eBay

[Jim Koepke]

I've been trying to buy a #5 jack plane for 2 weeks now with no luck. I usually get out bid in the last few seconds or like others have said I look for the BIN , but on stanley planes most of it is way over priced or junk on the BIN.

You may have better luck at estate sales, antique malls or junk stores.

What area do you live in? Others in the area might have ideas about where to look.

Are you looking for a plane that is ready to go or are you willing to clean off a bit of grime & rust?

jtk

[Kurt Cady]

I've been trying to buy a #5 jack plane for 2 weeks now with no luck. I usually get out bid in the last few seconds or like others have said I look for the BIN , but on stanley planes most of it is way over priced or junk on the BIN.

What’s are you looking for exactly and what is your budget? Do you have PM privileges?

[Jim Koepke]

What’s are you looking for exactly and what is your budget? Do you have PM privileges?

PM privileges are not available to non-contributors.

Getting outbid in the last few seconds usually means someone else is waiting until then to enter their high bid. It is often referred to as sniping. Sometimes it is the only way to win a bid.

jtk

[David Bassett]

PM privileges are not available to non-contributors.

Getting outbid in the last few seconds usually means someone else is waiting until then to enter their high bid. It is often referred to as sniping. Sometimes it is the only way to win a bid.

jtk

I have a slightly different view of sniping.

On eBay, or at any auction, you need to decide the most an item is worth to you and be willing to walk away. Sometimes people get caught up in the moment and overbid. I see sniping as a way to prevent someone at nibbling* at your top bid by hiding it until the end. If you've entered the max the item is worth to you, you are still likely to lose to someone willing to pay more, but at least not to someone with "auction fever".

(* I haven't been to eBay in a long while, it got too frustrating and seemed to be overpriced, but back-in-the-day I once checked the bid history and saw the person I'd lost too had placed 11 bids to find and beat my max. I haven't not sniped an auction I've bid on since then. Note eBay is weird, you don't pay your max bid. You pay the 2nd place bidder's max bid plus one "increment".)

[Jim Koepke]

Nibbling, sniping bid and walk away, all legitimate bid strategies. Some are annoying, especially the nibblers. It is kind of fun to nibble back at them.

My ebay buying has been almost nonexistent the past few years other than a few Buy It Now items.

If something is desired an alert is set up and items are watched every day. Occasionally someone sets up a Buy It Now auction without any research or wanting to get something sold quickly.

ebay has changed considerably over the years. There used to be many more irregular people listing. Now it is set up more for people with ebay stores or listing a lot of items all the time.

In the past my visits to ebay were often multiple times a day. Now a week might go by without looking for anything. Most often now is when someone here asks a question about an item they are looking to purchase.

jtk

[David Bassett]

... Now a week might go by without looking for anything. ...

Makes you an addict by my standards!

I can't remember the last time I looked there and it's been almost 4 years since my last purchase. That was BIN, 6 years since I won an auction.

[Buddy Morphis]

Jim thanks for the info , I live in east Texas , but I did find one thats on the way to me.