BAM eBay Blog

Posts for eBay buyers about buying on eBay

Bidding Early On eBay Instead Of Sniping

Virtually everyone you talk to about eBay will tell you that the way to win great deals is by sniping. As we all know, sniping means waiting until the last possible moment to place a bid with the intention of beating out anyone else's high bid at the last moment. And one of the best programs to do that with is by using the BAM software tool for winning on eBay.

Letting your bid ride

But sniping isn't always the answer. A lot of people snipe and win, but conversely, a lot of people snipe and lose. Although there is no doubt that you will greatly increase your chances of winning when you use the BAM software, there are some times when it is better to place a bid early and let it ride.

Here is how that works

Let's say you see an item that you want, and you know what you want to pay. After all, if you have been doing a little research, you will have gotten the general idea about how much the item is going for and how much you'll expect to pay for a winning bid.

So, at the beginning of the auction, punch in your top bid and walk away. That's it. Just by doing that, you'll be surprised how often you'll be winning instead of losing, and there isn't a lot of stress to this method at all.

Set Prices and Sniping

The reason why this works is because most people, like you, have a set price that they are willing to pay. Because most people win by sniping, they are counting on their one and only last and final bid to win the item. Since they punch in their bid at the last moment, there is generally no time left for another bid. If that last bid is less than your original bid, they don't have enough time to bid again and...you win!

This technique works best if there are several of the same items listed. The first few will be gobbled up quickly by high bidding snipers, but after that, the winning price will stabilize and an original first bid may be very likely to hold up through to the end.

Bid Increments

Many people employ bidding by increments to see how high the price may be. Ebay allows you to bid a minimum each time you bid, but won't show you the highest first bid—yours--until it is reached. This works in your favor if someone decides they only want to pay a set amount for an item. They will bid in increments until their set price is reached, and they will give up at this point if they haven't reached their set price. Granted, if they bid higher than you they will win anyway, but for those bidders looking for deals, they will either be hesitant to bid a higher increment, or they will give up and wait for the next listing.

Think Out of the Box

Sometimes doing something that is not of the norm is the way to winning items on eBay for the best price possible. That's called thinking out of the box. And in this day and age when sniping is considered the best way to go, bidding early might be the difference between winning and losing. So take a shot, bid early with your highest possible bid and see what happens. And when you win you'll be smiling all the way to the check out button. Hey, you heard it here first, because as always, knowledge is the key and BAM's got your back!

Buy It Now eBay Bargains

Most BIN items are not bargains

In many cases, using the Buy It Now feature won't get you a bargain. Sure, you'll get the item you want quickly, but it may be overpriced or worse, under-priced with a huge shipping and handling total tacked on. Of course, when using BIN, there won't be any bidding wars, you won't have to worry about using sniping software, and you'll know exactly what you'll be paying for the item up front.

However, there are bargains to be had with Buy It Now purchases, if you can get in on them before someone else. Sometimes people are looking for some fast money, so they'll use the BIN feature for a quick sale. Sometimes a person may just want to get rid of an item quickly, so they'll put it on a BIN auction. And sometimes a seller would rather liquidate their item because listing something with a Buy It Now price is far easier than listing it as an auction. In all of these cases, the item listed might have a BIN price that is considerably less expensive than the going rate.

Finding great deals with Buy It Now

The trick to finding these auctions is by looking in the "Categories" section at the immediate left of the screen. The next section will be labeled "Format", and here is a little box that you will check-off that says "Buy It Now". Once checked off, only the BIN sales will pop up for the item you are searching for.

From there, look around until you see something you like. Or, keep looking day after day, or even hour after hour if it is something really popular, until the item you want pops up at a price you want to pay. Sometimes you'll get lucky and it will show up on the first search. Most often, however, you'll need to remain diligent and do several searches before what you want comes up at a price you want to pay.

The key in all of this is to remain diligent. If you do not remain diligent, you are going to lose. However, remaining diligent in your BIN searches is going to mean spending a lot of time sitting in front of the computer and then refreshing the page time after time after time. Now, if you have nothing else better to do, if you are a computer junkie and you have no other life except for eBay, then this will be easy. But for the rest of us, with spouses, kids, recreation and jobs, social functions and family, being this kind of diligent is virtually impossible.

