Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

[HVAC Cruiser]

Here's the scenario
I lost the last bravo drive complete with Gimbal and all to someone that used the buy it now option
I found another, a rebuilt Bravo one that I need for my boat, 500 bucks nobody had bid, so I put 500 on it. now 3 hrs from end time someone has it up to 610.00
Oh shoot, make maters worse wifey just saw me writing this and is now pissssssssed I am spending money we don't have on the boat :redface: .
Guess all I can say at this point is my max bid is $661.99, if you really want it bid higher than that and stop an argument I'm now having with my wife with my wife Or if you don't want to spend that much leave it at the 610. but then again She is really pissed

Bill

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

Somebody is probably doing you a big favor, I try to resist the urge to bid on e'bay stuff because mostly stuff turns out to be junk for me, the last one was a propane heater in like new condition, I had been researching them for some time now and watching prices, finally won an auction only to find out the heater's valve doesn't shut off 100%, it eats up propane when not in use I have to remove bottle or it's empty in two days, bubble test verfied the leak.
It's not worth me pissing with the seller over 60bux. His reason for selling was it makes too much noise in his deerstand. Didn't mention it eats up the propane when not in use.

 

[HVAC Cruiser]

Re: Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

Hey eliminator,
Sorry to hear you had a bad experience there, I've had mostly good luck on e-bay with the exception of the FBI knocking on my door because I had bought a laptop from someone who was steeling them from where he worked I will never forget that phone call from my wife they came while I was in the field. I have gotten 3 trucks and a load of computers from there I"m still driving them today. I even got my farm tractor off e-bay and she runs like a champ. I look at e-bay as a modern version of the Buy-Lines only with a bigger audience.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

Cool. I've gotten some good deals too, it's just the one bad one that cancels out all the good.
Sometimes after I get outbidded the closing seconds and just get so ticked off... but then I'm relieved at not having to pay and another even better deal will come up.

 

[JB]

Re: Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

You need to abandon the fantasy that eBay works like a yard sale. It doesn't. It is an auction, and a cut throat auction at that.

There are 2 ways to "win" ("win", my foot. Buy is the word.) something listed. Either be the first guy to hit "buy it now" or be the guy with the highest bid at close. If you fail, you fail. Forget it and move on.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

... ("win", my foot. Buy is the word.)...

Great point. I once heard it described (on here I think) this way:

"Just remember, winning an EBay auction just means you paid more for the item than anyone else in the world!"

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

Heh I have had quite a few good transactions on there.
I bought a $600 dollar snowmobile engine on there awhile back and my wife had the exact same reaction, she was pissed for about 2 or 3 days. I love that sled more and more with every ride .

 

[MRS]

Re: Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

All I have bought on e-bay has been (buy now) I only buy the stuff I really need to fix something. Most is n.o.s. plus if it is a dealer selling I check there web site and see if the shipping and price are the same. When I bought my shifting and throttle cables I checked e-bay and with shipping and price I bought from iboats it was lower than e-bay honest. If it really is what you want and need (buy now)

 

[HVAC Cruiser]

Re: Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

Well I normally bid differently, I usually use a bid snipe program and get it in the last seconds. This time around I was to lazy to walk down the basement to my other computer that has it in by bookmarks. I probably should have just used the buy it now on the first drive it was a complete bravo one gimbal and all that had a buy it now for 950.00 .
Oh well, tomorrow's another day, next time I will be smart about it and just snipe it.

 

[RoyR]

Re: Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

Boat US magazine had a company listed that sell complete units pretty cheap...can't recall the name though

http://www.boatus.com/news/reports.htm

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

when bidding on something i would like to have, i place my bid, and let it ride out. if it is something i definately need (a part) i will wait till the last couple of seconds, and then bid what i am willing to pay for it. sometimes i end up paying what i bid, sometimes i get it for a penny more than the highest bid. sometimes i loose the bid, and have to go to the parts store and bite the bullet.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

I like to I think of a seller being clueless and imagine how he would list a certain item using the wrong spelling and or wrong keywords.
Example: Brava, evenrude, Mercery. I bought an 80hp evinrude for 150bux! not many people saw it, I searched evenrude and it was one of three items that came up, when I searched evinrude 2,300 items come up.
Hate to give up my secrets, but then again, guys with special software for sniping and computers with teribites probably already have programs to catch stuff like that, I'm just a caveman when it comes to computers.

 

[HVAC Cruiser]

Re: Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

Hey Roy - Thanks for the link I will give it a look

Hey Tashasdad - I usually lurk and don't place any bids initially that could potentially drive up the price. If someone else bids on it I might place a bid just to see if they have an auto bid set up. This will tell me what they are looking to pay, but I don't get crazy with the bidding. I usually then set up my bid snipe for what I am willing to spend. Most times I will win because it bids at the very end and the opponent whether it be computer or live person can't bid fast enough to counter.

Hey eliminator I do that too with misspelled items and have gotten some real good deals. I also look at people that don't put a reserve or know how to describe the item. Another good trick I learned, the last 3 cars I picked up there were all ending on a big holiday morning Christmas Easter etc.. . I got my 94 Jeep wrangler for $1200 with 82k on the odometer, a 96 Cherokee for $900 and a ford explorer for $800 all at minimum opening bid

This time around if things weren't so bad with the business right now I would have done a buy it now for the 950 It was a Bravo one , rams, gimbal and all,the complete setup. Trying to save some money I figured I would take the bid route instead. The second one I started bidding on I kinda let it go when someone else started bidding on it, especially when my wife flipped out and said "were worring about oil for the house and your buying boat parts!!!" Ouch that kinda hurt. I know jobs are coming in, they always do but she worries

 

[bassman284]

Re: Is one of my Comrades Bidding Against me on e-bay?

Hey eliminator,
Sorry to hear you had a bad experience there, I've had mostly good luck on e-bay with the exception of the FBI knocking on my door because I had bought a laptop from someone who was steeling them from where he worked I will never forget that phone call from my wife they came while I was in the field. I have gotten 3 trucks and a load of computers from there I"m still driving them today. I even got my farm tractor off e-bay and she runs like a champ. I look at e-bay as a modern version of the Buy-Lines only with a bigger audience.

I always figure there's at least a 50% chance that whatever is listed on ebay is stolen. Bet I'm pretty close to right.