auctions on ebay make me angry!!!

[bikerchic]

Ok, so I like ebay. There's alot of good stuff, but I wish there were more buy it now items. I hate bidding. I hate watching a bottle for a week and really wanting it and being the high bidder for days and then at the last 2 seconds someone clicks and I LOSE! It's soooo discouraging. I guess I just suck at it or something. I'm just not gonna bid anymore. Except most of the bottles I like are up for auction. I can't find soda's at antique store in my area. I just wanna start my collection. IS THAT SO WRONG?????? [] Whew! Ok, I think I'm ok now.

 

[Poison_Us]

ebay is a frustrating place if you don't 'play' it right. 3 ways to play.
1) you can bid just over the last bidder and hope you dont get outbid (almost never works)

2) you can bid the maximum amount your are willing to pay for the bottle (or any other item) right off the bat and let the rest of the people to try and outbid you. This usually inflates the item thru the week and will may end up paying your max amount, or even still loose to someone who wants it more than you do.

3)you can snipe it like many others. You still use your maximum bid ( or if you really want to win, bid like crazy person with a higher than you really want to pay and hopes it doesnt go that high, but you almost always win) at the last 10 seconds and hope the others dont have a higher bid. It creates a lot of anxiety in the last few minutes of the auction and you have to be present to place that bid, no matter what odd hour of the night it goes off. Now, this can backfire, and it has once to us, where you have 2 people doing the crazy bid thing and the winner is also a looser, paying way too much for an item.

So there you have it in a nutshell. It depends oh how much you want to win with what you have to spend. It can get ugly with the more rare items, but you can get lucky too. With the economy was it is, some nice items are still going for cheap. It all depends on who else is looking at any given day. I have seen a lot of buy it nows lately, but they also have been asking full price or more and they dont sell because of it.

 

[bikerchic]

I've been using your #2 example. Not working. I guess I have to get "nasty". I'm not a good loser. I'd rather just buy it and be done with it.

 

[PoisonIvy]

Poison_Us - Thanks for the eBay bidding info. I watched this gorgeous turquoise KI-2 (4 7/8) for 4 days and thought it would be mine. The winner ended up paying $332 for it. UGH! Oh well, part of the game I 'spose.

 

[RED Matthews]

Hello Angie bikerchic; I see Roy on the listing - I assume he is the biker.
Anyway I understand some of your buying attitude but the way I work it, I bid when I want a bottle because it might tell me something, I want to learn about early bottle making methods. If I don't get it for the amount of money I want to spend - so it wasn't supposed to be.
I assume your interest is in area soda's. If you check out my homepage, you will see the background of my reason for being into bottles. I have been into them for about 72 years now. This FORUM is one of the best places to learn. The technology, history, and types of formed glass are very fascinating. This forum has a lot of the background you will need, to jell your interest and objectives. Good Luck. RED Matthews

 

[GuntherHess]

You can almost always win an ebay bottle auction if you really want to , you just dont because you are cheap like me[]. You cant compete with the fanatics they just bid crazy.
I have found a lot of people buying bottles off my website say they just hate the whole auction idea. They just want to see it and buy it. Just like you say. I wish there were more good online bottle sales sites. I have bought quite a few off people's sites.

 

[bikerchic]

I would like to collect bottles from the bay area. I have alot of history there. Good and bad. [] I've seen alot from that area, but I've seen alot of nice bottle from alot of places. I'm not too picky. Roy is the city I live in. Thanks Red. I'll go check out your website.

 

[bikerchic]

True. I am cheap! At least too cheap to keep up with some of the other ebay bidders. []

 

[potstone]

Angie, I feel your pain. I've been in that situation more times
than I like to admit. Now,what helps me out is looking at the bottle
with a different perspective. For the most part the bottle your looking at is not the only one in the world. If you keep collecting
you will usually see another one for sale at different times.
Sometimes you will be able to get it cheaper than you would have paid the first time you were out bid. The approach I take now is,
if I see something I am interested in bidding on, I come up with
an amount I'm comfortable with spending. I put the bottle on my watch list. I wait to see what amounts if any are bid. If the bids
start to go up and exceed what I was going to pay, I just let it go
and say to myself I will see another one. I usually do. I don't put
myself in the position of being the high bidder for days and then
get out bid. That is just setting yourself up for disappointment.
I wait close to the auctions end and if the bottle is still under the highest amount I would pay, I bid the total amount. A lot of times
I win and get it under my total bid. Once again if I don't win I
know I will see another one again.

 

[cyberdigger]

Hey, Angie, I felt the same way about ebay until I stopped shopping there.. I had to give it up, it was frustrating and messed with my schedule.. as an alternative, I recommend going to weekend flea markets and see who has what.. it's hit or miss, but the negotiating usually works in the buyer's favor.. plus you get to hold it in your hands before you buy it.. good luck in your acquisitions!!