661 replies to this topic

[Darthking623]

The Kid, on Feb 19 2007, 07:12 PM, said:

Here you go. Look here for other members' pointers on where to shop. ;-)

Thanks!!!!!!!!!! *y*

[simonwillems]

When I was on a cycletrip to Rome I found in the Italian Appennines the 6380 Hospital two years ago, new in box for 30 euros!

[optimus-convoy]

I found 8682 Nitro Intimidator for $25 (half off!). *y*

I also recall finding 5978 Sphinx Secret Surprise for about $30 three years after it's release. *y*

Quote

Yes, UCS Batmobile. $10. Hot damn lol.

8-° Jeez, I should start going to good will. X-D

[Dark Brick]

Darthking623, on Feb 19 2007, 01:15 PM, said:

Thanks!!!!!!!!!! *y*

http://eurobricks.ho...?showtopic=1274

That is exactly what I meant. I guess I forgot the word Shop. I should have just copied the link.



DB

[pacific493]

I have gotten a lot of great deals on Ebay, but the best was probably one of the first big collections that I bought.  I was screwing around with sniping software and figured that I would test it out on a collection that had about 100+ sets in it, including about 30-40 large sets from the late 1980s, early 1990s (Black Seas Barracuda, Metro Park and Service, Big Rig Truck Stop, Futuron Monorail, Black Falcon's Fortress, etc., etc.).  I did not think there was a chance in hell that I'd win with the bid I placed (about $750), but I did.

When the collection arrived, not only were the parts, minifigs and instructions mostly in mint condition, but it included a complete Dacta Space set #9355 in unopened polybags, which I didn't even realize was included.  Sold that and made back a good chunk of what I spent on the rest.

I've scored pretty well on a number of other collections that I bought, but I don't think anything will ever top that one.

[xenologer]

What good does 'sniping software' do? if all bids are by Proxy anyway? IE, you set your limit and ebay automatically has each person autobid up to that limit, taking turns in order.

I mean, even if you don't tell your limit till the last minute, the proxy bid system on ebay's end still makes both bidders bid back and fourth in turn instantaneously. So in the end the timing of when you set your bid didnt matter, its still all about who's limit is higher.

Right?

[pacific493]

xenologer, on Feb 22 2007, 08:03 PM, said:

What good does 'sniping software' do? if all bids are by Proxy anyway? IE, you set your limit and ebay automatically has each person autobid up to that limit, taking turns in order.

I mean, even if you don't tell your limit till the last minute, the proxy bid system on ebay's end still makes both bidders bid back and fourth in turn instantaneously. So in the end the timing of when you set your bid didnt matter, its still all about who's limit is higher.

Right?

The software just drops the bid in a few seconds before the end of the auction.  Nine times out of ten that I have used the proxy bid system alone, I have been outbid in the final seconds by someone else because they can basically just sit there and keep bidding until they pass the highest bid that I placed.  However, if I snipe, no one else can figure out my highest bid with enough time to beat it...they either have to place a bid that beats mine or they lose.  Sometimes it works out and other times it doesn't, but I certainly never won as many auctions, particularly for larger collections, before I started sniping.  Before I would always get outbid by $10.

[Hobbes]

xenologer, on Feb 23 2007, 01:03 AM, said:

I mean, even if you don't tell your limit till the last minute, the proxy bid system on ebay's end still makes both bidders bid back and fourth in turn instantaneously. So in the end the timing of when you set your bid didnt matter, its still all about who's limit is higher.

Right?

Not quite, because...

pacific493, on Feb 23 2007, 01:54 AM, said:

However, if I snipe, no one else can figure out my highest bid with enough time to beat it...

That's the key. Many ebayers hope for a good deal. That means they "go in low" and hope to win with that. When they're outbid the "bidding fever" kicks in. They reeeeeally want it and start to bid again... and again... and again... and they can because there's enough time. As a result the price for the item climbs and climbs and climbs.

With sniping there's no time for that and your chance for a good deal is higher.

You might be unlucky with the guys that have set their limit high from the start, though. You can't beat a higher bid than yours (duh) but those bidders are rare.

[xenologer]

Hobbes, on Feb 23 2007, 09:45 AM, said:

Not quite, because...
That's the key. Many ebayers hope for a good deal. That means they "go in low" and hope to win with that. When they're outbid the "bidding fever" kicks in. They reeeeeally want it and start to bid again... and again... and again... and they can because there's enough time. As a result the price for the item climbs and climbs and climbs.

So its all about getting an upper hand over silly impulsive people then. The guy's who didn't put their True bid limit into the proxy system on their first bid.
If all bidders are logical though, who each knows his own value for the item and enters his Real limit into the proxy system, then it doesn't really help.

I guess the Key point is, not everyone is going to do that... and sniping helps to avoid the impulsive guys.

[pacific493]

xenologer, on Feb 23 2007, 08:24 AM, said:

So its all about getting an upper hand over silly impulsive people then. The guy's who didn't put their True bid limit into the proxy system on their first bid.

There are a few other considerations as well.  One is that it protects people from knowing what you are bidding on.  Although this is not as relevant for many buyers, for some items, there is a small universe of buyers.  If you are one of those buyers and get identified as such, people can search by your bidder ID to identify auctions to bid on.  You can obviously avoid this by setting up IDs for buying only, but that's kind of a pain IMHO.

