I share pretty much the same sentiments and methods.

Since the first of the year I've bought on Ebay:

HPLJ4MV 11x17 Laser printer (used, but in mint condition and less than
12,000 pages) to my office for ~$300
HPLJ4MV 500 sheet feeder assembly for $75
Hakko 850 hot air soldering station (used, mint condition) for $205
(new ~$900)
Viewsonic VE155 15" LCD monitor, used but mint condition for $187.50
(new ~$340 on pricewatch)

I'm really happy -- I got some very useful tools and saved a load of
money vs. purchasing from online stores new or locally.

BTW, I watched maybe a dozen auctions for 15" LCD's but got the first
one I bid on by manually "sniping". I've found I win about 50-60% of the
auctions I bid on this way. The ones I lose are because someone goes
crazy and over-bids at the last minute.

Matt Pobursky
Maximum Performance Systems

On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 09:46:11 -0600, llile@SALTONUSA.COM wrote:
> I don't win 1 in 50 auctions on ebay, it is more like 2 in 3.  I may only
> BID on 1 in 50 auctions that I watch, though.
>
> Usually I figure out what I want to pay, then watch the auction and snipe
> it at the last minute (I am the guy you are all complaining about) If the
> price is over what I want to pay at that moment, I don't bid.  I may watch
> 5 or 6 auctions before I find the one that I want.  I got my kayak that
> way about $150 below retail.    I am wearing a pair of Sas shoes, the only
> brand I can find that fit my extra wide feet, for about 1/3 of retail from
> Ebay.
>
> I usually watch auctions that are within 24 hours of being done.  An
> auction that is 6 days out doesn't indicate much about the final selling
> price.  I usually know the retail price before I bid.  If I am prepared to
> pay the "buy-it-now" price and it seems like a good deal or a hard-to-find
> item, I just go ahead and do that and get the process over with.
>
> Ebay, for me, takes just as much effort as shopping online from anyone
> else.  From other online outfits, I spend a lot of time comparison
> shopping and scratching my head over brief online descriptions or worrying
> that I have bought from a fly-by-night outfit.  Ebay has scammers, but
> they also have feedback.

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