mint Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 So, have placed my bid and, ironically, the seller is in the UK!When the advert says 6 days, does that mean that I have to wait a minimum of 6 days before knowing if my bid was successful?Should I have the winning bid, I am a bit uncertain about how to pay. The seller will only take payment by Paypal, so does that mean I have to open an account and then pay by a designated credit card?Once the account is open, can I then close it as soon as I have paid? I don't particularly want my credit card details to stay in Paypal as I have heard so many sorry tales about PP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulT Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Three types of listing on eBay:Auction - set over a number of days and highest bidder at the end wins the auctionBuy It Now (BIN) - if you want it you click the Buy Iy Now button,pay and it is yoursClassified - normally cars etc- you deal directly by contacting the seller.If, it is an Auction and it is a 7 day listing, say the person places the listing on 30/10/2016 at 10:30 then it will finish in 7 days time at 10:30 on 06/11/2016.Most sellers specify PayPal unless it is 'collection only', i.e. you go and get it. Using PayPal gives some financial safeguards.Yes, you will need a PayPal account. Do you give your card details to other suppliers to buy items? Using PayPal means that the seller receives no details about your card, just the money. Plus there are safeguards if items do not match descriptions - traders seem to moan that PayPal is too much on the buyers side.Snipers - what are they? They are people like me who bid at the last moment. It means that other bidders do not try to outdo your bids so possibly means things sell for less.Best of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 I think only the person taking the money has to be registered with PayPal, mint. It means that they can receive credit card payments. For you, as the person paying, it means you can pay by credit card, but I don't think you have to register unless you choose to. I chose not to, so that whenever I receive those spoof emails telling me to do something or other about my PayPal account, I can discount them entirely!I am sure there will be some eBay expert along shortly to tell you what's what about bidding, but I would have though you would want to keep an eye on your bid in case somebody tops it (unless you wanted to stop at the amount you bid). Usually, there is a flurry of bidding at the last minute, so you should keep an eye on it during the last 24 hours of that 6-day period, if you want to up your bid.Angela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted October 30, 2016 Author Share Posted October 30, 2016 Very clear description, Paul, thank you.Will go back and look to see when the advert was placed so I know the time the auction will be over.In a way, I wish I hadn't placed a bid because it means I can't buy a similar item (a mandolin) in the meantime, in case I am successful and I don't particularly want to end up with two[:-))] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted October 30, 2016 Author Share Posted October 30, 2016 Thank you, Angela, yes, I'd prefer to just pay by credit card into the seller's account.Gulp, SIX days and 0 hour to go so it's only been ONE hour since I made my bid..........it's going to be a VERY l-o-n-g six days[:D]"Flurry of bids"..........holy Moses and I turned down a perfectly beautiful instrument at a price "bradé" because I feared she wouldn't parcel it up properly but perhaps I should have taken a punt on that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 The only time you need to look at the bids is in the last 30 seconds, now I know that you will be following it but resist the temptation to bid again until the end, a lot of buyers will bid against you often with no transparancy whatsoever (not the time to go into that) so its important that you only bid up to the maximum amount you are happy to pay and preferably only do the "bid up to" bid in the closing seconds. An exception is if there are no bids, it pays to place the first bid to discourage the seller from ending the listing; you can still "bid up to" in the final seconds even if there have been no other bids. look at some completed listings and you will see that all the activity is in the last few seconds. I stayed away from E-bay for years because I was warned that it was addictive, it is indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted October 30, 2016 Author Share Posted October 30, 2016 Chance, after you have made your bid, are you allowed to withdraw it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Well, you have answered one of those questions mint, that I have pondered on since I started using eBay, why anyone bids so early , and now I know why you have. Hope you are the only one interested in the item.Me , I start watching for the last five minutes to check the price, then get ready to bid in the ten seconds, and always an odd amount. Very rarely do I mess this up.Good luck!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted October 30, 2016 Author Share Posted October 30, 2016 No, Id, I am not the only one interested! But, at the mo, I am the highest bidder.There are 18 bids so I think that maybe I had better secure the one that is offered at le prix bradé from a lady I have exchanged a few emails with.Only problem with leboncoin is that there is no "protection" from scammers. Having said that, having bought dozens of things, I have only had one person who didn't send my purchase. I deposé une plainte and in fact got all my money back.So, it's not really a bad record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 I know you are not allowed to duck out of buying, once bidding has finished and you are the highest. But I have no idea about changing your mind at an earlier point. I would imagine it is not an option either. Just cross your fingers that somebody bids higher sooooon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted October 30, 2016 Author Share Posted October 30, 2016 Oh, Angela, I am just not cut out to be a big shot wheeler-dealer on ebay!I can't stand the suspense! In fact, I have emailed the lady on leboncoin selling her mandolin and I have told her I'd like to buy her instrument after all.It would be different if it were not a surprise present for OH. If it were something just for me, I wouldn't much mind whether I succeed in getting it or not.So, if nobody bids higher and the French lady has not sold her mandolin today, I shall indeed end up with two.Oh well, I might just have to learn to play along with OH.......ha, ha, ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kong Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 google 'automatic bidding on ebay'. There are systems which will place bids for you in the last seconds of an auction. They will bid for you an agreed increment above the last bid up to a maximum you specify. You will only be beaten by another bidder with a higher max than you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyh4 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 So if you have a maximum of £x, what is the benefit of such a system over simply putting £x in as your maximum bid directly with Ebay? I am sure there must be one, but for the life of me I cannot think what it would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 Thank you for your further responses[:)]I feel far less ignorant of the ebay procedure than I did at the beginning of this thread.I see on ebay that there is a higher bid than mine this morning and I have offered the French lady that I will buy the wrapping materials as well as the box for sending.She is asking such a small amount that my only worry is that someone local to her will go and pick it up at her house and pay her in cash. Much easier for her than the faff of packing it up to send to me.Still, if that happens, there should be days left for me to go back to ebay with a higher bid.Thanks again to everybody for all your explanations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 [quote user="andyh4"]So if you have a maximum of £x, what is the benefit of such a system over simply putting £x in as your maximum bid directly with Ebay? I am sure there must be one, but for the life of me I cannot think what it would be.