VX Transformer on E Bay..

[Anita]

These dont come around too often.

vx transformer (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=223&item=6921718902&rd=1)

[Dallas4u]

Mines still boxed... never played with it!

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

I had the leading bid for about the last 2 hrs...then lost it with a minute left...lol.

easy come easy go!

Thanks for the heads up Anita!:p

[Anita]

thats the trick of the seasoned ebay shopper... bid in the last minute or less.

[doubleadesign]

I think i paid about $10 for mine. and i think that was over priced!!!

[Navigator]

I paid only $9.95 for mine. I hope the value of the true VX mirrors to model someday LOL. Lets see $32,000 x 5= $160,000.

The model has great detail, just wish they didn't splash red and yellow paint accross the hood and write SUPER ROAD on it.

[nater]

Actually, Anita, the trick of the truly wise ebay shopper is to bid the maximum amount you are willing to pay during the very first bid. The Ebay system will automatically raise your bid to beat the other guy, even at the very last second.

I once got an angry email from a guy who was upset because every time he outbid me in the last few seconds he still lost to me. He couldn't figure out how I was able to beat him, and wanted to know what software and type of broadband connection I was using to "outsnipe" him, when in fact it was the ebay server itself that gave me the edge.

Nate

[Anita]

I got in the habit of watching an item and bidding the highest amount I willing to pay at the very last minute. It then took the others time to bid and re-bid, trying to find where my top bid was until the auction cut them off. Of course if I was still outbid, that item was far too overpriced than i was willing to pay.

More often than not, top bidders can get complacent and think they dont have to watch their bid at the very end of auction.. thats when the fun starts. ;Dr;

[t2p]

There is so much 'buddy bidding' going on ...........
.
that I almost never bid until the last minute or so.
.
And the 'Second Chance Offer' thing recently installed only provides more incentive for this (buddy bidding) practice ........

[johnnyapollo]

There are actually two trains of thought on this:

1. Bid your max. If you really want the item, bid very high, and you will probably get it. The only issue here is that the seller could send someone to bid the item up to inflate the price - it can be risky. Also, using this method invites additional bids from potential buyers who get caught up in the bidding process - they will often bid higher than normal because of the activity. The bidding activity will also attract additional bidders.

2. Bid within the last 10 seconds of the auction. You'll need to use a robo-bidder or wait it out. Open a second browser window with your max bid, username and password pre-loaded, so all you have to do is click the process button. Use the first window to refresh the page periodically and use a timer or countdown. When you get to 10 or so seconds, mash the process button in the second window. This will prevent other last minute bidders from having the chance of throwing in another bid. These many times become the most satisfying if you have the time to use this method. I've beaten many known shill bidders (this is when the seller uses friends or alternate IDs to bid up the price) because the high bidder or seller is thinkng that the bidding has stopped. The danger here is when another bidder is using exactly the same method, and they input a higher bid than you.

In the final analysis, if you use a combination of both methods you'll have the highest success. You have to adapt your technique to the type of item and the amount of demand. You should also study what is happening with the bidding on similar items to see what you are up against. I know it all sounds crazy and involved, but I've saved literally hundreds of dollars on some items by using smart techniques like these. Check my ID and feedback: http://feedback.ebay.com/ws1/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=johnnyapollo

-- Best, John

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

I actually had my "max" bid set @ $40.00 2 hrs. before the end of the auction (yeah..I know $40 smackaroos...lol...I REALLY didn't know the price these things sold for:mbrasd: ...i.e. $9.95) and my $36 bid stood for virtually 2 hrs. then the fun began...the price went up to $45 the last minute and I didn't try to outbid (probably wouldn't have had enough time anyways....I'm a noobie!) I wish whoever won the item well...I had fun bidding on my first item!

Now...anybody want to sell their REAL VX for $160k...LOL!!!!!:mbrasd:

[WyrreJ]

I use auctionsniper.com to handle all my ebay bidding. Their fees are trivial and the benefits are pretty high. Basically you make your bid through them, but they hang on to it until 3 seconds (you can specify the timing) before the auction closes, when their system places the bid for you.

The benefits are:

1) Their automated sniping system works pretty well, after more than 2 years of using them I've only had their system screw up and not bid on time once. They are "near" ebay in terms of network hops so their sniping is pretty reliable.

2) By using them, it is easy to retract a bid if you change your mind. Since the bid doesn't get sent to ebay until the last second, cancelling it is just a matter of deleting it from auctionsniper.com - the seller and all other bidders never even know you cancelled out, and thus no bad feedback for retracting bids.

3) Best of all, the more people who use it, the more prices are kept low. It is a "set it and forget it" kind of thing. With regular bidding, ebay wants you to put your maximum bid price in and they will auto-bid for you. The effect is that the price will increase as soon as someone else bids, possibly outbidding you immediately -- leaving plenty of time for you to change your mind about the max price you are willing to pay and sucumb to the temptation to bid "just a few dollars more." The more people who do that, the more the price ends up inflating.

Instead, with auctionsniper, you set it and walk away. You can set your max bid really high, but the price that everybody sees won't get there until too late for anyone to change their mind about the max they are willing to pay and "bid just a few dollars more." It makes ebay more like a silent auction.

I've saved some serious dollars using auctionsniper and eliminated all stress related to bidding too -- sure its fun the first couple of times, but when you realize that "winning" an auction is really about who can be suckered into paying the most, it isn't fun any more.

I'm sure there are other services/products like auctionsniper out there, I'm just very satisified with their service. They have some sort of referral program, but I don't even use it since over all, the more people using sniping services, the more price inflation is held in check so I just spread the gospel without worrying about any direct compensation from them.