Adding to your gear collection? Thinning out your collection to make room for more? Either way, eBay is the place to go. Even if you don’t plan on conducting your transaction online, check the prices there before buying used gear. eBay has become the prevailing price thermometer for used market.
Bargain shoppers can get massive discounts over retail. And with a little extra effort you can get top dollar on your sales, and the best deals on your purchases. Here are a few techniques that have served me well.
1. Don’t bid early.
Why unnecessarily drive the price up. Wait until the last minute – literally.
2. Buy in the final seconds.
Monitor the end of an auction live. Wait for the last 20-30 seconds to place your bid. This gives anyone else watching the auction little time to react if your bid pulls ahead. This is called Bid Sniping.
3. Determine your price and stick to it.
Don’t get caught up in the emotion. Decide how much you will pay and still feel good about the purchase. Bid that amount. Remember, your bid will only increase to just above the next highest bidder, so you will usually pay less than your max. And if you loose, well it was more than you wanted to spend anyway.
4. Do price research on completed auctions.
Know the market value of any item you are buying or selling, online and off, by reviewing completed auctions. Click on Advanced Search (beside the Search button) to go to the advanced search page. Check the box labeled Completed Listings. Now you can see what people are really paying for the gizmo you want.
5. Ask questions.
Don’t hesitate to communicate with the seller through the Ask seller a question button. I usually ask them how many people are monitoring an item, and what is the reserve price.
6. Find odd ending times.
This is a good one. Look for auctions that end late at night or early on weekend mornings. These are less likely to be monitored live by bid snipers like you.
7. Look for seller errors.
Search for common misspellings or typos of your object of desire. Like tip number 6, this one can lead you to low-traffic auctions.
8. Walk on by.
If the price gets too high, if the seller seems suspicious, if the deal seems too good to be true, pass it by. Another one just like it will probably be up for sale soon. Search the completed auctions to get a feel for how often your item becomes available.
9. You don’t always have to get the best deal.
Sometimes it’s too much work to do all this. When you just want to grab your gear and be done with it, bid high or do a Buy It Now option. You can afford it since you regularly save so much money on your other purchases.
10. Watch for gotchas.
Read and re-read the ad carefully. Sometimes a single word can make a huge difference.
Good luck and happy bidding. Next time we will address marketing tips for sellers.
A friend recently told me he wished he had taken a picture of his wife’s TV setup back when they were dating. It would be fun to reminisce about her 12″ tube and VCR, and compare it to the technological terror that is their entertainment system today.
