I've got to speak up and say how great this program is working for me. A little too great! I live in Hawaii, and the time zone kills me. I've always had to pay too much money or lose the auction by a few cents. Since I have been using A.S. I've won so many auctions at prices so low that I almost feel guilty! (the program is not perfect by any means, but the only real problem I have had is my addiction to winning).
Here is some of my technique in a nutshell:
1. When you see an item and think "that is going to be way more than I can afford" bid anyway. Since I buy (almost exclusively) antique buttons, I will look at the quantity and quality and give my bargain basement offer. If I was doing this in person, the seller would laugh in my face...but he doesn't know, and if the bidding goes higher, no one is the wiser. It is amazing how many people will pass by the $9.99 start up price on a $50 item.
2. Never bid the min. price. You will lose almost every time. The people that watch going going will see the 0 and bid exactly that amount. I evaluate how much the item is worth, and how much I really want it. I try to take into account the possibility that other bidder(s) might be thinking ahead, and I will usually bump up the bid from 9.99 to an odd number like $10.56. Maybe I am losing a few cents by not calculating exactly, but since I am already getting a super bargain, I don't care (if it matters to you...do the math).
3. I always do searches by "most recently listed," starting with "buy it now," then going to the regular listing. P.S. Don't go to buy it now if you are inclined to buy on impulse and regret it later (I have to be careful of this myself). Go thru the list, and set snipes low. You can always increase it later...you usually have a week or 10 days, but this will get it on your list so that you can easily refer back to it later (works much better than ebay's "watch this item"-I only use that if I am curious to see how much it is worth if I want to sell a similar item). I look, and snipe any new items that I think I might want, marking them with a very low bid. During the week I will ponder, and when I have made my mind, up go back at post my "real" bid. It is still not locked-in (like ebay's proxy), so you can adjust or cancel it at any time.
4. If I have a lot of snipes posted, and get a notification that I have bid too low, I just cancel. Like I said, I am winning too much anyway!
5. I occasionally splurge. Since I almost never bid the real value of an item, I allow myself a piece of candy now and again.
6. This is my last and most recent find...take advantage of A.S.'s notification system. I add something like the following to the box that they let you personallize:
"Hi, this is a canned message. I am happy to have won your auction, and have allowed auctionsnipe to send this because I work odd hours and may not be able to give a quick personal reply. If you have not listed a shipping cost, my preference is Priority under a pound, and Parcel if over a pound. My payment preference is Paypal, I do some occasionally selling so there is often a balance in the account (if so, you pay no fee). I often buy buttons in a tin; if this is one of those auctions, I please transfer the buttons to a plastic bag...I have enough tins and they add $$ to the shipping cost. I check email morning and night, will check your auction for details, and get back with you ASAP. By the way, if you have similar items that you would like to sell outright, there is a good chance I would be interested in those as well."
The seller now has my zip code to figure shipping, he knows that he will get his money right away, that the transaction will be easy, AND there is a chance that he can get even more money from me. This last statement gets me first in line with an offer (I've lost some good deals because others asked before I did).
Is this message long, or WHAT! I just had to share though. I realize that some of this doesn't apply when you are looking for "new" items, but it works great in collectibles. Please share your tips with me, I always want to spend less so that I can win more!
Much Aloha! island-gypsy
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