An eBay auction is a superb place to by products that are not available locally or just not sold in the retail industry anymore. It is also one of the best places to find items related to personal hobbies, collectibles and antiques. Buyers usually go straight to eBay auctions, find their item of choice and then begin the bidding process. The bidders often return again and again to the site, checking their bid and raising it as others come in. More often than not they allow themselves to become caught in a bidding war, which sends the price of the item sky high. What happened? They lost it. They lost the item and they lost control of themseves and THEN they ended up paying more than they wanted - it's a case of "I'm not going to let him/her (the other bidder) get this item", rather than wanting the item for it's own sake. So, how can you make sure you don't get carried away?

Here are three points to finding the ultimate bidding strategy, so you always purchase the item you want, at the price you choose. It's so simple, yet very clear:

One: First, find the item that you're interested in and want to bid on (see? Easy!)

Two: Decide how much you are willing to pay for that item (easy)

Three: Put your bid in with a sniping service or ebay tool (sometimes known as last minute bidding - also easy!)

Ok, lets find number one first. You want to buy something, so go to eBay! It might be a used or new car in eBay Motors, it might be anything, maybe choose one small simple cheap thing in an eBay auction ending in the final 5 minutes so you can practice your sniping skills and begin to feel confident about the process.

Try putting searches into eBay for the item of your choice, but mis-spell it on purpose. Many items on eBay are lost or don't receive any attention because of a mispelling. This can give you the edge, and get your item at rock bottom prices. The same goes for bad descriptions of items. These can turn a lot of people away from an otherwise valuable item. You wouldn't want to turn down a lost Picasso just because it was described as "an old painting found in attic" would you?

Secondly, Decide on what your maximum bid is going to be for that item. It's important to cross reference as much as possible with brand new versions of that item on retail sites, and other similar items on eBay. You'll get a good general idea of how much the thing's really worth and how much you're prepared to pay for it. Look in Completed Items on eBay and use the advanced search to help you get the best info possible before you decide on the final amount to bid.

You should always be aware that shipping and delivery can sometimes push the price of an otherwise cheap looking item sky high. The seller can put whatever he or she wants for packing and delivery. Just be aware of this before you place your bid. Then when you've done all your research, place your bid, your final bid and stand by it. That's the price you want to pay for that item so don't get caught up in any other ideas of winning over someone else. The relationship is between you and that item, not you and the other bidders!

Thirdly and finally, use a sniping service to place your bid. So what is sniping? It sounds a bit wrong doesn't it? Don't worry, it's all in the service and not the name. The name probably originates as a way of describing "silent bidding" suddenly, like a bullet, the final bid on the item comes out of nowhere and wins. I found when I started bidding on eBay that I'd regularly lose an auction when some bid came in during the final seconds and stole the item off me. This really ground my gears. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get my bid in last, so after getting mad, I decided to get some research done. I found that I'd been "sniped" of course, so the next step was an obvious one, I had to get real and start sniping! First I found an eBay auction tool, an automated bidding service. These services synchronise automatically with eBay's clock, making putting a last second bid in, easy and dependable.

You have to simply set up an account with one (taking advantage of the free initial trial often offered) and place a bid, or "snipe" on an item of your choice. You can go away for the weekend, go for a walk, do something else. Your bid will be taken care of for you and when you return and a switch your computer back on and see if you've won the auction. A lot of online sniping sites offer multiple bidding on multiple auctions where all other bids are cancelled once you get the item of your choice at the exact right price. Sniping has recieved criticism in the past, but this is all about sour grapes from those who cant be bothered to use sniping services themselves. It's difficult to understand why these people make a standpoint against a service that is accepted by eBay, used by tens of thousands already, and makes life easier AND wins you more auctions for less.

I hope this simple guide has been useful, I recommend you try a bid snipe yourself the next time you go onto a eBay auction - you may well find that once you've understood how it works, and that it DOES work, that it'll be the method of choice every time you go to buy and bid on eBay.

Happy bidding bidders!