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Thursday, April 12, 2012

What Kind of Bidder are You?

Have you ever shopped on Ebay or any other online auction? Have you ever been to a live auction and bid on items? What kind of bidder are you? Do you have a system? Do you have predetermined  stopping points, or do you let yourself get carried away? Do you wait for others to run out of bidding steam before you jump in? Or do you like to be the first bid?

I think for me to answer those questions for myself, I need to separate online bidding from live auction bidding. As far as online bidding, if it is something I really want, I will put in my max bid and hope for the best. Although, a couple of times, I did get sucked into bidding wayy higher than I planned-but luckily I was outbid by someone else who must have wanted it more than I did! WHEW!!!

Sometimes when I am bidding online, on an item I'd like to get, but am not dying to get, I just throw out the first bid as the starting bid price and if I get it, I get it. If not, then I'm usually not too upset. I've been surprised at how lucky I've been with throwing out the lowest bid and walking away from things. It doesn't happen all the time, but it has happened a few times, and every time I have completely forgotten that I was bidding on something when I get the email with the invoice!

When I'm at a live auction, I like to take my time getting to know the auctioneer's call or cadence. Each auctioneer is different in how fast they speak, how they pronounce their words, and how quickly they move the auction along. While taking your time and slowly easing in to bidding can be a good thing (not getting stuck with a higher priced item than you expected because it went to quickly and you weren't 100% engaged), it can also be bad when you're still trying to figure things out and the things you want start flying out the door!

I tend to stop bidding a lot earlier than most people. I guess that is just my cheap side coming through. I really do like bargains on the things I get-it makes the acquisition that much sweeter when you get a great deal!

How about you? Do you have any tricks that you use to keep from spending too much? Which do you prefer-online or live auctions? Have any tips for cleaning up at an auction? Do you stay to the bitter end? Or do you swoop in and out in a short amount of time?

I've been dying to find a good estate auction to go to, but they just haven't started up yet here in Michigan! I don't really care for the auctions in halls or warehouses-I prefer the onsite auctions right at the estate. What do you prefer?

2 comments:

  1. I'm like you with the online bidding, hope for the best unless it is some piece of clothing I can get for way cheaper in the stores. Then, I watch like a hawk and if I go higher than my max bid, it's because (with shipping) it's cheaper than a retail store!
    I've gone to live auctions with my mom, and man are they hard when it goes above your bid! There really is a difference between something you found cool and something you need. For example, I once got a sectional sofa and chair with ottoman at an auction and went above my max price by $25, but still it was a great deal! Now I am planning on selling the couch on Craigslist and I think I can actually make money on it! :)

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  2. Hi Chelsea!
    Thanks for stopping by!! Good luck with your couch on Craigslist!! I used to have a catering business and sold all of my formal dishes on Craigslist for pretty close to what I paid for them-after I used them for over 3 years!! :)

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