Ebay and auction watch: let us know if you see something

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gaijintendo

Veteran
Location
Scotchland
I can never understand people bidding for items so far in advance of the closing time!
You don't bid the amount the item currently is set to. If I was to bid £1000 on a bike, as I understand it, it would increment it to be just more than your bid, until I tap out at my £1k limit.

That way I don't pay any more than I am willing, and I don't have to be on eBay at 3pm on a Tuesday.

People eBay differently. If they put a cheeky low bid on it, and nobody else wants it, they win. If they don't, they get to keep the cash and have enjoyed the game.

I don't eBay like that, but eBay is a game, like gambling for some people, justified by getting bargains.

Not you lot of course.
 

Alan O

Über Member
Location
Liverpool
I can never understand people bidding for items so far in advance of the closing time!
I sometimes make low bids early on, so that I can get outbid emails which remind me to make my proper bid near the end.

And sometimes if I see something I'd have if it goes for a silly low price but I'm not really too bothered about, I'll make an early lowball bid and then forget about it - and if I get an email to say I've won, that's a pleasant surprise!
 
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I leave all this kind of thing to my most beloved eBay Queen.


When really interested in something she will have as many as 3 of our lap-tops all sitting there in front of her keeping up to date with how things are going and then, normally 5 to 10 seconds before the end she will strike, her success rate is quite astonishing!
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
And sometimes if I see something I'd have if it goes for a silly low price but I'm not really too bothered about, I'll make an early lowball bid and then forget about it - and if I get an email to say I've won, that's a pleasant surprise!

I've just done that with a 99p start job that I only bid on because I saw it purely as a pair of spare alloy rims, a saddle, and a set of gears. It's only a far-east cheapo, and the leftovers will be going in the scrap metal skip.
 

wonderdog

Senior Member
Yes, I can identify with that, Not a cycling example, but, a number of years ago, my youngest daughter had to set herself up in a new home, from scratch (long story). I said I would help her out (as Dad's do), and went on the Website of a well known retailer at the time (now long gone). They had a section where you could bid for cosmetically damaged "white goods". I did manage to acquire a cooker, fridge, freezer and washing machine for her, over a period of weeks. But, one of the things I noted was, sometimes, "seconds" sold for more than you could buy the same item for, on the main website. Crazy, but, clearly, some people just get caught up in the bidding frenzy!
When XJ6 Jags were new and exciting (Series 1), UK Motors in Brisbane went under in severe floods with several unsold cars drowning. At auction, they fetched more than the dry ones.
 

midlife

Guru
That's cropped up before I think. Maybe an old polo bike?
 

Aravis

Putrid Donut
Location
Gloucester
I spotted this Raleigh Pioneer yesterday. If it's the sort of thing you want and you can get it uncontested it looks a really good bet:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raleigh-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

The stated 20.5" frame size looks a little underestimated judging from the length of the head tube, but I could be wrong.

I have one of these - a rather beaten-up 57cm example which I've converted into a conventional-looking light tourer.
 
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midlife

Guru
Best forks ever....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-E...%3A38098f281610a9c54b1b45e6ffe3f982%7Ciid%3A1

s-l300.jpg
 
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