Ebay listing...a word to the wise.

[CW]

Originally Posted by quinnsryche

Here's a novel suggestion, put in your max bids on all the items and see what you win when they end. What I don't understand is people refusing to put in a bid until 2 seconds before the auction ends. If I see something I want, I bid on it when I see it. I put in the maximum amount I feel comfortable with and then wait for the auction to end. If I win, great, if I lose, oh well I bid what I thought it was worth. I don't understand what is so difficult about grasping this concept. I end all my auctions at the same time because I have a JOB other than ebay and don't particularly want to spend every other waking moment running auctions.
Hope that helps.

Did you even read the OP? He is collecting on a budget and if he's targeting, for example, four items from a seller he may only be able to afford to win 2 at market values. When the seller ends all four auctions at the same time, the OP has to pick and choose which two items he can afford to bid on, leaving the other 2 items without his bids because he cannot afford to bid on all 4.

If the auctions' ending times were staggered just 5 min. apart, the OP could then bid on each item separately. If he didn't win the first, or the second, he could still attempt to bid aggressively on the remaining two because he would then know the funds were available. By ending the auctions all at exactly the same time, the OP is forced to limit his bidding on 2 items because that's all he can afford to win. Many of us are in the same boat (ie. collecting on a budget).

And while we appreciate the fact that you have a JOB, it wouldn't hurt or waste much time to simply stagger your auction endings 5 minutes apart. All your auctions will still end on the same evening, and the next day you can simply accept all your payments and get your items ready to ship.

I'm also amazed that it's 2015 and some people still don't understand the simple concept of sniping an auction. With eBay's system, it's the best option for winning items at the lowest possible price. By placing your top bid early you are merely exposing your hand. It also allows someone to simply top your bid, then retract the bid which exposes your high bid for all to see.