Why oh why do people bid so early on Ebay?!

[talulabelle]

I am trying to get a good deal on Uggs for my daughter on Ebay. Why on Earth do people put their max bids in days before the auction closes? On an item that gets very competitive bidding, all it does is give others lots of time to figure out how much they need to bid to out do that person.The price ends up going so high, I don't know why these people are trying to buy them on Ebay. They might as well go pay full price at a store. It's not like they are in short supply in the stores.

Why don't people "get it" that they should wait until the last minute to start entering competitve bids. It keeps the price down lower as there isn't as much time for the price to increase.

 

[firstcruise]

There are lots of reason to bid early. Won't be home when auction ends, no computer access when it ends, don't want to forget about the item and lose it and the list goes on and on. What you want is to get the a cheap deal and if the item up for auction has demand it won't matter when the auction ends. People will show up late to bid, just like you, and the price will escalate at the end of the auction.

Low demand items you might find a deal by bidding late, but not something that has a lot of people "watching".

 

[cglaura]

For me personally, I know the max I want to pay. That's what I put in as my max. If I see an item I bid on it then and there, I can't be bothered to follow up chasing items to see when it is close to what I want to pay. I bid my max, if nobody else bid high, then the price only goes up to the next increment (not my max). It only goes to my max if someone bids the next price under it. Then, if I get outbid, oh well.

 

[talulabelle]

For me personally, I know the max I want to pay. That's what I put in as my max. If I see an item I bid on it then and there, I can't be bothered to follow up chasing items to see when it is close to what I want to pay. I bid my max, if I get outbid, oh well.

But if you have any competition, you will certainly be outbid and there is almost no reason to try and bid at all. If you put in lower than your max, or did not bid at all, no one would run the price up over your max and at the last minute you could jump in and get it.

 

[cglaura]

The point is, I can't be bothered to keep track of time to get on the computer in the last seconds of a bid. I just know what I want to pay the most for it, and if I get it great, if not, my life is not over. I don't have the patience or time to snipe. My answer was just one of many reasons why someone might bid that way, which is what you asked.

 

[torinsmom]

I put in the max I am willing to pay and if I don't get it, I bid on the next one. Eventually I get my item at the price I want to pay. If it makes people bid more than an item is worth, that's not my problem. I don't have time to keep checking back in and bidding at the last minute. That's just me.....

 

[firstcruise]

But if you have any competition, you will certainly be outbid and there is almost no reason to try and bid at all. If you put in lower than your max, or did not bid at all, no one would run the price up over your max and at the last minute you could jump in and get it.

This might be the case with lower demand items, but nothing that has a lot of interest. The problem with high demand as the auction ends people put in their highest bids and within the last minute everyone else does the same thing. This causes the price to escalate just as it would over the course of several days. Sometimes I don't know what's worse finding an item that is already over my bid or waiting until the last minute and still losing out.

 

[Janepod]

I put in a small bid to prevent the seller from doing a "buy it now" and selling it to someone else. Sometimes I increase my bid, sometimes I don't, but at least it guarantees the auction will still be there at its original end time. Too often in the past I would watch an item only to have the seller add a BIN and another buyer nab it right away.

 

[robsmom]

I don't buy a lot on ebay but when i do, i put in my max bid and let it ride. I do it for alot of the reasons that are mentioned above. I also do it because I don't want to be sniped out of getting something that i really want at a price that i am willing to pay for it. Why do people do it? I would say because it is the basic economics of supply and demand. Ebay was built as a market place to bring buyers and sellers together. The purpose is for the seller to sell their product and the buyer to buy it at a mutually advantageous price. At a live auction, all buyers can bid until they no longer feel the price meets their needs. Eventually a price is reach that only one person feels is right. Racing to bid at the end of an on-line auction makes little economic sense and really does not create a very efficient market.

