Auction Agony

pruss · Jun 16, 2013

Based on the posts I've read, and the PMs I've exchanged, I know that many of you fine folks are also online buyers and sellers of pipes and pipe paraphernalia. What I want to know is how you manage/handle/deal-with the agony of defeat... when you watch that "Sorry you've been Outbid" email come in just KNOWING that you can't or won't up the ante.
I've been trying for months to get my hands on a Von Erck pipe, and missed another tonight. I've been sniped enough times that I have changed my bidding routine, and only go in on the last minute of the auction, and at my max bid. It just wasn't enough tonight. To console myself I'm having a cup of tea on the balcony and catching up on the events here in PMforum land, and am contemplating my next batch of estates to clean up. I'll have me a Von Erck one day...
So how do you manage the end of auction agony?
-- Pat

wyfbane · Jun 16, 2013

Well, most of my agony is MISSING the end of the auction. If i am online, i usually (70%) get what i want. If you have a decent internet provider, bid at the 8 second mark for your full amount. That way, if you lose you lose.. but you also know that if you are still outbid at that point, you didn't have time to succumb to auction fever and bid again and you gave it your best.
Going all in with enough time for someone ELSE to succomb to auction fever and outbid you is where I start to get grumbly.

peckinpahhombre · Jun 16, 2013

Pat, you definitely should only bid in the last 10 seconds. I usually enter my bid at 10 seconds, with the most I am willing to pay, and then hit confirm at 5 seconds.

pruss · Jun 16, 2013

Good thoughts all. The last ten seconds is a tough go for me... always feels a bit like a risk, given the vagaries of wifi and our internet provider. That being said, "message received". I pulled the trigger with 45 seconds left, and it was clearly too early. I'm all over the odd values though. I never bid at a straight $xx.00 dollar amount.
Thanks for the tips and thoughts lads.
-- Pat

peckinpahhombre · Jun 16, 2013

Agree on the odd values. If I think I will pay 200 - I usually go 205.

blade · Jun 16, 2013

I use a snipe program (biddingscheduler.com) for ebay. I set my max amount to bid with 5 seconds left and if I win great, if someone outbids me than it wasn't meant to be.

trailspike48 · Jun 16, 2013

I usually post my max bid with 3 seconds left, if I'm outbid it is fine, I set my limit and try. I also usually bid an odd amount, say 105.33. Once I was outbid by 3 cents, on a nice Savinelli Autograph. That is the only one that gave me a twang of the Darn Its.
Keep snipping and eventually your bid will be the highest.

oldredbeard · Jun 17, 2013

It took me a little while to get the mind set, that if I put in the max I'm willing to give and I get outbid then that's ok. Someone was willing to give more so they got it. You have to learn to let that go.

gmwolford · Jun 17, 2013

It took me a little while to get the mind set, that if I put in the max I'm willing to give and I get outbid then that's ok. Someone was willing to give more so they got it. You have to learn to let that go.

+1

plateauguy · Jun 17, 2013

I tell myself that it wasn't meant to be, that there will be others, blah, blah, blah. Then I start all over again. Try Etsy, it's less upsetting.

hfearly · Jun 17, 2013

I
- Use a good program like Garagebuy, never the website

- Have a window open with my max bid filled in, ready to click the "go!" button

- Bid when there is 3 seconds left to the auction

- My max bid is always 6.99 added to what I want to bid

- Have won a lot of auctions that way
Good luck Pruss!

numbersix · Jun 17, 2013

There have been times when I was sorely disappointed to lose a pipe by, say, $1. But the fact is, the person who won the bid probably placed a bid $20 over that single dollar amount. So I content myself with the fact that it wasn't meant to be. And sometimes when one overbids, the "winner" is sometimes the loser.

if I put in the max I'm willing to give and I get outbid then that's ok. Someone was willing to give more so they got it. You have to learn to let that go.

