Winning on EBay
Using a winning strategy on eBay auctions ensures you pay the best possible price. First you must decide how much you are willing to spend, then you need to plan how you will bid.
What eBay would like you to do is to just place a bid set to the maximum amount you are willing to pay. This seems like a good idea, but it has it's drawbacks and you may quickly find out how frustrating it is to lose an auction by one bid.
Many people add bids one increment at a time to see just how high you are willing to go, which can result in you paying more than you need. Unscrupulous sellers may even risk bidding against you (through a third party) to raise the price they will receive. Shill bidding, as it is known, is against eBay terms and conditions, but it is very hard for them to police and eliminate.
Sniping at the End of an Auction
Most savvy buyers use one of the sniping methods to place bids. Sniping is the act of placing your bid in the last few seconds of the auction. This gives no one else a chance to place one more bid after yours.
Now you could sit at a computer with a stopwatch ready to click the OK button for your bid at the last moment, but that is rarely convenient. So the answer is to use one of the sniping software tools.
I personally use Hammersnipe, which is free if you are bidding on a small number of items each week and places you bid with about 15 seconds to go. You can pay a small amount to allow you to bid on more items each week, which also lets you specify a much shorter time before the end of the auction.
Visit Hammersnipe for more information.
Newly Listed Buy It Now Items
There is another way to get a bargain on eBay and that is by watching for newly posted items with a low Buy It Now price. You can agree to purchase an item with a Buy It Now price immediately. Looking through newly listed items you sometimes come across very good value Buy It Now prices, presumably from people looking for a quick sale or not sure what the item is worth.
If you see an auction that is listed with a Buy It Now option and an auction option, but you think the buy it now is too high there is a strategy too. Place a bid for the minimum amount and then setup your snipe bid. Once a bid has been placed the Buy It Now option is removed (unless there is a reserve).