 

[DISdreamin']

OP, it seems you are hoping for one thing and the person listing the item is hoping for exactly the opposite. As for why people put in their max bid early, it can be for many reasons, as PP have mentioned. For me personally, most of those have applied at one time or another. FWIW, I also wonder about how many people running up the bidding early are relatively new to eBay or occasional users who don't realize that their high bid probably makes the item more noticable in the search.

 

[bsusanmb]

If it is something I really really want, I will bid early with my max, first of all to remind me that I am bidding and when the date is nearly up (they send me messages). I bid my max hoping no one will bid, and if they do, then if I REALLY want it, I will do a bid war at the end. If it is something that goes off while I am at work, then I have to put my max in and hope I don't get outbid. Hope that helps.

When I was at home all the time, I just put what I wanted in my watch items and bid war at the last 30 seconds. Now that I am not home, I gotta do what I gotta do!

Don't worry, I am not looking for UGGS...but they are a very popular item!

 

[Dominus]

What's funny is that whenever I sell stuff on ebay it appears to be the opposite that happens. I'll have tons of people "watch" the item the whole time, but there won't be any bids until the last day. Or maybe even the last few hours. I guess it's a matter of perspective.

 

[3boymthr]

I just did the bid at the beginning with max bid for an item for oldest DS and guess what - I won. I found the item two days into the listing - no one had bid. I put in my max bid of $5 - the item was listed for 99 cents, well the price never went right until the end. So it doesn't always drive the price up and it did allow me to get the item without having to sit there and wait and watch. It ended and the price was still $3.58 below my max.

 

[VanessainWonderland]

Be careful when bidding on UGG boots. Most of them are fakes, an you don't want to pay full price for fakes. You are better off buying them online through an authorized retailer or at nordstrom, Journeys, etc. You can find other authorized retailers at the Ugg website.

Also, some of the people that are bidding early are friends of the person selling the item. For example, a friend of mine has her brother bid on her item so that others will outbid him.

Pretty scandalous!!!!

 

[*Meagan*]

Also, some of the people that are bidding early are friends of the person selling the item. For example, a friend of mine has her brother bid on her item so that others will outbid him.

Pretty scandalous!!!!

THIS! Im pretty sure is against ebay rules. WOW.

 

[cglaura]

Be careful when bidding on UGG boots. Most of them are fakes, an you don't want to pay full price for fakes. You are better off buying them online through an authorized retailer or at nordstrom, Journeys, etc. You can find other authorized retailers at the Ugg website.

Also, some of the people that are bidding early are friends of the person selling the item. For example, a friend of mine has her brother bid on her item so that others will outbid him.

Pretty scandalous!!!!

THIS! Im pretty sure is against ebay rules. WOW.

It is against policy, it's called shill bidding.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/seller-shill-bidding.html

 

[Belle0101]

Be careful when bidding on UGG boots. Most of them are fakes, an you don't want to pay full price for fakes. You are better off buying them online through an authorized retailer or at nordstrom, Journeys, etc. You can find other authorized retailers at the Ugg website.

Also, some of the people that are bidding early are friends of the person selling the item. For example, a friend of mine has her brother bid on her item so that others will outbid him.

Pretty scandalous!!!!

My sister used to call me everytime her DH listed an item and would ask me to bid on it. She wanted me to outbid other people too so they could geet a better price.

I ALWAYS said no and finally she quit asking. My Feedback is 100% and I didn't want to take any chances ruining that plus morally it's just wrong and legally it's wrong. No thanks!!

 

[DVCBELLE]

I bid my max early and then wait to see if I win...that way I don't get into bidding wars. I have no desire to bid just a little higher in the heat of the moment to get my item and that is what tends to happen and the next thing you know after just a couple more dollars here and there - you have bid higher than you wanted to

 

[sonogirl]

wow

 

[LilyWDW]

I don't do ebay, but I understand why people would bid their max early.

I KNOW what I am willing to spend on an item. It doesn't matter if I get outbid at the end as I won't spend more then my max. As such, what does it matter if I bid the day the auction went up or 5 mins before it ends? My bid will still be the same. If someone wants to bid more, well good for them.