AW Daily - Tips & Tactics - Before the Auction: Bidding on a Budget

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Before the Auction: Bidding on a Budget continued ...

Let Their Tools Work For You
Many auction venues and third-party auction service sites offer tools that allow you to "watch" an auction (i.e., monitor its progress) without having yet bid. (Vendio's Stores Search and Sales Manager services, for example, allow you to track multiple auctions from several sites at once.) If you impulsively might want to bid on something, choose to put it on your watch list first. That way, you can keep an eye on the item and maintain a more objective view of its value to you as you watch others bid on it. More importantly, watching an item gives you the opportunity to somewhat "stake your claim" without actually having committed to buy and, at the same time, allow yourself some "cooling off" time to further consider whether you really want to buy the item.

Make Your Hobby Pay For Itself
Of course, one of the best ways to afford and even justify your auction spending is if the money you spend is strictly "off the top"--that is, it doesn't take away from your regular living expenses. The best and easiest way to do this is to become a seller yourself. If you have a bunch of stuff on which folks will bid (and people bid on just about anything), start listing those items and use the income you receive to pay for your later bidding. Build up several hundred dollars from your auction sales and turn it into bidding bucks to get the stuff you want. In virtual terms, you're "trading" your stuff for other stuff, with a bit of money exchanging in the meantime. But, in essence, your hobby has begun to pay for itself.

Develop a "Most Wanted" List
To help keep a grocery budget under control, many people make a list of the items they'll need to buy, and go straight to the aisles where those items are found. They get what they need and get out. You can do the same at online auctions. Make a list of the items you're seeking and perform regular searches (or enlist one of those auction shopping bots to search for you). When one such item becomes available, get on it. Otherwise, resist the temptation to "browse the aisles," saving your money for the items that you truly desire.

Enjoy What You Have
The final point is to appreciate the items you've already won. Auction bidding can become almost addictive (some say it is addictive), or at least so habitual that you toss your winnings on some stack of stuff without enjoying it. In these cases, it's probably the bidding, and not the item, that is the sole target of your effort.

Take time to enjoy what you've won. Allow your bidding budget to build up again. Then, when you've got the funds and have an item in your sights, go get it and bring it home to be equally enjoyed. That will be money well spent.

Dennis Prince is the author of Online Auctions at eBay: Bid With Confidence, Sell With Success. He has been an active buyer and seller at various online auction sites since 1995. Send him email at dlprince@bigfoot.com.

Performing Better Searches
Playing the Waiting Game
Finding Bargains