Find and win best BIN deals

To get the best BIN deals on eBay and still have a life, there is only one real solution available. Get the BAM or Buyer Auction Manager software. The software searches eBay for you, alerts you to the newly listed BIN item that you want searched, and you'll get the best deals ever.

This is a no hassle easy to use software that you subscribe to. You just set up to search for the items you are looking for, hit the "Win It Now" search button, and it will show you all of the newly listed BIN items. You see them, you find the deals, and you WIN IT NOW! That's all there is to it.

The software is actually a full service program that comes with an ending time search and a sniping tool too, but we will get into more of that at a later date. The bottom line here is that you cannot go wrong with the BAM eBay software program. It is simple to set up, easy to use and you are going to be getting killer bargains as soon as you use it.

Of course, never stop checking out regular auctions, because on eBay, you just never know what you might find. But if you search in the Buy It Now category, many times that's where the best bargains are to be found. And for the best bargains when it comes to eBay buying, the BAM software is the way to go! Like I have been saying all along, for the best advice and the best way to buy on eBay, BAM and the Buyer Auction Manager software has got your back! You can count on it!

Are You Taking Advantage Of eBay Bucks Rewards?

What are eBay Bucks

eBay bucks is a program created by eBay to try to attract more buyers by offering percentage of the purchase back to the buyer. If you choose to sign up for eBay bucks, you will get 2% back on qualifying purchases. There are some days when eBay offers higher percentage. I have seen 5% on one day but those are not common. This rewards program is currently open to US and Canadian residents who are 18 years or older.

Program Restrictions and Limitations

The program has some restrictions. Those include:

  • You have to pay with PayPal using eBay checkout system
  • Purchases you made before signing up for eBay bucks do not qualify
  • Your bids need to be placed on eBay US or eBay Canada global sites

 

There are some categories that do not qualify for eBay rewards:

  • All eBay Motors categories
  • Classified Ads
  • Real Estate
  • Gift Cards
  • Coins & Paper Money - my favorite category :(
  • Business & Industrial

 

See "eBay Bucks Rewards Program Terms & Conditions" for full details, restrictions and limitations.

There are also limits on how much you can earn. Maximum amount you can earn for a single purchase is $100. You can earn maximum of $500 for calendar quarter.

How to sign up for eBay bucks

You're not automatically enrolled in this reward program. To earn eBay bucks, you have to manually sign up. Any purchases you make before you sign up, will not be eligible (I learned this one the hard way). Sign up for eBay bucks.

Accessing your eBay bucks

To see details about your bucks, including your total, which transaction earned you how much rewards and countdown to when you'll be able to start spending your eBay bucks, you go to My eBay and click on eBay Bucks:

 

Redeeming eBay bucks

You start earning eBay bucks at the beginning of a quarter and earn them for three months. Within 15 days after the end of a quarter, eBay will issue you eBay Bucks Certificate. From that day, you have 30 days to use your certificate. If you do not use your eBay bucks within 30 days, you will lose them.

When you get your certificate, it's easy to redeem your rewards. After you purchase something (auction or buy it now) and when you start PayPal checkout, it should automatically use the certificate as default payment method. If you don't have enough to cover your purchase, you'll be able to choose another payment method to cover the reminder. If you have more in eBay bucks than the purchase amount, your entire purchase will be paid for with rewards. You don't have to use your eBay bucks on one purchase. If you have some bucks left over after your purchase, you'll be able to use the reminder for another item.

Conclusion

If you purchase a lot on eBay, you might want to consider signing up for eBay bucks rewards program to get 2% back on qualifying purchases. Those rewards can add up quickly and It's always nice when you get your certificate at the beginning of the quarter and you don't have to pay out of pocket!

If you still have questions, check out this Video Tutorial created by eBay that introduces eBay Bucks.

If you buy a lot on eBay, I invite you to try Buyer Auction Manager - eBay Software for Buyers. It's free for the first 30 days.

