Why you might wait until the last seconds to place your max bid.

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This auction ends at an unusual time of day on a Tuesday. Since I won't be able to place my bid in the last seconds I went ahead and did it the evening before. The price ticked up the usual dollar as the bidder prior to me had not used a max bid and stayed that way for a couple of hours. In the morning I checked it out and found that a new bidder had "probed" my commitment over a period of 1:15, ticking the price up $48. Great for the seller but not for me. If I had bid in the last seconds he wouldn't have had time to play that game. He, or anyone else, could come back at the end with a max bid but my guess is that he is looking to place a minimum wining bid that won't be challenged. It's not going to get you a razor you really want but if done often enough you will get some deals.
Not that $73.49 is in "deal" territory. :p

"The Nibbler" Strikes Again!

Reminds me of a sellers proxy bidder driving up the price. Ever lose by a few clams only to see the item relisted the next day?

74$ what razor was that? I never went over £15 which is about 25$ and get pretty nice razor for that price :)

I just set my Snipe program and go to bed :)

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Originally Posted by RafalS

74$ what razor was that? I never went over £15 which is about 25$ and get pretty nice razor for that price :)

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I always here about people getting nice razors for cheap (on eBay) - I must be searching wrong :(

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Originally Posted by RoyalCake

I always here about people getting nice razors for cheap (on eBay) - I must be searching wrong :(

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one of the last ones I bought nice Sheffield wedge, the scales (bone) were broken but I used them in other razor which had to be shortened
Attachment 167683
cost of razor £1.25 plus £3.20 delivery, now that's a cheap razor :)
Rafal

Good one Hart - done that many, many times myself.

When I bid on an auction, I bid once in the last 10 seconds with the auto-bid as high as I'm prepared to pay for the item, and sometimes I get the bear, and sometimes someone else does...but I know, around the world, there have been many sitting by their computers, thinking they've won the item, and then in the last seconds, have had defeat, snatched from the jaws of victory, and frustration and much throwing of the arms in the air.

And I know how it feels, it sucks! :(

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Originally Posted by RafalS

one of the last ones I bought nice Sheffield wedge, the scales (bone) were broken but I used them in other razor which had to be shortened
Attachment 167683
cost of razor £1.25 plus £3.20 delivery, now that's a cheap razor :)
Rafal

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Yeah that's cheap alright. I've had a couple deals but usually the exception. But I usually steer away from rust or spots on the edge that I'm too scared to make a judgement call on, so that makes a difference...
Happy hunting!

This particular razor turned out in better shape then I expected. To me it depends on the razor, if it has some rust even near the edge but it is heavier ground I always bid and if I can get it for cheap I pour myself I big glass of scotch to celebrate :) usually try to stay with cleaner razor if they more of hollow grind.
Rafal

There are lots of deals, you have to be prepared to take the risk, I took a chance on a very fuzzy photo of an old W&B FBU, turned out to be a stunning 8/8, spike point, in beautiful shape. Along with this one, nailed this W&B Celebrated, for $75.00, and it turns out it's an 8/8 as well, or very, very close, they are both with Valery now, but the deals can be had, you just have to hunt using different descriptions and go through the links, many razors are just listed as old or antique, and some other obscure descriptions people come up with.

This is the one I recently got for $75.00, doesn't look like much, but when I got it I was blown away, fit perfectly against my Revisor 8/8:

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that an awesome razor, currently I'm hunting for some vintage 8/8 myself but they are quite hard to find for decent prize, in summer I might have to check out some antique stores nearby maybe they will have something interesting.

Here's the fuzzy photo of the W&B FBU I took a chance on, turned out to be an 8/8 in excellent shape, and got it for $120.00. This one is with Valery now as well.

And to Hart's point, a perfect last second snipe job!

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120$ is kinda lot to take a chance but I'm just very cheap person :p, but I'm glad that it turned out well for you
Rafal

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Originally Posted by HaiKarate

Reminds me of a sellers proxy bidder driving up the price. Ever lose by a few clams only to see the item relisted the next day?

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Second chance offers, too. I figure if I got beat by a dollar or so and *didn't* participate in an esnipe, and *then* get a second chance offer after that, I will not ever take the offer. It happens to me from time to time, I'd imagine when the person proxy bidding on behalf of the seller wrongly assumes that a bid I make 10 minutes before an auction ends is subject to a volley of bidding at the last second.

Got one of those yesterday, actually.

I follow glen's strategy most of the time for just about anything on ebay. Put a proxy bid in on esnipe and then never look at it again. If I bid early, it's just what I'd have put in esnipe, anyway, but it's probably better policy to proxy bid because you can change your mind without consequence.

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

I just set my Snipe program and go to bed :)

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Same here. I find that all the action takes place in the final 60 seconds. Putting too much into it early on causes people to probe how deep your commitment is. Forcing the action to take place at the very end levels the playing field. The only time I bid early is when I see something really nice but not something I'm overly interested in at a low price. My thinking is that if someone is going to pick this one up at bargain of a price, it'll be me. If not, someone can outbid me and I'll be fine with that too.

I've never cared much for those sniper programs.
I simply put in my maximum bid and wait for the email telling me I've won.

I do a little of this, a little of that. I put an early bid on it. Nice and low. Where I would be happily amazed if I won it. Later on, I decide if I actually want to go any higher on it. Sometimes I will put a proxy bid of a higher amount, and sometimes I will go to the snipe and set that instead. All depends on how bad I want it. Or, if I am in a bad mood, how badly I don't want YOU to have it! :tameshigiri:

Happy day, there were no further bids on it. I still think if I had done a last seconds bid I might have saved $40.

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Very nice! That's a great looking blade...I'd have that off to Valery for some rehab and wait for it's glorious return...personally, that would be stunning all cleaned up, with a nice new bevel set and finished on his Escher, and of course, a beautiful set of black buffalo horn 3-pin scales, or maybe even some blonde horn....do you have any restoration plans for it?

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Originally Posted by Phrank

Very nice! That's a great looking blade...I'd have that off to Valery for some rehab and wait for it's glorious return...personally, that would be stunning all cleaned up, with a nice new bevel set and finished on his Escher, and of course, a beautiful set of black buffalo horn 3-pin scales, or maybe even some blonde horn....do you have any restoration plans for it?

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I've got three of those blades now. I'm seriously thinking seven day set, in black horn. A long term project for sure that may never come to pass, but I'm going to try.