How to win an ebay auction?

[dilbertina]

Advice needed please! I am trying to get something on French Ebay (I think it works the same!) It's being sold by a company and they are putting the same item on every few days. I keep trying to get it and just miss out EVERY time

Please can you give me your top tips on how to win?

Also, how come some bidders can use parts of pounds (or euros in my case!) and I can only bid in whole pounds?

Isn't it a bit fishy that having put a maximum bid £37 more than the current bid the next person makes one bid of £1 more than my maximum? (they hadn't bid before.)

All top tips gratefully received, and if I win you can all come and have a go on DD's new slide (It'll be in France though...!)

Hmm, sounds fishy to me (but I generally am suspicious about everything!)

Why would they list the same item every few days, and it would go every time for just over your maximum?

I would be investigating and making sure it's not the same person (i.e. making a fake bid!) every time - e.g. if they don't want it go for that little? (I'm not sure if you can it on the proper eBay site, but on my iphone you can refine the search and include completed listings).

Otherwise, maybe it's just bad luck you're missing out.

How far in advance are you bidding? Maybe try bidding right at the last minute?

Whereabouts in France are you? We're moving over there in a few months :)

the reason the winning bidder wins by £1 is because that is the increment. they may have put a highest bid of £50 but if yours was £37 then they will win at £38.
The winning bidder may have used a sniping tool. You could do that too and simply enter the maximum price you wish to pay. It will bid for you within the last few seconds.

If you want to win bid more.

Yes, I know I could bid more but I think it's a timing thing as well, eg wait till last minute and then put maximum - sniping thing sounds good will check it out!

I'm sure it's not a dodgy auction, it's a company that make play equipment and sell it via their own sites (in various countries), and on ebay buy it now and auctions - the auctions seem to go for 1/2 to 2/3 normal price so well worth a try. Oh well, just have to extend my budget I guess!

Still want to know how prices get to be point something though only whole pound increments are allowed?

We're just to the west of Paris Humanfraggle, not far from Versailles. Where are you heading? Close enough to come have a go on the slide?!

dilbertina we're going about 600 miles south of you, about an hour north of Toulouse

A little too far to come and play I think, boo :(

Example....
Current bid is £10
Bidder x puts on a max bid of £20. This bumps the current bid up to £11.
Bidder y puts on a max bid of £20.01. This is more than bidder x's max so the current bid goes up to £20.01

That's how you get a bid with pence when the increment is pounds.

But it won't let me put a maximum bid of anything other than whole pounds! It just doesn't like me.....