How to play the bidding game?
The bidding game
Bidding involves the act of making an offer for an item which is up for auction. Traditionally, interested buyers made offers in an attempt to outbid other buyers. The seller in turn encourages buyers to place higher bids. The seller tried to create an environment of competition which ultimately results in increase in valuation of the item under the hammer. Selling and bidding on eBay works on similar principles albeit slightly different.
Once you have located the desired item, you can bid for it in the traditional way. The seller sets the minimum bidding amount. You have to bid the minimum bidding amount if you are the first bidder or more than the last bidder. Once you place your bid, you can monitor the item to check if you have been outbid. If so, you can bid again till the end of the auction.
How auctioning is better on eBay?
EBay offers a better system to place bids wherein you enter the maximum amount that you are ready to shell out for the item. eBay’s proxy bidding system does the rest by bidding on your behalf. Suppose the highest bid for a certain item is $20.00 and you have set the maximum bid amount at $50.00, then eBay will keep bidding for you till the bidding gets to $50.00. You could even end up winning the item for $25.00 if no one places any more bids.
Let’s look at this process in detail with an example.
- Once you have searched and located the required item, decide on the maximum amount you are willing to pay for it.
- If the current minimum bid for the item is $20.00 and you are willing to pay a maximum of $50.00, enter this amount as the maximum bid.
- The proxy bidding system will bid $20.00 on your behalf. If no one else bids till the end of the auction, you will win the item for $20.00.
- At this point, eBay will inform the other bidders that they have been outbid.
- If any of the other bidders bid $21.00, the system will automatically bid $22.00 on your behalf (assuming $1.00 is the minimum increment amount) till the maximum amount of $50.00 is reached.
- If someone else enters a maximum bid amount of $60.00, you will automatically be outbid.
- You may not win an item if the final bid is below the reserved price set by the seller.
Avoiding impulse bidding
Since bidding is very addictive, it’s best to set your limit and not exceed that amount regardless of the fact that you may loose out on the auction. If you do not set a limit, you may end up bidding impulsively and paying much more than necessary. It is important to remember that you can always come back and bid for a similar item from a different seller at a lower cost. Since the proxy bidding system automatically bids for you using you pre-determined amount, it reduces the tendency to over spend, thus saving you money. It also eliminates the need to come back and re-bid every time someone places a higher bid. This saves the time of having to sit around, waiting and making sure that you haven’t been outbid. A number of such auction tools are available. Also there are several other tips on bidding that can prove helpful. You can also buy books which are specially written for eBay auctions.
Checklist for bidding
Before bidding, you should always check if the seller delivers to your location. It is also important to note that not everyone offers free delivery and delivery charges can be a significant sum depending on the mode of transport. Also check the payment options because not everyone accepts Pay Pal. Bidding on eBay is meant to be fun, but remember that all bids on eBay are binding, except in the sales of real estate or businesses and the sales of items that are prohibited by law or by eBay's user agreement.
If you are well versed with the rules of the game, keep an eye on the game and have enough patience, you can become the grandmaster of the bidding game.