What do you do when there's an auction you really want?

[cutiebunny]

Ok, so, you're doing your daily auction rounds, and you spot the item that you're been waiting for. Maybe it's a wishlist cel or sketch. Maybe it's something that you didn't know actually existed. Whatever it is, you wants the precious and it must be yours. And there's five days left before the auction ends.

So, what do you do? Do you cast some mega bid instantly? Tell others about it and ask them nicely if they could allow you to win it? Do you check the auction 20+ times a day to get an update on its status? Do you set multiple alarm clocks up around your bed so that you're sure to wake up to cast that last minute bid? How about just foregoing sleep the night before the auction either because you can't sleep thanks to the anticipation of winning the item, or your nerves preventing you from sleeping? Maybe you subscribe to use the sniping bid systems or have a friend or family member do it for you? Or maybe you do something else?

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I had this happen this past week. There was a sketch that came up for auction that I had to have from one of my favorite mangaka, and it would make a nice set with an item I already own. I have to admit that I checked that auction very frequently, more frequently than what I do if I'm interested in an item, but it won't break me if I don't win it. I guess, for me, there are certain items that give me this "OMG! MUST HAVE!" feeling, whereas the remaining 95% or so, while it would be nice to win, it won't be an auction that I'll curse at for the next week.

It's hard for me to pinpoint a standard that I go by when this happens, even though it's happened a few times. One time, when there was a Sailor Moon cel I had to have, I actually used multiple deputy services to increase the bid on the item until it got to a level where I felt that most people would back off completely on the item (and even then there was internal bidding by another user!). This time, I, quite sadly, had a difficult time sleeping the night of the auction's end simply because I wanted to get it over with, one way or another. I was soo tempted to see if the deputy service would e-mail the seller and ask them if it were possible to just buy the item outright for twice the price just to guarantee that I'd get it, but, the deputy service that I use frowns on that kind of thing.

[ReiTheJelly]

I put a high-bid in with Rinkya's autobid feature (which doesn't place a bid until a few minutes before the end of the auction). But if it is an item I *really* want, I'll usually leave the auction page open in my browser and obsessively refresh it until the auction ends (sometimes days later!)

[90sKid]

Whenever I see an item I must have, I NEVER bid early on and will only wait until the absolute end (2-3 seconds, or in Y!J's case, 5 minutes etc.) to place my max amount. From what I've noticed on both ebay and Y!J, bidding early just seems to increase interest that wouldn't have been there otherwise. I'll literally see the same cel go up on auction for months and months, ending with 0 bids each time. Then whenever I notice one of those cels gets a bid on it a few days before it ends, the auction finishes in a bidding war with multiple bidders! I'm like, "Where were you guys all these months? NOW you want this item?". I feel that once people see a bid placed on a cel, they know it will be gone forever once it ends so they decide to go for it. The only time I'll ever place a bid on an item prior to the last few seconds is if I won't have access to the internet when it's ending.

As for what I'll bid, (if it's a must have cel), I'll most likely throw in an absurd bid number at the end...a price that I myself can cover, but is way over the cel's value, like $200 for a cel I know might really only be worth $30. That way it pretty much guarantees I'll snag it....OR at least make someone else pay that insane amount lol. Wounds from losing an auction aren't as deep if you make the winner overpay to the max.

And yes, I do set up multiple alarms to make sure I wake up in time for the auction (like 10 on my cell phone and 2 on my bedside alarm clock lol), and I also refresh the auction page like a crazed person the entire week the cel is up haha. (Now that we can get ebay and such on our cellphones, it's too addicting not to!)

I'm actually too afraid to ask others not to bid on something because if I find an auction I really like, I just stay hush hush about it and hope no one else sees. I never want to bring attention to the auctions I'm going for. xP

Also out of curiosity, does anyone else besides me get into panic mode towards the last few seconds of an auction that you really want? My heart always starts beating harder and faster, and my hands break out into a cold sweat and shake very slightly. I always feel like such an idiot after the auction is over, knowing how dramatic my body physically reacts to it. It's like a drug lol!

[Shampoo]

Hmmm.. I lose sleep for the entire week said item is up for, set about 3 alarms in the house, and make sure to setup 2 computers both set to different deputies ready to bid to win. In my personal experience dropping my absurd max upfront has never worked or has backfired.
I had a item like this pop up recently and though I'm elated am also feeling a bit guilty of paying premium. It makes me wish my interests and 'dream cels' were from cheaper, easier to find animes.

