Doesn't e-snipe have a timing feature? If so, that would be useful. You'd never need to watch the clock. Just let the software do it for you.
For me, it's timing. i can place my bid anytime for an auction ending in the future. I don't have to monitor it unless the bidding goes beyond my bid. Then I get an "Urgent" E Mail asking me to check my bid. I don't have to sit by the computer and watch the auction. After all, all the action happens in the last few seconds of a popular auction anyway.
Yes. You can set a buffer. Mine is 6 seconds before the auction. Other bidders set similar buffers. This is why there are so many bids in the last 10 seconds.
You can quote a flat shipping charge. for instance, I have been quoting $3.50 flat for shipping USPS First Class Mail. If you want E Bay to calculate, they will. Enter the weight and size and E Bay will calculate. It is pretty inaccurate on international shipments. I try to ship the lowest cost reasonable method. First Class for N Scale cars. If the weight goes beyond 13 ounces, it will go Priority Mail. I don't use Parcel Select as it takes a lot longer and the cost is usually only a little less than than Priority.
Pete, Thanks for the info. I could have used that a few times when auctions were ending at times that I needed to do something else. To this point, I just put in my max bid when I could. I was surprised by results that went both ways. I got something at an absurdly low price in one case and lost something I needed despite an absurdly high max bid in another case. And, others came out where I expected. Still, I think I will look into e-snipe for the reason you suggest. Steve
When shipping Priority Mail from inside eBay, 50 or $100 in insurance may be added at no extra cost depending on your seller level... but you have to know that. As an incremental attempt at a "gotcha," when you specify adding insurance to a Priority Mail package, the default goes to something called "ShipCover Insurance" which is NOT free. You need to change the selection to USPS Insurance.
I was also told by a postal employee that you have to click the insurance box [then choose which ins] and then be sure to click the "ADD" button or it will not get added automatically.
Anyone else find the humor in Ebay shooting themselves in the foot, again...? Just changed the categories under Model Railroads And Trains.... No longer can you search the category "buildings / structures" or "brass trains". Instead, they narrowed down to: Freight Cars (560)Locomotives (217) Passenger Cars (54) Track (80) Starter Sets & Packs (1) Parts & Accessories (486) Other N Scale (69,062) While you can still search for specific items, it will be harder to do general category searches like Micro Trains or Walthers without getting 1000s of items...
Yes. Yet again. Before dinner I was attempting to use a couple of long time bookmarks for Lionel trains. They did not take me to where I expected, and the whole thing is all scrambled now. Idiots.
I keep wondering why no one uses Ebid. If all us model guys moved there we would have pretty free roam over there. IMHO Mike
I have also wondered why another site didn't get a boost from these events. It just doesn't seem to happen. Most folks I know just seem to become disillusioned, and walk away from it all. Any more I just look at things for fun and that's all.
The "Other N Scale" category will slowly wind down as sellers post, or repost, in the new categories, or are forced to in the selling screen. The good news for me is that it appears that my "ignore list" still works - I can still exclude sellers I don't ever want to see. (I suppose I shouldn't "say" that too loudly...) I thought this category switch was taking place at the end of June, not the beginning. I'm glad I didn't have time to list even one item at the end of May is all I can say!
I don't think the price is all that unreasonable but the item itself is certainly one of the more, ahem, unusual ones I've seen. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kader-Mini-...527?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item41970c1477 I can't quite discern whether the equipment was repainted or whether it really came that way! The item is Kader-- they own Bachmann now-- and the steam loco clearly shows the Bachmann imprint on the underside. Definitely an older production given the metal gears. But altogether a bit strange.
I recently put up some old old N scale stuff on the auction site. Not state of the art quality but somebody might want something inexpensive if it's something that fits. (I am using a lot of old stuff myself when it does fit my scheme.) Lots of stuff I can't identify except by the tag "Yugoslavia" on the bottom. The auction site want you to identify country of origin, but its from a list that does not include "Yugoslavia." Country doesn't exist anymore. How am I supposed to know what entity of the former Yugoslavia contained a manufacturer that may not exist any more, and that in any rate is not explicitly identifiable?
For what it's worth, a lot of that stuff was made by "Mehano". They were (are?) in what is now Slovenia last I looked, so that's a fair bet...
I would go with Slovenia also... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehano Now the question is whether that Internet Auction Community is going to require country of origin. In the past, I've just skipped that or removed it from the list of "details" entirely.
