Auction Buying Secrets

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When you go shopping on an auction it usually depends a lot on your own schedule. But, when you can find the best deals depends on other factors.

Obviously, you may have the internet just about to yourself at 1:00 in the morning. But, you may not have many auctions to bid on that are closing in that time slot. You are able to bid on any item you want (not just those near closing), but your bidding procedures should be different depending on how much you are willing to spend. There are many auctions closing around noontime, but the internet is so slow then because so many people peek in during their lunch break. It could take you 6 to 10 minutes just to get a bid through, and that is after you finally get the page to load.

One method a lot of people use is to go browsing on a weekday morning or late in the evening on any day of the week. This gives them lots of speed so they can look in on many more auctions. When they see something interesting, they just bookmark it for later. That way, they can go back near the end of the auction to do some serious bidding. There are many other times you can be assured of speeding through the internet: on a holiday; 7:00 to 9:00 on an important voting evening; while the most popular t.v. shows are on; Sunday mornings; any Saturday night (date night); while the Olympic gymnastics finals are on t.v.; etc.

There is a way to speed up your internet shopping at any time you want. If you know the name and description of what you are looking for, you can do your initial shopping without pictures. You can "turn off" the images through your browser. In Netscape, click on Edit on the top bar, then click on Preferences, then Advanced, then click on Automatically Load Images to uncheck the box. You can shop through hundreds of auctions without waiting for any images to load. If you get to an auction that looks like a great one, you can then click on Images (on the second bar from the top) to see these pictures only, and click on Images again to turn them back off and continue shopping.

If the sky is the limit on something you really want, you may want to try to be the first bidder. If an item worth $20 is the one missing piece to complete your collection, you may feel like bidding $200 and not care if the bidding really goes that high. That kind of bidding almost guarantees that you will win the auction. We say almost because you run the risk of bringing extra attention to the auction that way. If two or three people want an item, the bids start going back and forth and the price goes up and up. Let's say the item you really need is a frog beanie baby. Many people who collect beanies will note that the auction has more bids than normal and peek in to see why. If your name is recognizable as a regular beanie baby collector, now their curiosity is really peaked. "If _______ is bidding on this frog, she must know something that I don't know?..If ________ doesn't have this frog, it must really be rare!?.I've got to get this frog!" Whoops.

If you want to get the best deal, you may want to wait till near the end of the auction. We will tell you in a later chapter just how to get the best deal whether you shop at the beginning, middle or end of an auction.

One other thing. The best time to go shopping is after you have done your research! Browse through many auctions to see how much that item normally sells for and in what condition it is normally available. If you have looked for weeks and never found one at all, you may be willing to spend much more when you finally find one being offered. You may find out that what you want is listed all the time and almost always in great condition, so you may not want to bid at all on one that is damaged or overpriced in comparison. Why do so many auctions have no bids at all? Maybe the opening bid is way too high. But, only an informed shopper would know the difference. Why does that wonderful item in perfect condition have no bids at all? Maybe the shoppers who did their research know that it is a brand new copy. If you don't care, bid away. If you do care, you need to be able to tell an original from a copy. Almost every copy will have obvious signs, you just need to know what they are. (If there are copies available in your item, it is not wise to bid on an item without a picture so you can see the item for yourself.) If you have the time and patience, you can do most of your research through the auction results. Sometimes you have to go to collector or antiques sites on the web to find answers. But, the best source of all is a reference book right by your side while you shop. Books are available on almost every collectible and are often very affordable. But, a $50 book is worth every penny if you could make a $200 mistake on just one wrong item.