Also, sniping helps me set a limit and stick to it.  Generally, if I put in a bid of say $500, chances are I'll kick in another $10-50 to win the auction.  With sniping, I can set the limit and then I can't get into a bidding frenzy if my snipe bid is not the highest at the end.

[jamtf]

I got lucky this past week. I had ordered a 1060 set. This is a Dacta set with road plates. When it arrived the box appeared to be in very bad condition. It was taped together (in a particularly bad way) and some of the pine trees and fruit trees (loose parts that did not come in sealbags) already came sticking out of the holes in the top of the box. At first sight it was a messed up set to begin with and a major disappointment since the box was quite damaged, something that I did not expect since the picture of the set that I purchased did not reveal the damage.

When I opened the box I discovered all sorts of pieces and sealbags that did not look too familiar. At least, they were not pictured on top of the box. What appeared to be the case? The dumb (or should I say generous?) seller had included all parts including the instruction cards / jigsaw puzzle of a 1062 set inside the 1060 box! It all seems to be complete and all extra parts included appeared to be still sealed inside the original bags! As some of you might know, the 1062 is a rare early 1980s set with a white pigtail hairpiece included. What a find. Suddenly, I felt that the purchase price of the set was not that bad after all! And I even learned to live with the 1060 box and the shape it is in! :-)

[yellost]

I got lucky twice, really, the first time was when I saw 10 mini jedi starfighters in a second hand shop (but they were still in their sealed bag) at €0.25 each. Needless to say I bought them all and resold them on bricklink. They were all gone in a week time  X-D

And the second time and by far the best is the UCS Yoda Sculpture I found for only €15, because the shop that sold it had lost it behind a shelf in their warehouse and the box got dusty and a bit rubbed on the corner, so they decided to lower the price... That was a month ago, so considering it was €15O on retail price and has been discontinued amost 4years ago, I can't even begin to imagine how much of a bargain I made off it...  :-D

[BearHeart]

I got the Scorpion Prison Cave for about 50% of the original price and Gargoyle Bridge for 66% last week. That was at a Sears store here in Canada

[pesa]

The Indy 7622 "Race for the Stolen Treasure" is sold for 40+ EUR in Estonia. That is if you find a store that sells the theme...

Today I found this set at a near-by discounter-grocery-etc-junk-store... Their system didn't have this set registered yet so the manager had decided to price it according to the most "expensive" Exo-Force set they carried. EUR 10.80. Alas they only had 5 copies.

[MillerTime]

My two best would have to be #4534 Target train exclusive for $10 instead of $160 brand new a few years ago..

Then black friday a couple years ago with the Millennium Falcon for $50 instead of $100...which then soared to over $200 on ebay so that turned out to be a great deal.

Lots of things I foolishly turned down like stacks of UCS Yoda's at KBtoys for $40.......original AT-TE half off at Target, etc.

Also lots of good eBay steals.

[Jay]

Hello

I am newbie, Yesterday i picked up lego technic 8862 Jcb & 8860 auto chassis for a £5 from a charity shop the 8862 is complete but the 8860 is missing parts but great for spares.

I have just finished making the 8862 and loved it.

Cheers
Brogusblue

[Patriot720]

The best deal I've ever gotten was an eBay auction with no pictures that had a "buy it now" price of $5 with the description of "pirate lego." This very cheap lot ended up being a 95% complete #6277 Imperial Trading Post and a 85% #6270 Forbidden Island!!!! Based on eBay prices, I got about a $150 discount

Edited by Patriot720, 30 November 2008 - 03:41 AM.

[Lt. de Martinet]

My lucky finds:

TRU, $15 (I think, on clearance): Mars Exploration Rover

EBay, $50 (not quite complete; was missing some of the small, insignificant bits): Message Intercept Base

Savers, $2 (in a bag with McDonalds toys; missing the canister): Visorak Suukorak

That's all I can think of right now.

Edited by Lt. de Martinet, 30 November 2008 - 04:06 AM.

[Dr Lucky]

How's this for lucky?  When the Dwarve's Mine finally wound up back in stores a few months ago, my local Target had them for an absurdly low price.  I bought the 3 that they had for less than $13 each.  Sadly, when the next shipment came in, they increased the price.  Of course, I can't complain after I got such a bargain on three of them.  That's why my dwarf army is so big.

[Jvvv]

My best find is definately The Yellow Castle (375), complete, in very good condition, with stickers, with instruction and with box (inner trays included), only for 20€ from local self-service flea market. I made other really good finds there, too (Viking Line Ferry from 80's with box and nearly complete Town Square).

Last week's best find was TRU's offer for 7744 Police Headquarters. only 47,95 €.

[KinGanon]

Here's a doozy:

I went to a second hand store and saw the Jedi Starfighter and Hyperdrive ring for $30, but when I went to it later the prce sticker was torn off. So the assosciate price checked it, and couldn't find the price so she was selling it for $10,the store had 10% and then another 30% off toys, so my set turned out to be 5.99+tax. Not too shabby eh?

[Rob PBS]

I picked up the Coast Guard Patrol Boat & Tower in John Lewis, Reading for £22 yesterday. £28 discount!

[Peppermint_M]

I once found some Adventurers sets in a Pound Store. so i bought about six. =D

[gravysam]

in A charity shop i found the catwoman chase set thing
for £2.99!!
origannally (£10)

[Jammiedodger]

I found two V-19 torrents at Woolies for £10 each, reduced from £50.      I now have three!!!!