Ebay auctions

[FlexingFishSticks]

Alright first off am I the only one that keeps losing these auctions at literally the last 3 seconds?! Second does anyone else feel like the frags sell for way more on eBay vs just buying it from the vendor site directly? You start at .99cents but end up at like 50 dollars plus 40 dollar shipping for 1 zoa polyp?! I feel like the vendor themselves are bidding on the item to jack up the price...? Maybe I’m just being a cry baby ;Pompus Please share your experiences!

 

[zuri]

I love ebay's! depends on the coral i would think 50 for some zoa's on ebay is steal. know the regular price of said coral size and color's next step depends alot on how available is said coral can you shop around get it for cheaper price? if not than i would generally bid what i thinks its worth to me not just a few dollars more than the other guy. lastly never bid you true bid early showing your cards! (last 5 seconds make your real bid) sometimes for corals i really like i want to feel out how high the other guy is ebay will only show their current bid (it could be much higher) so the day of the auctions i will bid them out slowly 5 dollars at a time. if someone starts trying to bid war just back off till the auction
i think i should make note this is for high- end stuff for everyday corals i would just bid 50%-75% of the corals going price an hope i win at lowest cost same deal bid last 5-10 sec's.
example from last sunday chalice i wanted was at 65 dollars 1 min before auction with slow uptick five dollar jumps. corals actual price around 300 if bought straight out. i bid 250 last five seconds i won it at 100 the other guys were making small five dollar leaps so fast but not fast enough

 

[ReadySet-Flow]

The real benefit, like for me, is living near the store that’s selling on eBay. I can swing by for local pickup, parooze their selection and pick up a few more things if I need.

I have noticed lots of bots competing in the auctions. That’s the most frustrating because if I’m the only one who notices no one has bid on something eye catching, then there’s little to no possibility of snagging it at the opening bid of 99c.

 

[GatorDoc70]

Love eBay coral auctions!! I have gotten some really nice pieces off eBay lately for a lot less than the going price on the vendor site. Some of the zoas I have bid on went for about half of what the vendor price was on their site.

 

[FlexingFishSticks]

I love ebay's! depends on the coral i would think 50 for some zoa's on ebay is steal. know the regular price of said coral size and color's next step depends alot on how available is said coral can you shop around get it for cheaper price? if not than i would generally bid what i thinks its worth to me not just a few dollars more than the other guy. lastly never bid you true bid early showing your cards! (last 5 seconds make your real bid) sometimes for corals i really like i want to feel out how high the other guy is ebay will only show their current bid (it could be much higher) so the day of the auctions i will bid them out slowly 5 dollars at a time. if someone starts trying to bid war just back off till the auction
i think i should make note this is for high- end stuff for everyday corals i would just bid 50%-75% of the corals going price an hope i win at lowest cost same deal bid last 5-10 sec's.
example from last sunday chalice i wanted was at 65 dollars 1 min before auction with slow uptick five dollar jumps. corals actual price around 300 if bought straight out. i bid 250 last five seconds i won it at 100 the other guys were making small five dollar leaps so fast but not fast enough

What I’ve encountered basically is in most cases the price of the coral on eBay ends up costing more vs the vendor site which is why I suspect bots bidding to Jack up the price ;Bookworm Normally I bid about 20 dollars more as my last price but somehow I get outbidded in the last few seconds. I can’t imagine who would pay more than 50 dollars for a single zoa polyp especially when you can buy the same one the vendors website for 40 dollars with 2 polyps that is why I feel like it’s the vendors themselves bidding or bots as another user suggested or I guess people don’t do research and think they’re getting a great deal lol.

 

[FlexingFishSticks]

The real benefit, like for me, is living near the store that’s selling on eBay. I can swing by for local pickup, parooze their selection and pick up a few more things if I need.

I have noticed lots of bots competing in the auctions. That’s the most frustrating because if I’m the only one who notices no one has bid on something eye catching, then there’s little to no possibility of snagging it at the opening bid of 99c.

Living locally to a vendor on eBay is a huge come up! Saving that shipping cost def will make it much more worth it for sure! Yes I agree with you on these bots the bidding is jus too fishy....

 

[FlexingFishSticks]

Love eBay coral auctions!! I have gotten some really nice pieces off eBay lately for a lot less than the going price on the vendor site. Some of the zoas I have bid on went for about half of what the vendor price was on their site.

This is what I hope to come across when I participate in eBay auctions lol hopefully in the future....

 

[Saltyreef]

You keep losing in last 3 seconds because someone ultimately had a higher max bid than you.
I bid my max bid in last 5 seconds as said above.

 

[Bob Weigant]

Been shopping heavy on ebay over the last few weeks. Scored some killer corals. And yes Im that guy who waits til the last few seconds to outbid on something Id really like

 

[FlexingFishSticks]

You keep losing in last 3 seconds because someone ultimately had a higher max bid than you.
I bid my max bid in last 5 seconds as said above.

I also bid my max in the last 5 seconds become the highest bidder and then I lose at 1-2 seconds! ;Drowning

 

[FlexingFishSticks]

Been shopping heavy on ebay over the last few weeks. Scored some killer corals. And yes Im that guy who waits til the last few seconds to outbid on something Id really like

I must step up my game....

 

[Bob Weigant]

I must step up my game....

Im done for now. Last box comes today. Lots of favia's , few chalices , monti's , and zoa's. Only lost 2 out of 20

 

[GatorDoc70]

Im done for now. Last box comes today. Lots of favia's , few chalices , monti's , and zoa's. Only lost 2 out of 20

This has been the first week in the last four weeks I haven’t received a box. Next week I’m expecting my purchases from a live sale last weekend, plus I’m hoping to grab a few more from the eBay auctions this weekend.

 

[KStatefan]

If you think the seller is bidding to raise the price report that to ebay.

 

[ScubaFish802]

Apparently I'm one of the only ones who's been watching the eBay countdown timer and waiting until less than 10 seconds to hit 'submit offer'. I haven't bought any coral off eBay but any other popular item is the same way, you set a cheap initial bid and a "max offer" and usually when you submit someone else's max offer either drives your initial bid right up or maxes your initial bid out if there max limit was higher. I would never counter a real bid unless there was less than a min left. As others have already said all you are doing is starting a bid war furthur driving the price up + drawing attention back to the listing.

 

[FlexingFishSticks]

If you think the seller is bidding to raise the price report that to ebay.

I would feel guilty doing that if I wasn’t 100% certain haha

 

[Bob Weigant]

This has been the first week in the last four weeks I haven’t received a box. Next week I’m expecting my purchases from a live sale last weekend, plus I’m hoping to grab a few more from the eBay auctions this weekend.

I very well could do the same but Im trying really hard to be good but everytime I look Im like " I could make room for that "

 

[92Miata]

Most people who buy a lot on ebay use bid snipers. These are basically programs that you schedule to submit a bid with like 1 second left - that way nobody gets a chance to counter it.

You typically get lower prices doing things this way - and there's no temptation to "go a little higher" and end up overpaying.

I get the impression that there are LFS/frag resellers/etc on ebay who are submitting sniped bids on everything with basically the wholesale price - so each week they pick up enough stuff below wholesale to make some cash.

 

[FlexingFishSticks]

Just wanted to give an update! After reading everyone’s experiences and tips I was finally successful at winning a few frags today. ;Happy

 

[KrisReef]

Just wanted to give an update! After reading everyone’s experiences and tips I was finally successful at winning a few frags today. ;Happy

Well done!