eBay is one of the best places to find hard to find items and get them at amazingly low prices.

However, if you absolutely have to have that item, you will pay dearly for it every time.

I’ve seen bidders pay ridiculously high prices, when a little online research would have gotten them the same item at Amazon or other online stores for much less.

There are a few strategies that I’ll cover that will help you win eBay auctions and get exactly what you want at the best price.

eBay is all about patience.

If you absolutely have to have it now, or you think it will never appear again, you will always be outbid, or end up being the biggest loser, paying much more than the item is worth.

The key with eBay is patience.

Patience and studying your competition will reward you with rock bottom prices.

Everybody loves a good deal, but on eBay most end up paying too much, getting caught up in the feeding frenzy of an auction.

A lot of buyers get excited when they think they’ve found a one a kind item that will never be listed again.

On eBay, that one of a kind item always comes back up for sale sooner or later.

As a general rule, there is no one of a kind item; it always recycles and comes back on the auction block.

The first thing is to do a little research on your item.

Go to the Advanced Search box, and type in the item.

Next, click the Completed Listings box.

Now click the Search button.

A list of all the auctions for that particular item will be listed.

It will show what the item sold for, and also items that didn’t sell.

Look at the prices of the items that sold, and you’ll get an average of what the item sold for, how many bids there were, and the date it sold, or didn’t sell.

You now have an idea of what buyers are willing to pay for the item, and what to bid on the item.

Keep track of the bidders for the item.

You’ll often see them bidding on the same item they lost out on.

What you’re looking for on eBay are what I call pigeons.

These are suckers that absolutely have to have the item up for auction, and will drive the price up to any level just to have it.

Sellers love pigeons, as they make a lot of money off them.

Here’s the key; pigeons come and go in cycles.

When I’m bidding on an item, I do the research I’ve described so that I know what the real market price is.

In other words, what are people actually willing to pay for this item.

When bidding, there are usually 4-5 of these items at a time running at the same time.

If you see an auction rapidly going up in price, click on the button to see who is bidding on it.

More than likely, you will see the same bidder jacking up the price repeatedly as soon as someone else bids on it.

You have just identified a pigeon.

Forget about bidding, but watch how high he will go to get the item.

Pay attention to anyone constantly bidding against him, that is another pigeon.

You will find that the losing pigeon, will instantly bid up the next auction to win since he lost the first auction.

This can go on for quite awhile, but patience is always rewarded.

Keep watching, keeping track of the names of the pigeons.

After awhile, the auctions on this item will go cold, and there will be no bidders.

Why?

Because all of the pigeons have spent their money, and are out of the game.

Now is the time to strike.

Place a low bid, and wait until the end of the auction.

If only one bidder goes up against you, up your bid a little.

More than likely, you will win the auction at a steal of a price.

When placing your bid, go as high as you feel you are willing to pay, then up it by another 10%.

Most bidders are cheap, and won’t go up even a dollar, then have buyer’s remorse for not going higher.

I’ve waited for more than six months to get an item this way, and it always works.

This past Christmas, I won three auctions at rock bottom prices because all the pigeons were gone.

If you can’t wait that long, or even longer, be prepared to go up against these pigeons with deep pockets.

Another key is to check the auctions daily, and sometimes several times a day.

Every once in awhile, someone will throw out a Buy It Now zinger at a ridiculously low price.

I’ve snagged a few of these within hours of posting, because the pigeons were too obsessed with outbidding each other.

I also check other sources like Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s, and B&H Photo, to name a few.

Sometimes they are a lot cheaper than eBay, and they give you a good idea of what the item is really worth in the marketplace.

Remember, if you absolutely have to have the item now, eBay isn’t the place to buy it, and you’ll be the biggest loser every time.