Robert

Negotiate on eBay Without Offending Seller

Best offer on eBay

Your way My wayOne of the bedrocks of eBay buying and selling is the art of negotiating.  After all, eBay is foremost a site where commerce is conducted in a unique auction style. The site works best for buyers and sellers when both can come to an agreement that satisfies both parties. To get there, you will need to employ the kind of negotiation skills that keeps respect for each other in mind while you seek the best deal possible. Pay close attention to the following principles as you make best offers and counter-offers and take the most advantage of the deals to be had on eBay.

Fair Market Prices

Fair market price is not a scientific value. In fact, a “fair” price is a number that takes into consideration a whole host of important factors. The prevailing manufacturer’s suggested retail price is not necessarily the fairest price. The MSRP is a price that is set by the manufacturer to be used as a guide for retailers who resell the goods or services. eBay is not always a forum for retail selling. Occasionally, a buyer is more appropriately seeking a wholesale price – a price point often far below the standard retail pricing.

To find a fair price for a good or service, research the other listings for a similar product both on eBay and elsewhere. An informed buyer can distinguish between a good deal or an opportunity for a good deal and a seller that is trying to squeeze every penny of profit from the sale.

Approaching the Seller

When making best offer on eBay, realize that you can alienate the seller by offering an insulting number. There’s nothing wrong with seeking a deal but you can eliminate yourself from being considered a serious buyer by trying to begin negotiations at an appallingly low level. Remember, you are most often dealing with another private seller, a person, and the emotions that dictate the transaction will go a long way in determining the success of your negotiation. This doesn’t mean that you should expect to pay more than what your research has determined as a fair price, it means that serious negotiations demand a serious offer.

Create a plan for your offer. For example: determine a reasonable range of a fair price and submit an offer a set percentage lower than that price. If you find that a fair price for a set of cufflinks is $75, choose to submit an offer that is 20% lower to gauge the seller’s interest. If the seller is interested in selling at or near that price you will be able to work toward an amicable price from there. If the seller is not willing to sell at that price your offer will at least be in a range that isn’t insulting. You can still salvage a good deal and a friendly transaction from that starting point.

Justify your Best Offer

When making offers and counter-offers it might be a good idea to include comments to justify the level of your offer. Citing other places you’ve seen the item listed or making comments regarding the condition of the item will go a long way toward justifying your best offer. The goal of making a respectful offer and coming to an ultimate agreement is made easier when you offer your reasoning for arriving at the offer you’ve submitted.

Even if your reasons are rebuffed and even if your offer is rejected, the seller will understand your concerns and the reasons behind your offer. That level of communication will smooth the negotiation process and increase the chances that you will eventually meet for a deal.

Figure out eBay User Id of Buyer Who Won an Auction

[After the changes eBay made at the end of 2013, this doesn't work anymore. If you need to know full user name of eBay buyer, try Find Winning Bidder ID Service]

eBay does not show full User Id

eBay Bid HistoryIf you've been outbid and want to know the User Id of the person who won the auction this post is for you. In the past, it was easy to get eBay User Id of the person who won certain auction by going to Bid History. It's not that easy anymore because eBay does not show User Ids. Instead they show something like this: 2***e (110).

In this post I'll show you one strategy you can use to figure out User Id. What can you do with this information? You can use it to search for other items won by this buyer. You can also use it to see what items they're currently bidding on.

Below is a sample auction where I want to figure out the winning bidder. eBay shows a***o as the highest bidder and I want to know who this is so I can do more research on them:

Directions for figuring out eBay User Id

1. Before you start, you'll need to get Item Number. You can get it from bid history that you see above or from auction description. In my example, item number is: 320893752279.

2. Once you have Item Number go to seller feedback profile. You can get there by clicking on the feedback score of the seller. On Feedback profile page, select "Feedback left for others" and look for your item number:

3. If you're lucky, you'll find it and you'll get buyer id so you can do further research.

Seller usually leaves feedback for the buyer when they ship the item so if the auction just ended, you might need to wait couple of days. Also, sometimes sellers do not leave feedback so you might not get buyer Id using this strategy. If you know of other ways to figure out eBay User Id, leave a comment below.

Conclusion

In this post I gave you one strategy you can use to figure out Buyer Id. Check out my other blog posts for more tips for eBay buyers.

Also, if you want to get an edge buying, try my eBay software for buyers.

Robert