Since I have never bought on ebay, and also never sold, maybe I have no right to comment here, but I have bid in normal, old fashioned auctions for more than 50 years. I really do not see that ebay is any different to a normal auction, except that you do not have the benefit of a full examination of what you are bidding for prior to bidding.
When I was a kid I used to go the auctions I was bidding in, and I sometimes paid too much for things, because I got caught up in a bidding war and didn't want to lose.
I haven't bid at an auction in that way for maybe 30 or more years now.
I go to the viewing, I decide what the maximum amount is that I am prepared to pay for the item, deduct the buyers commission, and leave that amount as my bid. I leave realistic bids, not silly low bids. If I estimate that something is worth, say, $500, I deduct 10% because its an auction, I deduct 20% for the buyers commission, and I leave a bid of $350 + $10, so $360 is my bid.The plus $10 is just so I know that I did not lose by a single bid.
I do not go to an auction looking for a "bargain" I go prepared to pay a fair price for something I want. So called "bargains" can cost too dear in the long run.
Using this system I win more than 60% of everything I lodge a bid on, and sometimes I do really get a bargain, because the lot will be unreserved, and nobody else wants it.
My understanding is that ebay works pretty much the same way:- you can lodge your maximum bid and ebay will bid for you.
If ever I do bid on anything on ebay, I will bid in this way, that is decide my maximum bid, lodge it, and forget it.
The beauty of this system is that the shills and charlotans can play as much as they like. If they jack the price up past what you have already decided is fair value for money, then they're stuck with it.
Auctions are just business. Don't get emotional , be prepared to pay a fair price for the other man's property, and you can't lose.
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