Buying Tips (1 Viewer)

[OzDigger]

I noticed a recent post about buying from overseas and thought it would be worth starting a thread providing tips for buying King & Country etc.

For several years my most valuable collecting ally has been Auctionsniper.com.

"Auction Sniper is an eBay sniper that automates the process of placing your eBay bid in the closing seconds of any eBay bidding auction, dramatically increasing your chance of winning. We keep it simple: you tell us what you want to win, and we snipe eBay for you. Best of all, Auction Sniper is free to try. After winning your first auction with our help, you’ll never eBay bid the same way again."

After your free trial, and only if you want to continue, you are charged 1% of the purchase price for each successful auction. You read it correctly, if you don't win the auction, it doesn't cost you anything. The monthly fee based on 1% of your successful auctions for that month is very reasonable imo. For example if your successful bids for that month totaled say $500, you only pay Auctionsniper $5, a real bargain

Auction sniper is very handy for placing last second automatic bids on auctions in other countries/time zones, but I even use Auctionsniper to bid on local eBay auctions as more than once I have forgot to place a bid on an item I intended to buy

Any other 'auctions snipers' out there, or tips you can post.

 

[The Military Workshop]

Oz,
Good tip, but what happens if two people using it are both bidding for the same item. How does the sniper decide who gets it ?
Regards
Brett

 

[Evzone]

Oz,
Good tip, but what happens if two people using it are both bidding for the same item. How does the sniper decide who gets it ?
Regards
Brett

Exactly what I was thinking. Nevertheless, as someone who has been bounced many a time at last knockings it sounds worth a punt.

 

[wayne556517]

Oz,
Good tip, but what happens if two people using it are both bidding for the same item. How does the sniper decide who gets it ?
Regards
Brett

Who ever has the fastest connection would win/or loose,that clear it up............... like mud hey.....

 

[Rob]

I don't actually buy K&C from ebay,but have used Snipe to buy other stuff and its very good indeed.Well said Oz.

Rob

 

[Cardigan600]

Yo Troopers, interesting, BUT BUT, surely you would have to give the snipe a blank cheque to make sure you got the item. IE: I always go in with a good bid to wipe out the time wasters IE: 10 bids = £15.00, so I will put a high bid in but not the full amount I am prepared to go. So then they all have to get past that bid, then I do my own sniping watch the auction, time it to the second then go in with 30 seconds left with my top bid. So if your snipe has a limit to bid it wont do much good if a higher bid goes in over it. Does that make sense, or am I missing something.
Bernard.

 

[wayne556517]

Yo Troopers, interesting, BUT BUT, surely you would have to give the snipe a blank cheque to make sure you got the item. IE: I always go in with a good bid to wipe out the time wasters IE: 10 bids = £15.00, so I will put a high bid in but not the full amount I am prepared to go. So then they all have to get past that bid, then I do my own sniping watch the auction, time it to the second then go in with 30 seconds left with my top bid. So if your snipe has a limit to bid it wont do much good if a higher bid goes in over it. Does that make sense, or am I missing something.
Bernard.

Yeah Bernard makes sense,i just put in my MAX i can/want to spend then if it goes higher well such is life,but what Matt is saying to is that the bidding ends when you are sleeping or out etc it is great then.I do the same thing with it then MAX bid i want to spend and let it do its thing,hope that makes sense.....

 

[Cardigan600]

Yeah Bernard makes sense,i just put in my MAX i can/want to spend then if it goes higher well such is life,but what Matt is saying to is that the bidding ends when you are sleeping or out etc it is great then.I do the same thing with it then MAX bid i want to spend and let it do its thing,hope that makes sense.....

Yo Wayne, fully agree mate, if you decide you can only afford say $200 for the item, and put your high bid in right away, if you are not going to see the auction end due to to time zones. There is not much more you can do, you have gone your limit, its no good going silly prices. There is a guy in the States who buys the odd Chas Stadden, I know when its him bidding, he will not be outbid, and goes really silly money for an item. One item he paid over £100.00 for without the box, I got the same model two weeks later with the box for £26.90. Its like buses there is always another coming along sometime lol. Hussars Rule, Yo Troopers Mount Up.
Bernard.

 

[wayne556517]

Yo Wayne, fully agree mate, if you decide you can only afford say $200 for the item, and put your high bid in right away, if you are not going to see the auction end due to to time zones. There is not much more you can do, you have gone your limit, its no good going silly prices. There is a guy in the States who buys the odd Chas Stadden, I know when its him bidding, he will not be outbid, and goes really silly money for an item. One item he paid over £100.00 for without the box, I got the same model two weeks later with the box for £26.90. Its like buses there is always another coming along sometime lol. Hussars Rule, Yo Troopers Mount Up.
Bernard.

So true cobber.................lol..............

 

[OzDigger]

Oz,
Good tip, but what happens if two people using it are both bidding for the same item. How does the sniper decide who gets it ?
Regards
Brett

Brett, it's simple - the highest bidder wins.

When you set your 'snipe' via Auctionsniper you enter the amount of your Maximum bid.

Say my Maximum bid is $110 and my bid time is set at Seven seconds before the auction ends. It won't matter at all if someone makes a Maximum bid of $100 Two seconds before the auction ends, I will still win the auction because I nominated a higher Maximum bid, and I will have won the auction by a nominal amount such as .50 cents because the Auctionsniper system won't bid the maximum bid, $110 in this case, if there is no need.

