I had a pair of rather hard-to-find pink Depression glass candlesticks on my watch list that one of my friends wanted badly. I figured they would be a great surprise birthday gift for her, and I figured they'd be expensive, so I didn't want to bid until the very end. Well, stupid me! I completely forgot about the auction end time, I NEVER EVEN BID, and the one bidder who won snapped them up for dirt cheap. That was almost a year ago and the candlesticks haven't come up again since. I'm still kicking myself.

Ah, the agony of defeat!

Oooohhhh I sympathize w/ you - that's a gorgeous book!

Every now & then I bid on Department 56 on E-bay & I've rarely lost. When I do I've always put it into perspective prior to bidding that I may loose but a few weeks ago it was down to the bitter end on a piece & I lost. I sulked for awhile around the house. I really, really, really wanted that item!

I just saw the same book on ebay, except this one was red, for $100?!
this went for $13!

*sigh*

I'm so sorry you didn't win the book. It's beautiful.

For me, I always bid my maximum and forget about it on purpose. Otherwise I tend to get caught up in the bidding/winning aspect and my budget goes out the window. I can't afford for my budget to go out the window. So if I don't win, oh well, it wasn't such a great deal after all. Although I *do* cuss and moan quite a bit if someone snipes me. I hate that!

You get used to it after a while. I remember my first bid was for a tapestry. I was so mad I lost by $0.50! But now I've bought and sold hundreds of things on ebay and if I loose then oh well. Like meghane said, It wasn't meant to be. If you really want it, then you have to go super high but not right away and be there when it closes.
I did forget to bid on a set of 12 salad plates that were 100 yrs old. That one I'm still kicking myself over and it's been a couple of years. I just forgot to bid on it!!

When I first started eBaying, I'd get really upset if I'd lose out on an item. But I learned that there will be another identical - or even better - item come along, again and again and again. eBay has taught me that there is just no end to the supply of "stuff" that's out there for sale. Take heart, Sheesharee. While that's a lovely book, I'm confident you'll find another you love just as much! :-)

I don't understand what is causing me not to be able to see any photos posted on this forum. I can't see yours or the other post about the Ethan Allen furniture. This has never happened before. Why is it that everyone else can see it but me???

Getting back to your question...just a few days ago I lost out at the last minute to one of those nasty bidders who lie in wait and then pounce seconds before the auction ends. She got MY (!) Waterford vase for a mere 50 cents more than I bid. I didn't want to leave a higher bid because I was afraid if I wasn't here to monitor it a bidder could run it up to my limit. I'm always suspicious that the seller has a friend who will try to drive up the price for them. There may be plenty more vases for sale just like it but none are offered as low as this seller had the minimum bid set to. This has happened to me many times before, sometimes it bites me and other times no one else notices the item and I am the only bidder. You just never know. I share your frustration!

Y'know, you can be one of those "nasty snipers" yourself. There's no "law" against it. ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Auction Stealer!

Have you ever heard of automatic snipers? They let you set up your maximum bid well in advance, but don't actually enter it until right before the auction closes. This gets you the best of both worlds - you can set it and forget it like you would with ebay itself, but no one can run the bid up against you in the days before the auction ends. No more forgetting about the end of the auction either.

Some people don't like the sniping software because they think it's unethical (somebody above mentioned one of "those people" who waits til the last seconds to bid), but after forgetting to bid way too many times, I decided I would use the sniping software from now on, and I hardly ever lose anymore. Usually I end up getting it cheaper too, because the opposing bidder doesn't know there's other interest until it's too late so he/she doesn't bother upping his bid.

I used auctionsniper for a while but switched to justsnipe about a year ago. It's totally free (auctionsniper charged per auction). I've never had a problem with either service re: spam or security breaches on my ebay account. I find them to be very reliable (certainly, more reliable than I am about remembering the end of an auction - doh!)

Oh, and for those of you that are bummed about losing by 50 cents - be aware that ebay will only overbid your maximum bid by the minimum bid increment. The other bidder might have entered a bid $100 more than you, but it will only show the bid as the minimum amount it takes to outbid the next-highest bidder (you!). So don't be kicking yourself that you only lost by 50 cents - odds are, his bid was much higher than that and had you bid more, he still would have overbid you. That's why it's good to enter the max you are willing to pay and then forget about it (which is what I do when I set up a snipe).

Here is a link that might be useful: JustSnipe

That book is beautiful and I can see why you are disappointed !

I so agree with AuntJen -- You too can be a sniper!

I use Auction Sentry -- Free trial and then a very small cost to upload it to your computer if you like it.

If you don't use an auction snipe tool, don't bid on the item right away -- that just ups the price. If someone else wants the item they will see your bid and bid themselves--upping the price more.
Best way all my Ebay Buyer friends win auctions is to wait until the last possible minute and then put in the highest amount you are willing to pay (including the shipping charge), then hope for the best.

If you don't win the item, it just means someone else was willing to go higher.

Same with a snipe program.
You enter the highest amount you are willing to pay and hope for the best.
Difference with the Snipe program is that you don't have to be waiting around your computer when the auction is about to end.

Ebay will use Proxy bidding and put your bid in for you, upping your bid if someone bids higher than you.
But that just serves to let other bidders know they have competition throughout the length of the auction.
If bidders use proxy and start bidding 3, 4, 5 days before auction ends, the price can go way too high and sometimes we get caught up in the action and end up paying way too much for the item (BTDT!).

