[ja1091]

I am a fairly new ebay buyer/seller and I was just wondering why people bid when the auction still has so much time left on it. I've only bought about 15 items from ebay and all of them came from bids with 1 minute or less left. I see people bidding with days left on an item. Like I said, I'm new to ebay and just wondering is there any advantages or something of bidding early? To me, it just seems like you can bid at the end of an auction and probably get the item cheaper.

[got watcha want]

You can and some do that.

Some like to put the price that they would pay and not a penny more, so it doesn't matter when the bid is placed.

Some people just shop the recently posted "buy it now: listings and find bargains that way when a seller lists something cheaper than it would auction for.

I have done a little of it all to save a buck, but everyone has their own ebay buying strategies.

[Davis26]

I will bid now if I have no plan, or can't, be around when the auction ends.

Bidding at the last second is the way to go if you can, I got a nice lot of Lineage inserts for less than 10% of BV yesterday, as I bragged in another thread here.

[kata78]

Same here. If I know I will not be around I will bid early. But most of the time when I bid early it is because I set a certain amount I want to spend on a card, bid on it and hope for the best.

[fishtaco02]

I'll place a bid just in case I cant be there at the end, but also so I have a bid on the item. So many times I place an initial bid, and then end up being the only bid and winning.

[bonds20001]

I see a card I want and need for PC.
Say a Lincecum mini relic.
I research the LO and HI book and determine how much I will pay for the card (I factor in postage cost if any) and then I bid the amount I am willing to pay.
I do this when I find the card from someone with a good rep who I will buy from
It doesn't matter to me if it has 7 days left or 1 min.
It is the amount I will pay..
I do not get into bidding wars for a card and end up paying HI book or above.
I bid and then watch..ebay software tells me when it is close and to look more closely and when I am outbid if I want to bid again.
So, take it from someone who has sold and bought for over 10 years on eBay (Powerseller as well) it doesn't matter when you bid, just bid what you are willing to pay....there are some great bargains when you research and watch too...
Sorry so long a post..I ramble...

[jacobystealshome]

I see a card I want and need for PC.
Say a Lincecum mini relic.
I research the LO and HI book and determine how much I will pay for the card (I factor in postage cost if any) and then I bid the amount I am willing to pay.
I do this when I find the card from someone with a good rep who I will buy from
It doesn't matter to me if it has 7 days left or 1 min.
It is the amount I will pay..
I do not get into bidding wars for a card and end up paying HI book or above.
I bid and then watch..ebay software tells me when it is close and to look more closely and when I am outbid if I want to bid again.
So, take it from someone who has sold and bought for over 10 years on eBay (Powerseller as well) it doesn't matter when you bid, just bid what you are willing to pay....there are some great bargains when you research and watch too...
Sorry so long a post..I ramble...

however, if you bid early, someone else might bid it up, thus costing you money. if you wait, even if you only bid what you want, you might end up paying much less than that

[bustin 5 knots]

most of the time I just bid the minimum on items, a lot of times when I know that there's no way I'll win

[dbroockerd]

The only reason I bid early is because it chimes my ebay mobile minutes before it ends and it reminds me to get the card. I never bid what I will pay early though. I just do a bid to get in my bidding section. Then I am reminded. If its in my watch it reminds me hours before and not minutes so I still forget sometimes. Another reason some people throw a first bid is because after cards have a bid sellers won't end them as much if an offer comes in through PM or something. There are many reasons to bid early.

[jacobystealshome]

as a seller, i encourage all of you to bid early, bid often

/actually, for me it doesnt matter (all i run is fixed price multi-lot auctions)