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I'm not even talking about buying a violin from eBay, only to find it 's a dog when you try it!
No, I've been bidding on various "old, antique violins recently, in the hope that I might pick one up at a reasonable price, may need a bit of restoration/setting work done.
But no! Every time, I seem to get pipped at the post by someone who wants to pay at least £100 more than I.
I missed one the other night just because I was in an area with no phone/Internet signal.
Missed it by £3.
Was I unlucky and had I carried on bidding that £3 might have become £300?
We'll never know now.
Should I keep bidding in the hope that I get lucky?
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
I think you have to concider if it's worth £300 to you, or not. That's about $474.00 USD, not sure if i'd spend that much for an Ebay item, unless I knew exactly what I was buyin with some sort of return policy. I'd have to do some serious thinkiing about it.
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They do have a return Policy if the violin is found to be not in the condition as advertised.
And I love it when they tell you how they think the violin sounds, you know the "projects nicely in well rounded tones" kind if thing.
That is so subjective that they are leaving themselves wide open when it comes to returning the violin for being different to the advert!
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
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The answer to a successful ebay bid/win is EXACTLY what Ken said; you have to determine (in most cases, such unseen, or in this case, sound unheard) what that violin is worth to you and make that your max bid. You'll win some and lose some; you'll buy some great things and buy some pieces o'crap things.
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And hopefully the shite can go straight back on eBay to reduce any losses.
A friend told me to have seperate buying and selling accounts, if only to stop people tracing back to see how much was originally paid for an item
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
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I got a wonderful viola on Craig's list for cheap. Do you have advertisements like that in your neck of the woods?
Good Luck! I hope things go well.
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What!
no bidding activity hours and I have top bid.
I lose it, coz someone bids £2 more than me with 3 seconds left on the clock!
It's a good job I don't use bad language in this site!!!!!!
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
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I, myself, constantly bid on stuff on ebay. I am hoping to find that "rare gem" of a violin. But you are right. If I take my bid up to $50, it sells for $150. If I bid $150 it ends at $300... so forth and so on.
But, to me, that is part of the fun, (not all of it, mind you) If I had unlimited money, getting that "gem" at a bargain, would not be any fun. There are some violin supplies, fingerboards, nuts, pegs, etc... that my highest bid is $0.25 Just to see what I can get.
Keep having fun. And you will get that "gem" before ya know it. Maybe? Hopefully.
"Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its entire life believing that it is stupid." -Albert Einstein
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Terry, funny thing is, you're getting bummed out because you think you just miss the bid, when in fact, the person who won the bid probably put in their "Max Bid", much higher than what it sold at. So don't feel badly, you may have had to cough up a lot more than you think. Just keep trying!
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Thanks Fred, usually I'm told straight away if my bid is too short. I was sniped, but I kearn quick.
Here's what to do in future....
See something I like and put a watch on it.
Avoid the temptation to bid early!
Just before it's bid time is over, I'll open 2 screens, one showing my Top bid ready to place, the other showing the item and it's bid left time.
Then a few seconds before the bidding is over, bang in my partially prepared bid.
If I'm quick enough, my bid will be received so close, that no-one else will have time to counter it. And if it's too high, I will only pay an increment above the previous bidder.
Oh yeah, and bid odd pence/cents in case the other bids are a round number. £150.07 will beat £150.00.
So if anyone sees a bid worth .07, you will know its me, haha
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
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You are SPOT ON buddy,,,, so hit the battlefield, lol
A friend of mine just purchased a violin for his daughter from "American Jewelry and Loan", AKA " Hardcore Pawn". He stopped in there after I told him I had been in there looking for another violin and that I had seen one except it was only 3/4 size. I looked at the violin and determined it wasn't a cheap Chinese model, he paid $ 57.00 for it.
Maybe you guy's should start a new T V reality show, " Fiddle War's" ? wudda ya think, huh ?
Fred............ Terry ?
Terry............. Fred ? 
I read your other post, Fred. Sound's really super dooper.
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Haaaaaaaaaaaa! Ken, I love it. You know, my wife & I were talking just 10 min.s ago about how you can put any piece of crap on television today and people will watch it. My best friend is Rick on World's Worst Tenants; and if you knew what goes on behind the scenes of reality tv, you'd crap yourself, lol.
I'm going to speak with him about your idea!!!!
Another thing to think about. Know the seller, do a check to see what his rating's are and how he stands with Ebay and PayPal. Find out if there are any complaint's against him.
There are culprits out there who will put something up for sale and then have their friend's make bids on that item, just to drive the price up.
Alway's keep in mine, " buyer beware".
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Great point Ken. I always check the Seller rating first, but I never used to go to "Latest Ratings" then "See all". One of the sellers I recently made a purchase from had a 5 Star rating, so I thought they were good, but when I rcvd the violin, which came in a great case and a pretty decent bow, the bow tip had been broken off during shipping because they didn't know to loosen the tension before packing, so with the tension, even a minor jossle caused it to snap. I understand them not knowing maybe, but when I addressed this with them, they claimed that I must've broken it or that it really wasn't broken, I was just trying to get remuneration/consideration fraudulently.
Then I researched this seller better (staygreen2011) I noticed that there were 12 "negative" & 17 "neutral" feedbacks; they are horrible sellers, yet ebay still gives them a 5-star rating.
Ken's point is GREAT advice; you have to spend time researching every aspect of your bid to the best of your ability. Every other purchase I've made so far on ebay has been a great experience though.
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As a buyer of things on an international basis, I'm ued to looking for the 'trip up' factor. It can be difficult to spot if one is in unfamiliar territory.
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
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