what is your eBay technique?

[Water_Fire]

I usually set a maximum bid on the last day. That way if I win I don't pay over the odds.

[Xaniss]

Ultimately I'm a long-time sniper - been on ebay for years now... in the early days I'd bid high around 20 minutes before auction end and was always outbid by a sniper.

These days (and if it's an auction I'm really wanting... who am I kidding? I want them all!  ) I tend to sit back and watch the bidding war, then snipe in the last 3-5 seconds. Win I'm happy, to lose I know the other person paid for it!

I will admit that I sniped a SS Gusty the other day - only to be out-sniped by someone else After I got over my initial pout, I took it as the universe was telling me it wasn't time to own a SS Gusty and to let it go 

[PandaBerryInSpace]

I never do auctions... I can't handle the disappointment of losing. I'm such a weenie.

[balletpot]

I'm a sniper. Before I started to use eBay I googled on how to place a bid and found info on how to win auctions, i.e. sniping. I've only done it manually, never used a program. Once I set the alarm for about 3:40 AM to snipe a Gingerbread. I won. I add the item I want to my watch list and to the calendar on my mobile, so I get a reminder when it's time. I usually place my bid when it's about 15 seconds left. I can imagine that those who don't snipe hate it but as a sniper I love it. I don't go over my budget and I usually win, if I don't, the price was too high for me anyway.

[banditpony]

Well, the way ebay goes, the highest bid wins. So it doesn't matter if you snipe or bid early, if you have the highest bid... it wins.
Back in the day, I remember bidding very high on an obscure item that I thought no one would want. In the last minute, the bid went up from $5 to $80... but the person kept putting in small amounts... like $5 bids. So in the end, I won with my early high bid. Sniper didn't win.

Since then, I just snipe myself. Win sometimes , lose sometimes. *shrug*

[cloud_weaver]

Snipe!  Auction sniper is our friend.  Set it and forget it, now worrying if I am not at home and helps me stay in budget.  Not that we have been spending lately.

Tis what I do too most of the time. 

[nhal039]

I place my max amount as soon as I see the auction (normally its just listed) then leave it alone. I rarely check my bids page... just my purchase history : ) I win a lot like that without over paying (over paying by what I am prepared to pay anyway).
After I win an auction I can help but check the bid history to see if someone tried to snipe me 90% of the time some one has... I feel kinda sorry for them that they wasted there time and that if they had of bid days earlier they would have realized they were going to lose (or have to pay more) without getting the big adrenlin rush at the end by trying to snipe and then get the big downer by losing.
I use to snipe I hate it, I get all nervous and way over pay my personal limit or else I get really annoyed about losing lol

[hathorcat]

I'm a sniper. I'll put a minimum bid on something I'm interested in just to get it into the 'my bids' page so I can keep a better eye on it, and then snipe it with a few seconds to go. That way if I change my mind, chances are I'll get outbid since I only put the very minimum. Or if I do want it, I won't get into a bidding war since I'd be easily outbid initially and they won't have any bid to 'fight' against until the last few seconds.

Yup ^ this for me. I ll bid early to make sure it has a bid on it and that I get notifications on the item via email. But normally save bidding more until the last few mins or seconds of an auction. I dont snipe with a sniper very often - but I will do it for some general Hasbro merch as its not just pony peeps you are up against then its other toy collectors and the only way to stop going crazy high and still having a chance to win is sniping in my experience. There are also another couple of items which I am still looking for that I would consider sniping just as have been looking for them for so long!

[Cinnabar]

If I really want something I snipe 

Otherwise I just put in my max bid when I come across the auction and hope for the best

[DaffyDilly]

I always bid early on an auction with no bids, then prepare to snipe at the end. My theory is that sellers are less likely to end an auction with bids, than they are with no bids. Plus even if I only put in the minimum bid amount, if I forget the end of the auction I am still in with a chance of winning. The number of times I've totally forgotten to bid and the item has gone unsold.

I also snipe, but I do it myself without using a program to do it for me. A bit of if you can't beat them, join them.

[bluerose9978]

I hate snipers and I have no time for stuff like that. I usually just put in my high bid and if I win, I win; if not, it wasn't meant to be. If it's something I really want, I will come back maybe a half hour before the auction ends and enter a higher amount just to be safe, especially if I've already been outbid, but normally I just leave it alone and watch people go crazy in the last few seconds and the auction amount go higher and higher and feel glad I didn't bid any higher.

[hathorcat]

I always bid early on an auction with no bids, then prepare to snipe at the end. My theory is that sellers are less likely to end an auction with bids, than they are with no bids. Plus even if I only put in the minimum bid amount, if I forget the end of the auction I am still in with a chance of winning. The number of times I've totally forgotten to bid and the item has gone unsold.

I also snipe, but I do it myself without using a program to do it for me. A bit of if you can't beat them, join them.

This last was how I used to feel...I honestly thought sniping was frowned on for a long time...but sniping seems pretty standard now. I think I must have just been in fear of what it actually entailed when I started collecting.

[BrightIdea]

Buy  it now.  I don't like bidding so much because I get too attached to the item and sad if I lose.

If I do have to bid, I bid early if no one has bid, and late, so the price isn't driven up that much.

[StoryDreamer]

When I snipe, I usually have watched the auction for days, but I didn't put any bid on it to avoid drawing attention.  I don't see anything wrong with sniping. I mean, I found the auction 5 days ago and really wanted it. What's the crime in me bidding last minute?

I snipe, I bid at the last minute (typically when I discovered the auction just the hour its ending within) and I will BIN like crazy. 

I do tend to research what I'm buying. Every time.

[tulagirl]

I'm a sniper. I'll put a minimum bid on something I'm interested in just to get it into the 'my bids' page so I can keep a better eye on it, and then snipe it with a few seconds to go. That way if I change my mind, chances are I'll get outbid since I only put the very minimum. Or if I do want it, I won't get into a bidding war since I'd be easily outbid initially and they won't have any bid to 'fight' against until the last few seconds.

This is me to a "T"!