Buy it Now Auctions: Tips for Bidders

Auction Bidder - Buy It Now Tip #1

You can find great ebay deals before anyone else does using this technique:  By searching for ebay auction items with both the "Buy it Now" and "new item" search options, you can find those rare deals before anyone else does!

Here's how to do it: Using either an advanced search on ebay or while scrolling through an item category, you should sort auctions by: "Time: Newly Listed."  Then, when the auction items appear, make sure the Buy it Now Tab at the top of the page is selected.  Now you'll be looking directly at items that have just started, and that can be instantly purchased.

Try searching with this method on ebay during off peak hours, e.g. after midnight some time - You may be amazed at what treasures await you!

Note: If you check during peak times like the Sunday night auction feeding frenzy (the time when most auction listings are added or close) you can find amazing deals! But competition is fierce for high demand items, so you need nerves of steel and the discipline not to bid on everything in sight!

Auction Bidder - Buy It Now Tip #2

The "Buy it Now" method isn't just for ebay.  It will also work at other online auction houses, but it may be called "Buy Now" or "Purchase Now" or something else like that.

Since the traffic at these sites and the amount of items listed is far lower than that on ebay, the likelihood that you will find a diamond in the rough is much less, but when a gem does pop up, you are that much more likely to win it, with fewer active buyers trolling those sites!

You can win items immediately at many online auction sites using "Purchase Now" or "Buy it Now" features.  We first noticed this trend on amazon auctions and ebay, and it has spread to many major auction houses online.

Auction Bidder - Buy It Now Tip #3

If you see any Buy it Now auctions with a low starting bid of say, a dollar to just a few bucks or so, and you know the item is worth far more, go ahead and place that minimum bid.  By doing so, you will erase the Buy it Now option and remove the option of other auction users grabbing the item out from under you.

This also means the item will be seen by less people until it gets to the final closing hours and minutes.  Why? Remember, auctions with the Buy it Now option get more traffic throughout the auction duration, thereby increasing the likelihood of it receiving bids and being watched by bidders in their My ebay area.

So by removing the Buy Now option, you are keeping the ball in play and also keeping it more off of the radar screen and away from other possible bidders.

Of course, the item may still end up selling for more than the original Buy it Now price, which is possible.  But if you weren't willing to pay that price to begin with, you won't have lost anything.  Just make sure that if you do this, to read the entire auction item description and be fully aware of the sellers terms and shipping rates... you don't want to bid on an item for a few bucks on a whim, and then find out that the shipping for that small postage stamp is $45 or something else ridiculous.

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