Auctionsniper is owned by eBay and the automated bidding process operates for a few seconds after the auction 'officially' ends to ensure the Highest bidder wins - be it an automated (Auctionsniper) bid or manual.

In the years I have used Auctionsniper I have NEVER lost an auction to a bid LESS than my Maximum bid - the system works

 

[OzDigger]

I don't actually buy K&C from ebay,but have used Snipe to buy other stuff and its very good indeed.Well said Oz.

Rob

Hi Rob, I usually buy from dealers myself and mainly use Auctionsniper to snag the retired stuff on eBay. I have been using Auctionsniper for several years after a British (Cornwall) online diecast model seller recommended it to me when I complained about the time differences with his auctions. Best eBay advice I have ever got

 

[The Military Workshop]

Oz,
Thanks. I forgot about nominating the highest amount prepared to go.
Regards
Brett

 

[amhuff1]

Thanks for sharing this info. I had no idea this service existed.

 

[jazzeum]

I tried that service (assuming it's the same) and it bid too soon and I was outbid so I never used it after that. I read or heard somewhere that sniping is not tolerated everywhere; apparently in France it's either looked down upon or not tolerated (not sure if this is true however).

My attitude to bidding is to perhaps throw in a very low courtesy bid (as that has advantages even if I lose) and then just wait until the last 10 seconds. I don't believe in getting into a bidding war during an acution; what's the point. The only person you're enriching is the seller. If I have to go out, I give it my best shot and let the chips fall where they may. If I'm going to be in an area where I can use my iTouch I may bid through ebay mobile; it's a great feature. The only thing is you can't time it as well as you could using your home computer.

 

[Rob]

Hi Rob, I usually buy from dealers myself and mainly use Auctionsniper to snag the retired stuff on eBay. I have been using Auctionsniper for several years after a British (Cornwall) online diecast model seller recommended it to me when I complained about the time differences with his auctions. Best eBay advice I have ever got

Nice one Oz,I do like how it puts in an automatic bid at the end,I used to get a lot of 1/6TH stuff like that in the old days before 1/30.

Rob

 

[OzDigger]

I tried that service (assuming it's the same) and it bid too soon and I was outbid so I never used it after that. I read or heard somewhere that sniping is not tolerated everywhere; apparently in France it's either looked down upon or not tolerated (not sure if this is true however).

My attitude to bidding is to perhaps throw in a very low courtesy bid (as that has advantages even if I lose) and then just wait until the last 10 seconds. I don't believe in getting into a bidding war during an acution; what's the point. The only person you're enriching is the seller. If I have to go out, I give it my best shot and let the chips fall where they may. If I'm going to be in an area where I can use my iTouch I may bid through ebay mobile; it's a great feature. The only thing is you can't time it as well as you could using your home computer.

If you had set a higher maximum bid than the other guy you would have won the auction even when he made a bid after you.

I understand there are a few different auto bid systems but I have found AuctionSniper hard to beat, but as with any auction, the highest bidder wins. I don't hold any hard feelings towards people that out bid me, it just means they wanted the item more than me.

 

[OzDigger]

Thanks for sharing this info. I had no idea this service existed.

It is surprising how few people know about, partly because most collector-snipers keep it a secret

 

[Spitfrnd]

I tried that service (assuming it's the same) and it bid too soon and I was outbid so I never used it after that. I read or heard somewhere that sniping is not tolerated everywhere; apparently in France it's either looked down upon or not tolerated (not sure if this is true however).

My attitude to bidding is to perhaps throw in a very low courtesy bid (as that has advantages even if I lose) and then just wait until the last 10 seconds. I don't believe in getting into a bidding war during an auction; what's the point. The only person you're enriching is the seller. If I have to go out, I give it my best shot and let the chips fall where they may. If I'm going to be in an area where I can use my iTouch I may bid through ebay mobile; it's a great feature. The only thing is you can't time it as well as you could using your home computer.

An automated bidding system like Auctionsniper is only different from what you describe by the fact that you do not have to be watching the bid and since the bids are submitted in the same Internet zone as Ebay, it removes the vagaries of time lags between server zones. Snipping is just bidding in the last few seconds, which with all respect to the French, is simply bidding in accordance with the rules. The system works just fine and the maximum bid does always win. Mostly it just adds convenience and removes the emotion and bid fishing elements.

 

[wayne556517]

It is surprising how few people know about, partly because most collector-snipers keep it a secret

Well it ain't a secret now,Matt...................just joking.......

 

[kogu]

When first starting to bid on ebay several years ago I often found myself caught in bidding battles.
By placing a bid early it lead to a counterbid by another ebayer and then I bid again 'cause I wanted to make sure to get the "one and only" item . the price spiraled up with being outbid/raise/outbid/raise ...
However, too much money was spent unnecessary.
There are two things that I learnt after a while.
First there are hardly any "one and only" items. Most items you will see again and again.
Second, by using auctionsniper I prevent from getting second thoughts and raise again. I determine the maximum amount of what I want to spend and that gets placed a few seconds before auction ending.
If I didn't win it, then maybe next time.
I love auctionsniper. Saved me a lot of money.
Of course, this does not apply to the very disciplined collectors, but I'm not one of them