[/quote] It avoids you having to be in front of your computer 20 seconds before the exact time the auction ends, maybe your ADSL is slow that day etc, the sites place the bid for you at the last moment. If you put your max bid in with EBay earlier you may be outbid, possibly by someone doing the same but the real risk is the seller or a friend schill bidding to see what your maximum was, then retracting their bid and then placing another bid just Under your maximum amount. I bought some Muraspec commercial vinyl recently I am usually the only genuine bidder as most people dont know what it is or its value (£2-300 per roll) in 75% of cases the seller bids against me and I let it go, others I have won after they bid and retracted and then they claim it was lost, stolen, their dog eat it etc. Someone recently had 3 different rolls with a £10 start price, I bid £10 on all 3 to persuade the seller not to end the listing, their were no other bids all week, I was going to be out when the auction ended so I made another maximum bid of £20 on all 3, critically the seller could see that I had placed another bid but he knew not how much, surprise surprise a brand new EBay identity that day with 100% bid history with that seller (ie himself) kept placing bids on one of them until he became the highest bidder at £21, he then bid £19.50 on the other two ensuring that I would win them at £20 and not the £10 I would have but for his schill bidding. no point wasting my time with EBay, they dont give a flying ****, n point confronting the seller (yet) I will pay £20 which was my maximum, I have asked him if the one that I lost (to him) was still available or did they have any more and surprise surprise they did [:P] Actually the he in this case is a she and I have found in the past when this has happened it is invariably a female selling, probably for her husband but it is an interesting insight into the female of the species when it comes to what they casually dismiss as white lies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 Well, Chance, after reading your explanation and failing to follow all the ins and outs, I have decided, "I'm out!"I am definitely too dull and too trusting and too out of depth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Its too much to take in all in one go plus my explanations are anything but clear. Once you start buying via E-bay it all gradually becomes clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Don't give up on ebay, Mint - you can get some wonderful bargains. I usually only buy small things, anything expensive I only search fairly nearby, then arrange to go and view the item before bidding.I bought my piano this way - went to see and try out 3 first, two in Toulouse, and one in Bordeaux, which was the one I eventually bought. I don't think anyone else was bidding.A friend came with us to collect it in his van, and I paid cash. I bought my sewing machine from someone in the Gers, who, it turned out, lived just up the road, 2 villages away. So I went to collect it and paid on the spot.We do the same with leboncoin, only consider things in our Dept., and go and check it out first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 [quote user="Chancer"] I have won after they bid and retracted and then they claim it was lost, stolen, their dog eat it etc. Someone recently had 3 different rolls with a £10 start price, I bid £10 on all 3 to persuade the seller not to end the listing, their were no other bids all week, I was going to be out when the auction ended so I made another maximum bid of £20 on all 3, critically the seller could see that I had placed another bid but he knew not how much, surprise surprise a brand new EBay identity that day with 100% bid history with that seller (ie himself) kept placing bids on one of them until he became the highest bidder at £21, he then bid £19.50 on the other two ensuring that I would win them at £20 and not the £10 I would have but for his schill bidding. no point wasting my time with EBay, they dont give a flying ****, n point confronting the seller (yet) I will pay £20 which was my maximum, I have asked him if the one that I lost (to him) was still available or did they have any more and surprise surprise they did [:P] Actually the he in this case is a she and I have found in the past when this has happened it is invariably a female selling, probably for her husband but it is an interesting insight into the female of the species when it comes to what they casually dismiss as white lies.[/quote]Ha ha so your a second chancer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Sorry Théière but that one has gone over my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 [quote user="Chancer"]Sorry Théière but that one has gone over my head.[/quote]No problem, when you don't win an item the seller sometimes gives what eBay refers to a second chance. So as you, like me sense a shill bid you make it a technique so you are a second chancer .......oh never mind he he Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 So come on guys... What on earth is a shill, or even a schill, bid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 It's where a seller or sellers friends bid on their own items to push up the price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluestick Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 [quote user="Loiseau"]So come on guys... What on earth is a shill, or even a schill, bid?[/quote]Interesting one this, Loiseau.See here:That's probably the best all round explanation and reference set.Often erroneously thought to be from Yiddish.At trade auctions, car traders used to ask chums to "Shill" a car when it went through the "Ring". Just look very interested, open the bonnet, look underneath and finally look really keen and take out their Glass's Guide (The Trade price bible) and feverishly thumb through it!Market traders, particularly "Swag men" (Guys who sell anything and everything with a loud "Spiel" - sales pitch - ) often use shills to make their stall look busy. So do tailors, dress shops and material shops.Casinos often employ shills who regularly win: except it isn't their winnings; it's the casinos. Pour encourager le autres.Being so absorbed by the English lexicon, and having being involved in the internet since its founding days, Bulletin Boards - the precursors to Fora - it's interesting to me how the medium spawned a whole new usage of otherwise common words: a "Lurker" is a member who never posts or joins in but sneaks around looking. A "Troll" is a disruptive fool who acts as a drive-by poster and tries to annoy and alienate regular users, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YCCMB Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Just as a point of order, you don't need to open a paypal account to pay by PayPal. Just sayin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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