Kilts on ebay

[azwildcat96]

I am fairly new to e-bay, and was also wondering about the etiquette and protocol around bidding. I’ve seen things that made me wonder too, like private bidder names, not just partially hidden names like a*****5. I’ve wondered if the sellers might be trying to inflate the bids by inserting their own higher bids.

On one auction for a custom knife, the opening bid was set at $0.99, and for over one week there were no bids. The day before the auction closed, I requested information about the knife. As soon as I sent a message to the seller requesting more information, the private bids started coming in. Within a few hours, there were 10 bids (from two private bidders) bumping the price up to over $68.00 + shipping. I wondered if I had shown no interest in the product if those private bids would not have appeared.

Regardless, I have walked away with some good purchases at great prices. Most recently was a vintage (1969) wool “girl’s kilt” in the Morrison green modern tartan, from the Hamilton House in Edinburgh. It was listed as a size XS (24”-26” waist). I was the only bidder and walked away with it for $12.99 + $4.00 shipping! And it included a gold-tone safety pin style kilt pin! I thought it was a steal!!!

On this one, I did watch the seconds tick down at the end of the auction, and then celebrated the win.

Now to find someone in my family with a 24"-26" waist.

[hootstwo]

When I used to do lots of Ebaying, I'd use http://auctionsniper.com/ I found it to be a VERY handy tool. It kept me from going crazy on items in the heat of the moment, I'd just set my max bid and let the sniper do its job for me. I didn't have to be tied to the PC when auctions were ending.

You can try it for free too!

[Tiny]

I only snipe dvd auctions in the wee hours of the morning. some odd night working security I'll hop on ebay with my ipod touch and see if any dvd auctions ending in the next min or 2 strikes my fancy. have won many good movies for under a buck each. Dvd sniping for me is just about extending my movie collection without cripling my wallet.

Kilt kit is another subject all together I wont snipe that as I feel too inclined to bid way more then I would normaly bid with a level head.

[troxel87]

I have won 2 kilts via eBay. I haven't had a problem as much with kilts as I had with coins and such (as is one of my hobbies), and nobody had bid on one of the kilts I bought. I waited until the last 2 minutes hoping nobody had seen it (with 0 bids) and bid the reserve, and presto! I won the kilt!

But sniping is frustrating when you find exACTly what you want at a decent price...

[Chas]

The thing to remember is that a slow connection is a slow connection. If it is slow for you it will be just as slow for your sniping software.

The next thing is that not all auctions are happening in your country. If you are bidding on a kilt that was put on eBay (UK) it will be taking place somewhere in Buckinghamshire. Your bid will have to travel to the UK, be accepted or outbid and that information travel back to your computer before your sniping software can take effect.

The best advice is to bid early and bid your maximum - then walk away. Your bids are locked with eBay whereas if you use a sniper, your bid is still in your machine.

A popular product with a low starting bid will attract a lot of interest. It is quite interesting to read the bidding history at the end of an auction. It is sometimes obvious that more than one sniping program was at work.

Regards

Chas