+1
In regards to my max bid, when I figure out the "highest" amount I am willing to pay, and I *really* want this particular pipe, I then ask myself: "will I kick myself if I lose it by $5? $10?"
If the answer is yes, then I will raise my max amount even more. And in most cases, when I go to my absolute highest limit, I find I will win the pipe for far less than I was willing to go anyway.
p.s.
And whether right or wrong, sniping is the only way to win a bid - esnipe is great for that.

allan · Jun 17, 2013

This has been discussed in an earlier thread. Someone had mentioned to me 'Auctionsniper.com' and that has been a real saver for me.
The first thing one has to do is decide the absolute max you are willing to go for that particular pipe. When you first join this site, they give you 3 free 'snipes' to try it out. Even if you don't win the auction, they don't count that as one of your 3 tries. Very nice of them.
One of the issues in using ebay is that you never know how much another person is willing to go. You may think that you missed it by one dollar or five, but the fact is that the other bidder may have had a much higher amount in mind that he/she was willing to go.
With the absolute exact amount determined, just enter it into auction sniper which is easy enough and the site does it for you. you can even choose the lead time, as well as some other options. So if some folks are just waiting to not bid 'too much' you may have the jump on them.
I just won my Dunhill 1932 using auction sniper, and I wasn't around to watch it happen.
It is very cool.
IMHO

Allan

captainsousie · Jun 17, 2013

I know your pain Pat. It sucks, especially when you have some hope invested in the outcome, but the way I overcome it is to get back on the search and find another mark. Sometimes that takes days, weeks or months but I always find another. It's a hunt and sometimes your quarry escapes but the hunt always continues until some prey is caught.

jah76 · Jun 17, 2013

Pat. Everytime there's a hole in your heart find something new to stuff in there!
Missed that Savinelli? Bam, buy a Ashton.

Missed that Honda Civic? Bam, buy a Ferrari.
I promise you won't even remember what was bugging you.
(Actually I just handle it like oldreadbeard.)

pruss · Jun 17, 2013

but the way I overcome it is to get back on the search and find another mark

Captain and Jah, that sounds about like how I approach this. One of my colleagues at work has two phrases for times like this, "Suck it up Buttercup," and, "time to build a bridge and get over it,". The agony never lasts long, and I agree, setting sights on a new target is the easiest way for me to move on.
Thanks for all the thoughts gang.
-- Pat

ciderguy · Jun 17, 2013

I'm patient. I'm always on the lookout for a good deal, when it goes over the amount I'm willing to pay I let it go. The only pipe I've bid on in recent memory that I was upset I didn't win was this Mastro de Paja:

$(KGrHqR,!lwFGZ4PEgl3BRm4n,l+Z!~~60_57.JPG

Also, if there tend to be a good amount of buy-it-now pipes. They are often slightly more expensive than what the pipe would go for at auction, but its a sure thing. Finally, if you are dealing with an experienced seller it used to be able to negotiate a deal early in an auction. You simply messaged to and offered to purchase the item at a fair price. The seller then stopped the auction early and created a private buy-it-now for the agreed upon price that only you can bid on. This keeps the transaction within eBay (and didn't used to violate the rules, but I don't know if they've changed any policies), and allows you to know you'll win.

crazypipe · Jun 17, 2013

Win some loose some : puffy

:

cigrmaster · Jun 17, 2013

If I did not have a really fast ISP I would use a sniper program like Allan suggested. I can get a bid in within the last 3-5 seconds so I have my high bid ready and then hit the send button. If I win great, if I do not then it was not meant to be. I never get bent out of shape for loosing out on a pipe, obviously my bid was not enough so I cannot blame anyone but myself. I do watch the bidding histories before I bid to see if there are any shills involved because if there are I will not bid on the pipe.

teufelhund · Jun 17, 2013

I like to snipe but more frequently than not I run a custom search for newly listed items with a buy it now option. Often enough I'll find a lot of pipes going for a decent buy out price. Or even end up with a grab bag like I got today. All in all with shipping I paid less than $23. If I can ever get a lot of pipes for less than 5$ a piece and they look restorable I pull the trigger. My recent acquisition 7 pipes and 2 pouches:
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Auction Agony

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