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Originally Posted by 003 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The first 15 auctions are free, and only the ones you win count. After that, it's REALLY cheap.You don't bid per auction, you pay 5 dollars, and then you can have like 50 more auctions or however much it is. $5 gets you 500 bidpoints, and I have been living off that for a while now and not needed to pay more.
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Unless they've changed their fee structure, eSnipe charges 1% of the final price of the auction if they placed the winning bid. There is no charge for losing auctions. Minimum charge is $0.25.
You should have two goals in bidding on eBay:
1) Buy an item for your estimate of it's value, or below (assuming you've done your homework)
2) Avoid buying an item that will sell for greater than it's actual value.
Sometimes it's better to lose an auction. If you're not willing to let something go to someone who's willing to pay more than you, eBay is not for you.
If you get upset at not getting a bargain, and actually paying your estimate of market value, eBay is not for you either.
Think of bargains as a happy accident. They can occur because:
1) Nobody but you is looking for that item at the time of the auction
2) The seller misjudged the market, and used a low Buy-It-Now
3) The seller misdescribed the item, so that people who would normally be looking for it won't find it.
4) You've overestimated market value, and the "bargain" actually isn't one. Try to avoid this one
Don't expect these situations to happen all that frequently.
I see no reason to drive an item's price up early in the auction, or to let anyone know that I'm interested in an auction prior to the close. If I decide to bid, I set a price I'm willing to pay, and enter it in eSnipe. If I win, great. If I lose, the auction went at a price higher than I was willing to pay. Also great, if disappointing. At least auction frenzy didn't push me into paying something silly.
Of course, the above doesn't apply if I'm selling something. If you see an auction of mine, please bid early and often