction Newsletter, which you can subscribe to free. For a free ebook on how to use the leverage of eBay to help your business grow, go to http://www.leads-generation.co.uk/lgdl. For full information about Brian, go to his main website http://www.workwinners.com
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