Really serious auction players and collectors develop winning strategies to make sure they get the items they are craving. They manage to buy items that they can then resell for a nice profit. Mastering effective bidding strategies means more cash for your pocket. Here are a few to consider...
Strategy #1 - A few cents can make the difference. Most buyers bid in nice, round numbers like $5.50 or $10.75. But those who study the auctions learn that a few cents can make a difference. Instead of bidding $12.50, bid $12.53.
Sometimes these few cents will be a difference between winning and losing. Power tip… Don’t use this strategy at the very beginning of an auction. Wait until near the end of the bidding period. Why? Because your competitors will realize what you are doing, and you will lose your edge.
Strategy #2 - Snipe cautiously. A last-minute flurry of bidding is called “sniping.” This is the fine art of waiting until the last possible second to defeat the current high bidder. Many scream that it is not playing fair but it is totally within the rules of the auction. And it can be a lot of fun. Sniping is the electronic equivalent of parents in the toy store fighting over the last Robo Laser Geek on Christmas eve! Be prepared, though. You may be on the wrong end of a snipe one of these days!
If you are a serious sniper, try this next tactic. Computers take a few seconds to record bids so the bid entered 10 – 20 seconds before the end of the auctions usually wins. Many people take this very seriously. They use pagers, alarm clocks, etc., to sound the alert. Some even schedule their entire afternoon around an expiring auction.
Then they may regale the crowd in the chat rooms the next day…
… with play-by-play tales of their savvy moves!
Strategy #3 Use the two screen strategy. In the event of a bidding war, really serious bidders use this strategy to acquire a treasured item. First, make sure your clock is set to the time of the auction site. You wouldn’t want to miss out on your treasure because you lost track of time.
If you press the Control (Ctrl) and N key together (Command and N together for Mac users), you will open a second screen on your browser. You can use one screen to bid and the other to watch a flurry of last minute bids. To keep up with the bids, keep hitting the reload or refresh button on your computer. In this way, you know what all your opponents are doing. Feel your adrenaline spike!
If you use this tactic, be aware that it takes precious seconds to fill in your ID and password so have that part of your screen filled in to save time. And... good luck!
Strategy #4 Don’t bid high and early. If there are several people who are determined to acquire the item that you want, you will only be forcing the price up and up. Wait until closer to the end to make a determined series of bids.
When you are selling, you will see this happen again and again. Many buyers wait until late in the game to bid just because they don’t want to run the price up.
Strategy #5 Don’t get carried away . Keep some perspective. Don’t bid more than the item is worth to you. Keep in mind that if you lose, there will probably be another one available tomorrow.
Why am I including so much information about bidding? Simple. The more you know about the auction process, the more effectively you will sell. I can’t repeat that too often.
Ken constantly advises that the better you know your customers, the more successful you will be in your business. In short, you need to know how your customers feel and behave. You have to get into your customer’s mindset.
You need to understand your customers’ thoughts and feelings, figure out their personality type, sense what makes them tick. Basically, you have to get inside their heads. Once you know your customers, you can anticipate their wants, appeal to the right emotions and show them how your product/service will benefit them. That’s what effective PREselling is all about.
For more information about PREselling, see http://auctions.sitesell.com/
Another powerful reason for understanding the what’s-what about bidding is that as a seller you might want to stock up on good deals that you see for resale later. Here is a great example. This seller bought 50 pairs of earrings in 9 days. She bought them for resale...
Or consider this approach. There is a “Wholesale” category on eBay where sellers can buy items to resell later...
Personally, I prefer to find my own sources. But some sellers beg to differ. They insist this is a profitable way to buy merchandise.Again I have to emphasize, really know your prices before you invest in any merchandise.