With the Snipe Program, nobody knows you are bidding on the item until right before the auction ends.

Give AuntJen's Auction Sealer or AuctionSentry.com a try.
Can't hurt. At least you won't have to sit by your computer toward the end of the auction.

Good luck on your next auction!

lkplatow snuck in while I was single finger pluckin' away.

Yes, everything lkplatow wrote is exactly what I tried to say, but lkplatow said it so much more clear than I ever could.

I lost to snipers so often that I decided that I would take the most effective yet ethical path I could find...I snipe things I want, but I do it manually, so it's a matter of counting down and waiting and refreshing etc. and placing my highest bid around 9 seconds before the item closes. I generally win now and it's fun and I haven't used a mechanical cheat device :)

It bothers me just slightly that sniping is associated with being unethical or cheating. It's all just a part of the game, the "rules" of which freely allow it. IMO, ethics comes into the picture when you talk about bidding on an item and not intending pay for it, running a scam on eBay -- that sort of thing. But sniping (whether via an online program or manually)? Nah. ;-)

I'm not entirely serious about the "cheat device"; just a matter of pride, auntjen, like Kasparov trying to beat Deep Blue :)

Gotcha.
;-D

Hi my name's Sheesharee and I'm a sniper.

You almost have to if you REALLY want the item and you're afraid someone else is going to get it! It's about half an adrenaline rush at times! Anyone ever have the pleasure of fighting for something with dial up? Oh my.. I always loose!

There are some things i didn't win in the past that later down the road am glad I didn't waste the money on.

I'm sure they'll be something else that will pop up in the future. That just seemed so perfect.

Sorry you did not get the book! It's lovely, though I would suggest a different book for your table. The color of the leather is brown and so is your table so it would just disappear. It would look much prettier on a white table or mantle. The red leather book sounds like a better match--unless you are planning to use a cloth runner also on the table.

As for sniping, I agree it's not the best of etiquite, but in the eBay dog eat dog environment, it can be the only (legal) way to win an auction. I've also only done it manually, but don't think there is anything wrong with using sniping software. It's all part of the rules of the auction!

Join Bidnapper. It is relatively cheap, you bid using ebay item numbers but your bids do not show up on the EBay site.
In other words, you do not engage in a bidding war, driving up the price of the item you want, and you can disengage your self any time before the auction is over, unlike the actual EBay site. I will never bid on EBay again without using Bidnapper. They snipe in at the last minute. It is a great way to get the stuff you want. I have 80 stars, meaning I have been very successful at getting my items.

I use Bidnapper too, I always put the highest amount I would be willing to pay, then I never kick myself for not bidding more; I bid what I was willing to pay. I am also not chained to the computer for the end of auctions.

For those of you that say you were outbid by 50 cents, that is probably not true. $.50 is the increment the bid went up, so when you bid $30 the next guy might have bid $100, but he got it for $30.50 because that was the next amount the item went to (called "proxy bidding"). You may have put in 40 bids after his and never come up to his maximum.

Or you can email the winner and ask what they'll take for it.
I 've done this, and have occasionally found that another $5 and it's mine.

whooaa. I apparently didn't read that right. When i said sniper i meant at the last min. i'm putting in a bid. I just keep clicking the refresh button. I had NO IDEA there was software you could buy for this! woooaaahhh sneaky sneaky.

val - i thought the book was black. either way, that's darker than brown. I currently have a smaller red, leather book on there. I was thinking three books..?

Whoa! Sniper software?! I had no idea. That'll save me some late nights and hassle in the future. For a while, I was repeatedly bidding on things only to lose them to sniping in the last minute. So in the spirit of "if you can't beat them, join them," I waited until there was 1 minute to go, put in my bid and refreshed until the end of the auction. Suddenly started winning auctions at much better prices!

I feel your pain! This happens to me not just on e-bay, but Craigslist as well.

On Craigslist, I will never forget the lovely, LOVELY nightstands that I didn't get to in time. Fabulous curves, vintage paint-- beautiful. They were easily worth (well, by e-bay standards) over $400 for the set . . .they just needed a few touchups. They went for $25 for the PAIR. I was e-mailing the seller (I could not drive over immediately with my 3 children in tow), asking if I could just PayPal her the money right away if she'd hold them. By the evening, they were gone.

A gorgeous antique oak dresser . . .it had the most beautiful detailing on the mirror I have ever seen. It was $75. I called the seller the same day it was listed, but he said he had already promised it to someone else.

Now, I think in the future, I have to offer more (I did that once with my rug) and they might hold it. I could have easily offered double the asking prices on those items and have gotten off cheap.

On e-bay, I saw this lithograph that was very large, in an antique frame, about 100 years old. It was a haunting image. I loved it. Now, I don't like to drive up the price, so I don't bid early, but I had my snip software ready to go. It was selling for a mere $19. GUESS WHAT???? About 2 hours before it was going to close, the seller ended the sale early . . .I guess he saw he was going to lose on it, and that was that. I e-mailed him and he said he was going to relist, but it never happened.

So, even with the snipe set up, you can lose! Sometimes it's dangerous . . .

Go to Esnipe.com and register and you're good to go. It's the only way to bid. I put in my highest offer and generally win. I can understand how you feel about the book. Esnipe notifies you if you've been outbid one hour before the auction is over so you can edit your bidding amount. Trust me, there will be another some day but maybe not at that price. Estate auctions are a good place to find old books too.