eBay auctions sell at different speeds. Some get many bids in a day while some go much slower, garnering only two or three bids throughout. Auctions generally slow down during summer and speed up during the winter. However sales on eBay are slowing down as more sellers than buyers sign up in the hopes of getting rich quick. However, there are many methods that you can use to turn the 'slower' auctions to your advantage in order to get the best price.



The first method is to wait to bid. When you see an item that is moving slowly, don't bid immediately. Instead, wait until it is almost ending before bidding on it. This is due to a number of factors. By bidding, everyone can see that you are interested in the item, and that might interest them in the item too. Leaving an item alone for as long as possible helps keep the price down and makes the item appear to be unpopular, allowing you to bid at the last minute to obtain a bargain.

Secondly, use eBay's 'Best Offer' service. If a seller is selling an item using 'Buy it Now' and it still hasn't sold when the auction is ending, using 'Best Offer' to make an offer usually results in the seller simply accepting your offer so they can get rid of it. This applies to items which do not usually sell well as the seller would probably have relisted the item two or three times before, and so be too annoyed at the prospect of re-listing that they would simply accept the offer to get rid of it.

Thirdly, conspiring with other buyers can often result in a win-win situation where both of you can buy an item for cheap as you avoid bidding and raising the price of the item. This is especially if there are two or more similar items that you are interested in. Making a few friends can provide you with the contacts to work together on auctions in the long term. Taking in turns to bid on different auctions results in a win-win situation for all involved.

Acting as a discerning buyer also intimidates the seller into feeling better about a lower price. Asking detailed questoins about the condition of the item, acting as a knowledgeable buyer also makes the seller reconsider his price, and he is more likely to give you a lower price than he originally requested. With the number of sellers on eBay now, common items have their prices forced to extremely low prices. This is how the market functions - supply and demand.

Lastly, buying in bulk allows you to purchase a sellers stock for extremely low prices. When auctions are slow, bulk offers usually have the seller eager to offload their goods for a low price. Essentially, the longer you spend on eBay, the more experienced and discerning you become, and the greater the chance you'll stumble upon an auction for something unique and totally unexpected.