Where to go from here?

[AtariK2]

Regarding frustration over getting outbid 'at the last second' on Ebay auctions:

 

Do yourself a favor and pick up some form of 'sniping' software. There may be those who don't like it but it works and it is no form illegal or unethical, IMO. Do a Google search for 'snipeit' - I've won many auctions with this tool and it does exactly what you've seen during your frustrations - it automatically (and without human intervention) submits your highest pre-configured bid 10 seconds before auction end. (The time interval is configurable). I share this information not because I'm some genious but simply because I believe everyone should have a level playing field...

 

In terms of being able to find stuff locally - I truly believe this is a regional thing. When I lived in Los Angeles there were TONS of locations with good items - here in the Midwest it's a completely different animal.

 

Good luck.

[joeybastard]

The best way to get stuff nowadays is simply to draw attention to yourself as a collector.  There are probably still loads of people out there who have machines and games stuffed in cupboards and basements, but no idea that anyone would want them.  The best thing to do is to put out ads and spread the word amongst friends, family and workmates.  With any luck you'll catch the eye of a few people who'll be more than happy to give you their stuff for free, or take a token amount for it.

 

Good advice, about 40% of my entire collection(all consoles) has come from friends or co-workers. Most of the time people just gave the stuff to me becuase they were going to throw it out. In the cases where I've bought stuff, it's always been very cheap.

[Megamaniac]

Do yourself a favor and pick up some form of 'sniping' software.  There may be those who don't like it but it works and it is no form illegal or unethical, IMO.  Do a Google search for 'snipeit' - I've won many auctions with this tool and it does exactly what you've seen during your frustrations - it automatically (and without human intervention) submits your highest pre-configured bid 10 seconds before auction end.  (The time interval is configurable).  

 

Wow, and all this time I was sweating it and missing some critical auction closures. I've been doing the manual last 30 second thing. This sounds cool....is it the norm among AA'ers? Or is it uncommonly used?

[AtariK2]

 

Wow, and all this time I was sweating it and missing some critical auction closures.  I've been doing the manual last 30 second thing.  This sounds cool....is it the norm among AA'ers?  Or is it uncommonly used?

 

I can't speak to the 'norm' - this is the first time I've discussed it here.

[candiru]

[Wow, and all this time I was sweating it and missing some critical auction closures.  I've been doing the manual last 30 second thing.  This sounds cool....is it the norm among AA'ers?  Or is it uncommonly used?

 

If you head over to the ebay forum and poke around a little, you'll find plenty of opinions expressed on the matter.

[Megamaniac]

If you head over to the ebay forum and poke around a little, you'll find plenty of opinions expressed on the matter.

 

Here at AA or do you mean a forum on eBay?

[candiru]

Yeah, I should have said the ebay forum here at AA.

[Megamaniac]

Yeah, I should have said the ebay forum here at AA.

Didn't see one...can I assume you mean the Auction forum? Saw some opinions...appears to be mixed bag!

[candiru]

Yeah, I should have said the ebay forum here at AA.

Didn't see one...can I assume you mean the Auction forum? Saw some opinions...appears to be mixed bag!

 

D'oh, used to be called ebay auction central or some such. Damn those Als and their never ending quest to update their fine website.

[gospeedde]

Besides just swooping in at the last second and stealing an auction, there are other things you can do to increase your chances of winning on ebay. First, never bid a round number. If you want to pay $20, bid $21. Then if someone else also bids $20 you will win and they may either think that you must have bid at least $25 or $30 (since most people think in round numbers when bidding) or run out of time and miss their chance to rebid.

Also, if noone else has bid, don't bid till near the end. Even if its a good find people will sometimes think twice about bidding on something noone has bid on yet, because they worry that something is wrong with it. I win most auctions that I actually pay attention to (sometimes I'm not willing to spend too much on a game so I just bid a few days early and wait for notification in my email to see if I've won) and I don't use any software. I very rarely lose in the last minute of an auction, usually if I lose its because they are willing to spend more than I am and that becomes apparent pretty quickly. I think its either because of my mad ebay skills or because noone wants what I'm bidding on. Good luck.

[Dolt]

The best way to get stuff nowadays is simply to draw attention to yourself as a collector.  There are probably still loads of people out there who have machines and games stuffed in cupboards and basements, but no idea that anyone would want them.  The best thing to do is to put out ads and spread the word amongst friends, family and workmates.  With any luck you'll catch the eye of a few people who'll be more than happy to give you their stuff for free, or take a token amount for it.

 

I agree--the drawback is that a lot of them figure that if you're a collector then you're willing to pay BIG BUCKS for their very valuable Pac Mac cart--and the rest of them. I've had a few cases recently where I found people with maybe 45 games and the only thing approaching rare was something like Tanks but no Tanks (coincidentally, the only game that I didn't have). I offered $45 for the lot, which was more than generous when you consider that a Rarity 1 or 2 is realistically worth 25-50 cents, but was basically told to F off. Fine with me; between the $45, gas money and my time, their rat-infested 2600 and dusty games weren't worth it, but it left me in a bad mood all the same.

[Malc74]

I agree--the drawback is that a lot of them figure that if you're a collector then you're willing to pay BIG BUCKS for their very valuable Pac Mac cart--and the rest of them. I've had a few cases recently where I found people with maybe 45 games and the only thing approaching rare was something like Tanks but no Tanks (coincidentally, the only game that I didn't have). I offered $45 for the lot, which was more than generous when you consider that a Rarity 1 or 2 is realistically worth 25-50 cents, but was basically told to F off. Fine with me; between the $45, gas money and my time, their rat-infested 2600 and dusty games weren't worth it, but it left me in a bad mood all the same.

 

Absolutely. There's nothing worse than some idiot who shows you a grimy, disgusting slab of plastic and demands that you pay $100 for it because "like, it cost me $250 in 1982". Thankfully they seem to be in the minority (although they're growing in number thanks to ebay - I've seen a few Pacman carts with a $4 or $5 start recently) and there are still plenty of people out there who are only too pleased to give their stuff away or sell it cheaply.