Last week when we were emptying the fridge during our loss of power purge, we must have thrown away one of our Henckels knives that was part of a set we received as a wedding gift.
After racking our brains and searching kitchen drawers, we figure it was probably left in a container of rotisserie chicken. Oops. Especially since it was part of the Henckels Five Star line that is now discontinued. Even bigger oops.
Since I’m a far better eBay shopper than seller, I immediately did an eBay search typing in key words: Henckels 5 Star paring knife. One listing came up. But one listing was all I needed.
I was thrilled to find that the auction was for not one, but two knives. The seller stated in the description that the 3” and 4” paring knives were display models and disclosed that they had some scratches and scuffs on them but I could have cared less. The $15 auction start price seemed like a bargain and since no one else seemed to be bidding, it almost seemed too good to be true that we could replace our missing knife- and get another one- for such a great deal.
But with eBay, you’re never really certain the item is yours until the email comes saying that you’ve won the auction. How can you get a leg up on the items you really want?
- I was strategic in placing my bid for the knives. The starting bid was $15. For two knives, I was willing to pay around $40 but $40 is too common of a price. I set my bid at $42.53. Why that number? Setting my bid higher than a round number might help me beat out other bids for $40, $41, and $42.50.
- I kept an eye on the auction, noting the time that the auction ended. I revisted the listing an hour before it ended and again a few minutes prior to it closing. Luckily no one was bidding.
A couple more tips for winning eBay auctions:
- Use Buy It Now. How much do you really want that item? Is it worth it to you to forgo the agony of maybe not winning the auction and paying extra? There are many times that I can’t stand the wait game and not knowing so with one click, I know the item is mine.
- Search for misspelled names. Henckels is easy to misspell. So is Hayden Harnett, my favorite purse manufacturer. Sometimes misspellings can be the key to finding items with no bids.
What about the knives?
I won the auction, paid via PayPal, and they’re on their way. I feel confident about purchasing from eBay because in all the years of buying, I’ve never had a problem. I know there’s always a first time but it’s also reassuring to know that my purchases come with eBay Buyer Protection.
eBay encourages buyers to contact sellers first but in the event that a seller won’t make things right about an item misrepresented in a listing or one that doesn’t arrive as it should, customer support specialists can help. Fortunately I’ve never had to rely on eBay Buyer Protection but it’s great to know there’s a team that can help.
Have you ever felt like you’ve totally scored when winning an eBay auction? What did you buy and how did you do it?
I am part of the eBay Parent Panel and am compensated for my participation in the program however, all purchases on eBay are personally paid for and opinions about my eBay experience are my own. Just ask my husband about the new Hayden Harnett I added to my collection while writing this post!
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Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
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Also setting ebay alerts via the mobile to get alerted when you get outbid. Also, I set a task alert or calendar notice via Google Calendar. Sometimes I don’t even put down a first bid until closer to the end date.
Yes! How could I forget eBay Alerts on the app! I like to call waiting it out sniping! LOL! Thanks so much for sharing your fabulous tips!
Ebay is the best option for online purchasing..