The Web have turned into a huge marketplace and auctioning is one of the most popular ways for selling goods online. Top online auctions attract thousands of internet users, who are trying to outbid each other and buy their favorite products for the lowest possible price. That’s why online auctioning is more about statistics and math, than about trade and bargaining. Some bidders have also created simple software solutions (often called bots), which can do their bidding in real time, so they don’t need to follow the bidding process themselves. In this article we will share a few tips and tricks that will help you to outbid your opponents and treat yourself or your loved ones with ideal presents.
Preparations
Research is very important, especially if you’re an inexperienced bidder. First you need to find a legitimate and reputable website, and as these promising Australia’s online auctions. Before you enter these auctions do a little research to check for how much money similar products have been sold in the past. All this data will help you to put a more realistic bidding limit and win auctions more easily.
Setting a limit
Setting a clear bidding limit is very important. Rely exclusively on your own needs and desires, and think how valuable the chosen product is for you. The limit should be the maximum price you will pay for the product and it will save you from spending your monthly paycheck on unnecessary purchases.
Timing
Good timing is the best virtue of successful bidders. Many people go crazy during the last hours and put their final bids too early. This way they give a chance to their competitors to outbid them. They also cause an unnecessary price jump. You should put your final bid a moment before the bidding process is closed. This way, you will beat your competition and get the product for the lowest possible price.
Bid when your opponents sleep
It’s also very important who you’re bidding against. If only the people from some specific country are interested in the product you are trying to buy, try to find an auction that ends during their sleeping hours. If you are really interested in buying a product, be ready to wake up in the middle of the night, interrupt the lunch with your in-laws or place bids from your phone in the middle of your morning workout.
Bidding tech
Many big auction sites, like eBay, offer a proxy bidding feature. This is similar to bot software. It allows you to enter your highest bidding amount and sit back, while the tool places the lowest possible bids on your behalf.
If the website you’ve chosen doesn’t offer this feature, you should use some other type of auction software. Most of these programs allow you to determine different types of constrains, like maximum amount, number of bids, time etc.
Bid nibbling
This is a very powerful tactic, used in big auction houses. If you know that the desired product has a certain value, and its bid starts from much smaller amount, you can easily outbid all non-serious buyers in only one move by bidding just a little bit lower than the product’s actual value. This way, you will win the bid and buy the product at a bargain price.
‘Buy-It-Now’ amount
Some auction websites also offer a special feature that allows bidders to buy a product for Buy-It-Now (BIN) price. If some of the bidders choose this option, the auction automatically ends. So, if you see a BIN amount that sounds like a bargain, don’t hesitate to skip the long and tiresome bidding war.
Online auctions have all the good sides of gambling and even if you spend all of your money while bidding, you will at least get a nice set of fantastic products in return. The most important thing is that online auctions give you an easy exit strategy. They won’t charge you a dime if you change your mind during the auction process. Sounds much safer than poker but equally fun.