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Auction House vs. eBay bidding tactics.

I am sure this topic has come up before, so thought i'd bring it up again image

Bidding psychology. So what is everyone's opinion based on experience? We all know sniping is the way to go on eBay.

Does bid timing matter with auction house formats such as REA? Do you establish the price early on so it gives everyone a chance to truly think about how much they are willing to spend vs impulse bidding.

Or do you play it cool until the final hours and then go all in?

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Comments

  • I enter the initial low bid then enter my "secret maximum bid" so Ill know what I'll be spending in 3 weeks when the auction ends. I'm being a little facetious but watch some AHs which are a little shady.
  • esquiresportsesquiresports Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭
    I've tried several different approaches with respect to auction houses with mixed results. I bid primarily on memorabilia, which has less predictable prices than graded cards. For graded cards, I am not sure you will gain much with any particular strategy.

    My general preference is to get initial bids in early on everything I want and then wait until extended bidding (for those unaware, auction houses almost always require an initial bid before a certain deadline; after this deadline, only people who have previously placed a bid on the lot may continue bidding).

    If it's an item I really want, and you can place a high straight bid instead of a limit bid, I will place a high straight bid as early as possible to limit the number of people I might have to compete against during extended bidding.

    On lot-by-lot closings, I've typically found that if I wait until the 30 minute clock is almost up and then place another bid, this encourages more bidding. No way to know for sure. Maybe we both have high max bids; I put mine in with one minute to go and he puts in counter-bids almost immediately. I've actually ended up being the last open lot using this approach, which suggests the string-it-out approach for lot by lot is more aggravating than effective. My revised thinking is that for lot by lot closings, it's more effective to go in strong prior to extended bidding.

    On close all lots at once auctions, I've done much better placing bids late at night during extended bidding. Being on the west coast, it's a little more humane - around 12-2 am - that I do my bidding. I'm always hopeful that someone hasn't put in a max bid, is focused on other lots, or has fallen asleep.
    Always buying 1971 OPC Baseball packs.
  • akuracy503akuracy503 Posts: 1,923 ✭✭✭
    All valid points, thanks for posting.

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