Do you ever do this? :)

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Just randomly bid low prices on a ton of stuff on ebay to see if you win anything? You feel like an idiot but I've done this a few times over the years and I've got some stuff at good prices... my best scores were a set of double black 59s for $44 shipped in 2010 and a MXR Dist III for $23 shipped earlier this year. I do this every once in a while and the majority of the time you lose but sometimes you come out on top.

I did it tonight again, want to try this overdrive pedal that normally sells for about $85 new/$50 used and I bid $24 on 5 of them that end in less than a day. Hopefully one wins.

EDIT: It was Dist III, not a Dist +

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: Do you ever do this?

Nah, too broke to.

I'd love to be able to eff around though.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Do you ever do this?

absolutely.There are also certain leading indicators of an auction you can learn which are favorable for getting great deals.
I've scored some knockout deals, and people have gotten amazing deals from stuff I've let go too cheap myslef. I try to limit those kind of sales.
Funny/Crazy/Crazy Funny, but in a country of well over 200 million people, its usually me and one other guy biddin for the same item, or even only one guy making a bid on, and winning an item I'm selling.

 

[Vengeance]

Re: Do you ever do this?

I do it all the time. I'll even bid the .99 to make sure I keep track of it. I won a M88 helmet cover for .99 that way. I won a used $60 flight suit last month for $7. I promptly flipped the flight suit. Few years back I won a Floyd Rose because the listing title had a typo, I paid $80 for it. That Floyd Rose had literately like 5 views lol

Never hurts to try.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Do you ever do this?

I did it one time when I needed a motorcycle helmet. They ended up having to ship me a new $100 helmet for $10, because they were a liquidator that had almost nothing into it.

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Do you ever do this?

I don't do this myself, but I've seen other people who do. (At least I used to see this, back when you could see the identity of other bidders.) I noticed some folks who sold a lot of stuff in certain categories would also show up to enter lowball bids on the same kind of stuff from other sellers. They would rarely/never win, but if they occasionally got an item for $0.99 they could usually flip it later at a profit. It costs nothing to lose an auction, I guess.

If I want something enough to bid, then I bid what I think it's worth. If I don't really care if I win an item, do I really need it anyway? But I don't like the hassle of selling stuff on ebay, so I'm not the "flipping" type. YMMV.

 

[Sprinter]

Re: Do you ever do this?

I do it, and I've got some very nice deals. I've also found that auctions that end on Christmas morning go very cheap. I was snowed in on Christmas a few years ago and I scored some nice pedals for next to nothing.

 

[metlking]

Re: Do you ever do this?

I bid $450 on a mint Shoreline Gold USA Fender Lonestar Stratocaster. I went to be thinking "I will never win that one!"

The next morning I had an email from eBay saying I have one item to pay for!

 

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Do you ever do this?

I bid $450 on a mint Shoreline Gold USA Fender Lonestar Stratocaster. I went to be thinking "I will never win that one!"

The next morning I had an email from eBay saying I have one item to pay for!

I wouldn't have minded that.

I lost all 5. Oh well.