Ah well c'est la vie

[Kasi]

I've had that experience with one auction once... but lost it, i just didnt have enough money at the time and never expected the ending price. Same with buying some items outright only to get ignored just before paying. It's not as fun, but I'm learning not to get excited about anything too much unless I've sent money for it, too much disappointment *sigh*.

My bidding style is usually placing a fairly large bid, if someone else has already made a first move on the auction. They counter, and I assume some give up seeing I mean pretty serious business lol. I place my full max bid within the last three minutes of the auction, whether my first has been outdone or not.
Of course at the end if the day the only way to win is to place the highest bid, I just have fallen into this pattern. I never snipe, given I just don't trust myself or a program in the last few seconds. My connection failing would be a nightmare!

For an informal auction (not for a cel actually) I once asked if I could make a large offer instead of running the full auction. They ended up accepting it, although I don't think I'll ever do that again. I heard some people were quite miffed at me... Either because the auction was stopped early (with a few hours for counter offers only) or because they couldn't offer more than that. Love the item, but I still feel a little bad about it *laughs*.

[zerospace]

I guess I'm pretty old-school. I bid like I'm going to snipe on everything. If no one has bid on the cel when I find it (if I find it early), I sometimes will place a minimum bid (and ONLY a minimum bid, I don't go nuts here). I then just wait. I usually will check in on it daily until the final moments -- that's when I get pretty obsessive. I don't bid until about the last 5 minutes, and I will set an alarm clock just to be there when it ends. Usually just before the 5 minute mark on Mandarake and YJ, I'll place my totally ridiculous bid -- never more than I can handle, and if it is something I really want, I'm willing to pay that much just to win it. I don't bid more than I'm truly willing to pay, and I don't keep bidding when I realize I've been totally smoked by someone else who obviously wants it more (revenge bidding) just to make them pay. I've always thought that sort of behavior is just petty and wrong. I bid what I'm willing to pay and if that isn't enough, I just walk away. Yeah, sometimes I'm pissed, but hey ... we can't win everything we want .

It's oh-so-rare that I find anything nowadays on eBay that I want enough to bother sniping for it. I bid in the closing seconds anyways, but I often get outbid on eBay because most everything that ends up there, I've seen before (or don't want that much).

[KuroiTsubasa4]

I bid what I'm willing to pay and if that isn't enough, I just walk away. Yeah, sometimes I'm pissed, but hey ... we can't win everything we want .

Same. It sucks having self-control though. I lost something the other day I desperately wanted but if I don't feel comfortable with the price, I know I'll regret it. Luckily there are sequence mates (pleeeeease show up again soon XD).

[star-phoenix]

Generally, if it is something like Ebay, I will wait until 5 seconds left and snipe it with my ultra maxi bid. If it is something like Rinkya or an auction where they auto increase the clock, I just place my maxi and walk away. There comes a point in time where a cel just is not worth the money if I feel I pay too much for it. It no longer becomes enjoyable if you pay too much for it, even if it is something I absolutely wanted.

[kathpatty]

Zerospace

I sometimes will place a minimum bid (and ONLY a minimum bid, I don't go nuts here). I then just wait. I usually will check in on it daily until the final moments -- that's when I get pretty obsessive. I don't bid until about the last 5 minutes, and I will set an alarm clock just to be there when it ends.

Ditto

- usually set my alarm on the oven

[zerospace]

I bid what I'm willing to pay and if that isn't enough, I just walk away. Yeah, sometimes I'm pissed, but hey ... we can't win everything we want .

Same. It sucks having self-control though. I lost something the other day I desperately wanted but if I don't feel comfortable with the price, I know I'll regret it. Luckily there are sequence mates (pleeeeease show up again soon XD).

Yep, I hear you there. I've lost my #1 wishlist cel 3 times thanks to having some degree of self-control. *sigh* I keep hoping one day I'll find another sequence mate to bid on since these days I have more money to burn than I did when it showed up in the past. It's been many years, and still nothing, though. Oh well. Regrets -- but at least I never put myself in financial dire straits just to win a cel.

