EBay

Why I Like EBay!

I am a big fan of EBay. I set a high limit for the item I want and then watch. Look to see if one or two bidders are bidding the item up. Make a test bid below your high limit just to test the other bidders. If you are out bid immediately then you know that one of the other bidders has set a bid. Look at the ending time. If I can be at the computer during the auction end time then I will wait until ten minutes or so before the end time. I refresh the page and note time the refresh takes. I divide that time in half and add a few seconds. Really! This is one way I try to outbid the other bidders. Then I get my highest bid typed in and set. All I have to do is click the submit bid button. I watch the second hand and then Click submit bid at the time I calculated. In a few seconds the results are returned. I get a kick outbidding the others. Of course It doesn’t always work. The other bidders may have already set a higher bid. But that’s ok because the item went for more than I wanted to pay anyway. Also there are software programs that do the same thing and it would be difficult to beat a computer bid.

One time I got into a bidding war for an aircraft engine parts manual. I ended up paying more for it than a new part manual would cost. I sent a message to the seller informing him that I just paid for the item using PayPal and included my shipping information. I also included a note that said “ I think I got carried away bidding for this one” he replied back “yes you did”. When I received the part manual, included in the package were two additional aircraft manuals. There are some nice folks selling on EBay.

Savings on EBay can be huge. In December 2001 I bid on and won a 1995 Chevrolet Suburban 2500. It was top of the line with all the extras, all power, leather seats, and alloy wheels. It was a beautiful truck and I ended up paying $7500.00 for it and that included a $600 delivery charge from Texas to Wisconsin. We used that truck for about a year before my daughter was involved in a very bad accident. She was wearing her seatbelt and the truck had airbags. She wasn’t hurt other than being shook up and minor scrapes and bruises but the truck was totaled. My insurance company sent me a check for over $13,000. I hadn’t realized how good my EBay purchase was until I received that check.