Who are these moronic eBay bidders?

[ucfgrad93]

Seems to me someone who has been "buying and selling on ebay since 1998" would know about setting minimum and reserve bids...

Agreed, this is a simple way to avoid some of the low-ballers.

 

[Xerotech]

eBay being setup the way it is, people have a natural instinct to bid the lowest. Honestly, I do it sometimes too. It may sound stupid, but it's a good way to gauge how many bidders there are, whether the seller is shell bidding, etc. Immediately when someone out bids me, I get an email notification stating so. Watching takes the extra mile of actually clicking on the item to see how many bidders there are. Of course we don't think we'll end up scoring a $4 iPad, but hope to save a few hundred.

I've actually won quite a few items much under MSRP.

Agreed, this is a simple way to avoid some of the low-ballers.

I believe eBay charges more for extra options. The best way to profit off of eBay is to set the starting bid at 0, no limits and you get the minimum amount of fees.

 

[flameproof]

@mcdj
The lowest bid doesn't matter. The highest bid does.

This said, more bidders and bids makes an auction look more attractive.

 

[MacManTexas56]

I've been buying and selling on ebay since 1998. I don't sell aspirin or socks. I sell my used computers, cameras, watches, etc. Hard goods. Relatively expensive stuff, typically current models, in great condition.

My items usually sell, and usually for market value. Sometimes slightly more, sometimes slightly less.

But without fail, the first few bidders of every auction I've ever run, are absolutely delusional.

Does anyone in their right mind actually think they're going to win an iPad 4 for their high bid of $3.99? A Canon 5D body for $27? A MacBook Air, ANY MacBook Air, in ANY condition, for $55?

These are actual bids I've received. And those are just the ones above $1. Many others have been 99 cents.

I understand that some people bid low as a means to watch or follow the auction, although clicking the "watch auction" button does the trick for me.

But there seems to be no shortage of people with either zero understanding of how ebay works, or zero understanding of market values for popular items. And a $55 bid isn't a 99 cent placeholder bid...that's a dude sitting in front of a computer, thinking, "Hmm, I sure would like me a nice Apple computer for $55! Can I swing it? What the heck! I'll splurge!"

Sure, there are great deal stories out there, but there have been exactly zero legitimate $4 iPad auctions or $25 full frame SLRs sold in the history of ebay.

So what are these brain donors smoking?

If they did what you wanted and bid high....the 2nd bidder bids and the price sky rockets to near what the 1st bidder bid. You're going to see your auction go from .99 to $300 instantly. You will lose half your watchers or more. When people see the prices so low they will stick around. But if they see an auction with 6 days left at the $300 high price they will fall off.

It's a bidding process. You really expect people to give their top dollar bid right out the gate when the next guy isn't?

There have been many auctions I have won where I've bid low just for the heck of it and forgot about the auction altogether and end up winning still. I had no intention of buying the product at regular market price.

There are a lot of people who buy super low on eBay just to resell back on eBay.

 

[Huntn]

I've been buying and selling on ebay since 1998. I don't sell aspirin or socks. I sell my used computers, cameras, watches, etc. Hard goods. Relatively expensive stuff, typically current models, in great condition.

My items usually sell, and usually for market value. Sometimes slightly more, sometimes slightly less.

But without fail, the first few bidders of every auction I've ever run, are absolutely delusional.

Does anyone in their right mind actually think they're going to win an iPad 4 for their high bid of $3.99? A Canon 5D body for $27? A MacBook Air, ANY MacBook Air, in ANY condition, for $55?

These are actual bids I've received. And those are just the ones above $1. Many others have been 99 cents.

I understand that some people bid low as a means to watch or follow the auction, although clicking the "watch auction" button does the trick for me.

But there seems to be no shortage of people with either zero understanding of how ebay works, or zero understanding of market values for popular items. And a $55 bid isn't a 99 cent placeholder bid...that's a dude sitting in front of a computer, thinking, "Hmm, I sure would like me a nice Apple computer for $55! Can I swing it? What the heck! I'll splurge!"

Sure, there are great deal stories out there, but there have been exactly zero legitimate $4 iPad auctions or $25 full frame SLRs sold in the history of ebay.

So what are these brain donors smoking?

Are you referring to an auction with a reserve on it? Or are you talking about getting offers on buy-it-now items? If it's an auction, the key is to keep the price as low as possible. If they can bid $.99 cents on an item, it is because the owner of the item, in this case you, set it up that way. If there is a reserve or not, the tactic that should be used is to not place your real bid until minutes before the auction ends. Now while it might be delusional to think you'll win a functional iPad for $.99, (as long as it does not have $200 in shipping ) there is nothing delusional about the strategy.

 

[GoCubsGo]

snip…
That being said, if an auction doesn't have a limit on the low end, why the hell wouldn't you put in a low bid and see what happens? Does it cost you, as a bidder anything? No. So if you happen to place a bid for $20 for an iPad that somehow doesn't get more bids, and you get that iPad for $20, lucky you.

This. Call me a brain donor or whatever, but if the starting bid is $1, I'm not there to type in an amount equal to FMV. Please, get real.

If there is a chance to win something by paying a lot less then who are you to call these people morons?
Are they morons if or when they score an item for a bargain basement price? I think not.

I wasn't giving advice. I was asking why you were so awfully bent out of shape about something that seems patently obvious to the rest of us.

Awfully bent out of shape and clearly just looking to blog, I mean post about it on another site.

 

[Huntn]

That being said, if an auction doesn't have a limit on the low end, why the hell wouldn't you put in a low bid and see what happens? Does it cost you, as a bidder anything? No. So if you happen to place a bid for $20 for an iPad that somehow doesn't get more bids, and you get that iPad for $20, lucky you.

As long as there is no reserve involved.

 

[samiwas]

This. Call me a brain donor or whatever, but if the starting bid is $1, I'm not there to type in an amount equal to FMV. Please, get real.

Indeed...if you are looking for "fair market value", then what the hell are you doing on ebay?? People aren't going to ebay saying "Man, I sure hope I can pay fair market value for something today!" They are going there looking for steals and deals. I would say if you are expecting "fair market value", then you might be the brain donor here.

 

[roadbloc]

Slap a reserve on it if you don't want cheapskates bidding on your stuff. I don't blame them. I try and wangle a bargain on that site often.