[teppy]

I almost wish there was some other way to get cels besides the cut-throat open competition on the auction sites. Yes, I know that there are private transactions as well and buying from cel dealers. But alot of great stuff comes up at auction and you've got to have the purse and have nerves of steel on the auction site. More and more, I find it demoralizing to collect cels from rare or sought-after anime because stuff doesn't usually come up and then when it does, it's all hand on deck and batten-down-the hatches, may the deepest wallet (which is increasingly not mine) win! What is particularly crummy is when you think you know "market value" for a cel and then a few people come in and blow the doors off of the auction and the cel realizes insane prices, to such a degree that your bid would never be competitive. Of course, there's the old adage, "Something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it..." (or something like that...).

[star-phoenix]

6 years ago, I had lost my major wishlist cel on auction (was high bidder, but owner cancelled saying they decided not to sell, then resold it to someone else later for higher). I then looked for a similar one and found an even more amazing piece (THE #1), but was 2 weeks too late for the auction and it had sold. I was searching around high and low for that piece that I missed for the last 6 years. Then, 3 weeks ago, I received the phone call. Someone had found the #1 piece I had been searching for all this time and finally convinced the owner to sell it to me.

So, as much as it can stink sometimes losing an auction and missing out . . . . if you are patient enough and keep at it (and save your money for it), you will eventually find it. I honestly did not think I would ever see that piece again. But, I had a great surprise earlier this year!!

[BuraddoRun]

If it's something I "have" to have, I of course have that awesome initial excitement. After that initial rush, I usually stay calm until the day the auction is scheduled to end. I do check on it daily until then, but not obsessively; just once a day is sufficient for me. On the final day, I start to feel the excitement and nervousness, and up to about 2 hours before I then have it on my computer at all times.

Now, I actually have different bidding habits when it comes to auctions. I only use EBAY and Mandarake at the moment as I haven't ventured into the whole deputy/Yahoo Japan monster yet. For EBAY, I always snipe. If it's an item I "have" to have, then I will find a way to be at my computer when the auction ends. And I will place my max high bid at about 15 seconds before the auction ends. Other bidders often wait until the last 5 seconds, but I'm afraid my precision may be off in those moments and I'll miss it completely, so I don't wait quite that long. As for Mandarake, I actually find that some people will leave certain items alone if there's a bid on it already, so I do place minimum bids on things there that are "must-haves." I then wait until the final moments to begin the war, which I will bid in increments since the timer increases with last-minute bids there. I think sometimes that some Mandarake bidders see an item with no bids and then place one thinking, "I wasn't wanting this, but I'll take it if nobody wants it." I've even done this myself. But everyone snows that there are snipers on EBAY, so the same sentiment doesn't exist as much there.

The main thing is, I will find a way to be at my computer at auctions' ends for must-haves. I've even taken vacation from work or scheduled my breaks around auctions at times.

[Jet]

Much the same as the above. I've only used ebay thusfar and though I've researched, haven't yet experimented with Yahoo Japan or deputy services either. Opening starting price bid as a courtesy if I have been in contact with the seller and the item is being listed on request. Watch the auction then with a mobile phone alarm just before it ends. I honestly don't like to do it, as to me it seems discourteous to the seller, but as the ebay culture is sniping, to remain on level ground I put my bid in a few seconds before auction end as well. The times in the past I've tried to be "nice" and put a large bid in first, it's generally never helped.

Also out of curiosity, does anyone else besides me get into panic mode towards the last few seconds of an auction that you really want? My heart always starts beating harder and faster, and my hands break out into a cold sweat and shake very slightly. I always feel like such an idiot after the auction is over, knowing how dramatic my body physically reacts to it. It's like a drug lol!

Same. Good for the circulation .

[theultimatebrucelee]

*Proud sniper with masterfully honed skillz since 2008* ...jk lol

usually I check on the auction about a dozen of times daily to appreciate the auction image and get more determined to win as well as be updated on bidding stats if necessary. then I get the 5 days to brainstorm up the number I want to bid in the end. If its ebay I just wait till about one second, two now since my skill have dulled compared to earlier years; before item ends and snipe with max bid. obviously the strategy here is not to give anyone time to counter, any earlier I wouldn't call it a snip bid. although it did backfired on me once when internet got disconnected at the split sec, but thats a risk I'm willing to take. If its Japan based site I'd input max snipe number a few hours earlier and wait at the end of auction to see how it worked, if I get out bidded I'd prably bid a few more round and if still, I stay till the end of auction in respect to my opponent for a good fight lol