by Can Tran

Created on: November 30, 2008

For the last several months, I have been getting used to buying stuff off of eBay. Luckily, I have won most of my bids. There are times where I had lost a few bids.
Depending on what I am bidding on, it can suck to lose. When I started to use eBay, I mainly placed bids on Magic the Gathering cards.

Unfortunately, there are no places nearby in which I can get Magic the Gathering cards. The comic book stores in town have packed up and left.

Because of this, I had to go on eBay to get my Magic the Gathering cards. It was safe to say that I definitely got more than my money's worth.
However, buying on eBay is not really all that it is cracked up to be.

While you can get something for cheap off eBay, you are not the only one. There are millions of other people that are thinking the same thing.
You are very much in a competition to be the winning bid that buys the specific item. I have learned four methods of winning.

All three can be a total pain in the back.

The first method is being either a first or early bidder. However, this is a very tedious method because you have to keep track of the progress of the auction. The thing is that you could be outbid by another person or two in the next several minutes to an hour. You have to constantly monitor what items you are bidding on.

Ideally, it is not usually the best method. If you use this method, expect to find yourself dragged into a possible bidding war.
It all depends on how badly you want that item. It also depends on how much you are willing to spend on that specific item. When I look at what I am buying, I have to think at it from a logical standpoint.

If you are bidding early, you have to carefully look at the time of the auction. Do not bother making a bid if there is at least one day left into the auction. I would wait to see how much longer until the auction ends. If nobody else is bidding, I will place a bid. After that, I pray that nobody else decides to place a bid.

The second method would be placing a bid midway through the auction. But, you have to see what the current highest bidder is. Because of this, it is not necessarily the absolute best method to win an auction on eBay. If the highest bidder is fairly reasonable, I say go ahead and place a bid.
Be careful though, this method could drag you into a bidding war.

Depending on what you want to get, it may not be the absolute best method. Think carefully on if the item is worth it or not.

The third method which can be very handy is the waiting to the last minute.

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