Not Bidding on All Items

Keropi · Post by **Keropi** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 1:39 pm

Does it seem to you that it's more likely that you're going to win auctions when you don't bid on all the items you wish to bid on that end on the same day?

Let's say there are five or six cels that interest you on YJ and they are all from the same series. If you only bid on your favorite two or three does it seem like you're a little more likely to win them and less likely to get someone messing around with your bids?

I get the impression from the bidding patterns I see that the people who bid on a large number of items at the same time are more likely to get people counterbidding them just to make them spend money. Or do some people get frustrated by these bidders so they mess around with them?

Personally, I seem to have more luck when I don't bid on all the ones that interest me (from the same show). I choose from the batch and bid on those few. It sort of lets the other bidders win something else for themselves. It seems like when I bid on more of the items (or all of them) from the same series that the counterbidders are much more likely to come out and start screwing around. Or at least...that's been my experience.

darksuzaku · Post by **darksuzaku** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:58 pm

Well, you can't know for sure what the people that are counterbidding you are thinking. You can only try to place yourself in their shoes.

- For example, if you see a person bidding in many auctions from the same series and you want one of them you might want to try and raise the price for the other/all items hoping that your rival gives up on at least one/several auctions.

- Counterbidding against a person who bids in many auctions is also a way to mask from him which of the auctions you really want. You place bids in many/all items even if you only want one. Your goal here is to make the item you want to be the first or second to end while bidding in several of the auctions. After you (hopefully) get your item you can decide if you keep bidding for the others or not.

- There are retaliation bids too. There are people who just bid on an auction if they see you bidding just to raise the price. Who knows what's the grudge they have against you.... Maybe you outbidded them in another auction?

There are many things you can do to try to avoid counterbids. One of the best ones is bidding at the very end. That narrows a lot the window for counterbids (even with autoextension).

graymouser · Post by **graymouser** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 4:07 pm

If I see several items that I want ending at the same time, I usually choose 1 or 2, that I like the most. Unless they are from a show that has very little following, I assume that there will be a lot of competition. I figure it is better to concentrate on what I want the most than spread myself too thin by being greedy. I find that this strategy (if it can be called a strategy) works well enough.

Although I am aware of the games people play to sabotage each other in bidding, I would prefer not to do that. I guess it's the old "Do unto others...." Karma has a way of coming back to bite people in the end. There is not any real need for me to do anything beyond go for what I want.

kizu · Post by **kizu** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 10:19 pm

I think it's too complicated to try to figure out what everyone else is doing. They may or may not have a strategy. They may or may not be strategizing against you per se, they probably don't even know who it is they're competing against especially on YJ where people use a deputy service. I think I'll drive myself crazy trying to think what they're thinking so I bid on what I want. If it's all of them then I bid on all of them. If there's competition, I know which ones I want and how much I want to pay sensibly. Of course I adjust my bidding depending on the situation and there are things I do to safeguard myself against certain bidding practices. It all depends if I truly care about a piece or not.

zerospace · Post by **zerospace** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:18 am

I tend to just bid on what I want, and I bid what I'm willing to pay for it. If someone else bids more, so be it. It's rare that I bid on everything available from a certain show, as my strategy tends to be to focus on what I want most.

I'm with kizu -- I think I'd go insane trying to figure out what others are doing. I'm not obsessed with paying the least amount possible for what I really want, so perhaps that's why I'm less inclined to care what others are doing. I suppose I could also say that folks who bid on everything from a specific series nearly all of the time annoy me, as this strikes me as being rather greedy behavior.

To each his own, I suppose! I subscribe to the "do unto others.." philosophy as well. I figure those who bid in retaliation will eventually pay the price for it

.

cutiebunny · Post by **cutiebunny** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:46 am

I have a price in mind for each item I purchase and that's the price I bid. If the auction goes over that price, I'm more than happy to let the other person have it. I love it when you get one of those "bid 1000 yen at a time" bidders and then they outbid me on an auction that I was only slightly interested in. I kinda wonder if they're sitting at their computer wondering if casting that last bid was a good idea.

When it comes to other bidders, unless the item is something that everyone wants, I think most people tend to go for those that are cheaper in price. If you're indifferent to the anime or you just want to purchase some artwork, I think price is the biggest factor. And then there are the specialist collectors who collect a certain "thing". For example, regardless of the anime, I find that backgrounds showing either Tokyo Tower or a full moon will always have a bunch of bidders. A while ago, I was bidding on a Tokyo Tower background with another Japanese bidder. I ended up bowing out at 18,000 yen.

Krafty · Post by **Krafty** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:52 am

Bidding strategies are very important if your a regular bidder, it's less crucial if you're a casual buyer or bid on something you're not too bothered about winning/loosing.

I think there's truth to Keropi's argument that other bidders will show their faces when you put a bid on multiple items. It's happened to me many times and I've also been one of those 'second bidders' on numerous occasions.

Every day I monitor the cel auctions on YJ and often see batches of auctions featuring the same series. If I'm interested in them, I'll pay close attention but won't necessarily bid if I don't have the immediate funds. If these all close without a bidder I breathe a sign of relief because it means I'll get another crack at going for them.
If, however, there is a bid on some of these sets, I'll go for them too because I don't want to loose out. I surprise myself at how competitive I get get in such instances and I'm sure other bidders have the same mentality.
The money factor does come into it because I'm keen to combine shipping costs from the same seller whenever posible and find myself bidding on lots of things at the same time to take advantage of this. I think that if I bid on another item, it's not going to cost any more in terms of delivery costs.
Right now there are a few auctions that have caught my eye. When they close in a few days, I may report back here to let you know how it worked out. Of course, I won't reveal my tactics in case any of my nemeses are reading

LOL