Automatically bid on eBay
If you want to get a bargain on eBay, you have to understand how to place the highest bid so skillfully that it doesn't drive up the price of the item. This is not that easy because automatic bidding has its pitfalls.
The pitfalls of automatic bidding on eBay
You can use the eBay system to automatically bid. In this example you can see the problems that arise:
- Suppose you want to buy a camera on eBay. You find a suitable offer and are ready to spend € 100 on it. So that you don't miss the process, enter your maximum bid of € 100 immediately, even though the price is € 10 and the auction is still running for 5 days.
- To your surprise, the price immediately rises to € 50.50 because another bidder has specified € 50 as the maximum price. The automatic bidding increases its current bid to its maximum price and yours to one unit above its maximum price. Most of the time, the price continues to climb quickly because the eBay system informs the other party that it has been outbid. He now has the opportunity to increase his maximum bid. With your bid you trigger that the other bidder increases his bid. For example, the price rises to € 85.
- Since the price is already quite high, look around for a similar camera and find that a comparable camera is offered for 50 €. So you are no longer willing to pay 100 € for the camera. However, you are not allowed to withdraw your bid unless you lie and claim that you made a mistake in submitting the bid. Note that bid withdrawals are in your profile and that it is often not technically possible to withdraw a bid.
So by automatically bidding on eBay you trigger the price to rise and you are trapped because you cannot withdraw the bid.
Setting up a bidding agent for eBay - this is how bidding works when you are absent
Everyone knows the problem: You want to bid on an auction on eBay, but ...
How to get around the problem
- Add the offer to your browser's favorites or mark it in My eBay. Do not start bidding until the last 60 seconds before the offer expires. You can immediately enter the maximum bid, via automatic bidding, only the amount that is currently necessary to get the item is offered. In this way you avoid driving up the price and you have time to look around for further offers.
- So that you do not drive the price higher than absolutely necessary, you should orient yourself to the price which the item has achieved in past auctions or for which it was offered as "Buy now" will.
- You can also use software that bids for you or a bidding agent who has nothing to do with eBay. With these systems you always bid in the last few seconds before the auction ends. You can also instruct them not to bid shortly before the auction. The use of this software is not welcome on eBay but was judged on 11. February 2003 of the Regional Court of Berlin AZ 15 O 704/02 declared legal. Since then, eBay has tolerated these systems.
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