Latest responses to “How To Buy On Ebay And Get the Best Deal” Copyright 2013, MoneyBlueBook.com 418350 2007-11-11T00:21:53-08:00 shadox good tips! I especially liked the one about the typos. I will be sure to try it next time I bid on anything. 418370 2007-11-05T13:32:18-08:00 Raymond Exjackly, I've got to disagree with you on that one. Ebay is all about snagging deals. If you're not willing to wait till the last moment to snipe in your winning bid, you might as well make the buy at a regular online store where prices are consistent. I've bid too early before too. I usually end up having to keep jacking up my bids to compete with someone else's higher maximum bid. That's bad because it ultimately raises the price because too many people are competing. 418360 2007-11-05T13:27:50-08:00 Exjackly How about the unpopular tip of putting in your maximum bid early? E-bay will do proxy bids for you until somebody else exceeds your maximum bid. By getting your bid in early, you will win any ties. The other advantage is that you will not be tempted to exceed your 'maximum' in an effort to win the item. Yes, there is a possibility that people will try to run up your bid - but as long as you have truly put in your maximum, you do not have to ever worry about paying more than a fair price. 418320 2007-10-31T22:37:44-07:00 TMM I believe they were Pryex. Such an easy mistake to make, but it saves a ton of money. 418300 2007-10-31T13:06:17-07:00 Raymond Now were they Pirex or Pierex bowls? :) 418310 2007-10-31T12:57:13-07:00 TMM As far as the typos go, you can also use fatfingers.com to generate common typos for the item. I've gotten some great deals on vintage Pyrex bowls this way. 418340 2007-10-25T10:44:27-07:00 Raymond Hi Joseph - Yeah I knew I'd get comments on that point. :) I guess it would be like me advising people how to watch out for speed traps when driving above the speed limit. I'm not necessarily advocating the practice, I'm just writing about my past experiences and the various techniques people use. I'll also note that I've never met an eBay seller who turned down an offer for policy reasons before, but that's probably because I don't do it on a massive scale. I haven't done it in a while either so I'm not sure if eBay has been cracking down harder recently. 418330 2007-10-25T07:34:44-07:00 Joseph Tip #2, to directly contact the seller, is a direct violation of eBay's terms and can get you in hot water with eBay (including account termination) if the seller reports your approach to eBay or if they otherwise get wind of your offer (i.e. by monitoring your communications with the seller.) And the seller can get into the same trouble with eBay if he accepts your approach.