dutchie

This may sound a bit odd but last minute bidding is very dangerous for me. I'm likely to impulse buy and spend more than I should.

I now use auctionsniper.com and I decide well in advance of the auction closing time exactly how much I'm willing to spend. I enter that amount -- period -- and then schedule a bid time. I don't watch the auction close, if I win, eBay notifies me. If I don't win, I get a note from auctionsniper about being outbid. By figuring out and bidding my max (as it were) in advance and not watching, I curb my impulse buy tendencies and only spend what I can sanely afford to spend. YMMV

cctx.

I usually go with the
Buy Now option if it fits my spending budget.

I have won a few bids in the past 24 months though.

katesnanna

I have bought quite a lot on eBay and didn't miss out on much. You need to decide how much you are willing to pay then as others have said bid only once and as close to the finish as possible. I wouldn't bid until it was down to 10 seconds, but that would depend on the speed of your computer. Even at 10 seconds I would have a couple of seconds left.
Hope this helps and you get your featherweight.

Quiltbeagle

Snipers can only win if they bid more than your high bid. I've lost auctions to snipers who outbid me but then had the last laugh when a similar item was available for less from another Ebayer or even Amazon.

Quilter2B

We usually watch the item and then in the last 45-60 seconds (we are on DSL) put in the highest amount we would pay, sometimes we win, sometimes we don't but it sure is a great way to get it for less than what you were willing to pay for it. Bidding bit by bit can be too costly because emotions come in to play and you sometimes outspend your budget.

Qwiltylady

I watch an item until it gets to close to the end. I always set my limit before I bid and usually while I am watching it. Sometimes I bid at the end if it isn't near my max but sometimes I am the first bidder. But I never go over what I set as my max. If you don't like bidding this way try the Buy it now board where everything is a fixed price and you know what they want for their items.

galvestonangel

I like to be the first bidder bidding only a few dollars higher thatn the start price. I can keep track of them a lot better. You then have the newbies thqat just run the bidding up days before it closes. If it has not been bid higher than I want to pay, I will wait until the last10-15 sseconds and bid my highest. If it isn't good enough then I lose, but sometimes I am successful.

Crazy Quiltin Robin

I find if you wait till the last 3 minutes of the auction and put your highest bid in in the last 45 seconds it works pretty good ........everyone is doing this now and if you snooze you loose ..........lol

CarolLady

I would probably have more money if I had trouble bidding on ebay!!! lol But like anything else it can be addicting. I try to get an idea of what I want to spend and not go over that amount including shipping charges that sometimes seem or is more than the items.