a little bit about ebay.
so, since planning my move to the new house, i’ve been searching for a few key items to add a bit of special style to the new place. one being a black eames chair. i happened to see this one on ebay, and thought no way would i ever, one, be able to afford it; and two, i’d never be lucky enough to win it! but, guess what!? i did!
and, it was affordable – $152 for a vintage eames rocker in excellent shape, is pretty darn good, and an investment, to boot! so, i wanted to share just how i scored it. in case you are unfamiliar with bidding on ebay, i’ve found the best way to get a really great deal, is to first ‘watch’ the item. don’t place a bid, just click ‘watch’ and keep your eye on it. ebay will send you an email reminder when the bidding is coming to a close and give you a few hours notice.
i also scored this tord boontje garland for just $52!
then, what i do, is set an alarm – in this case on my iphone for a half hour before the ebay bidding closes. i check in, and if the item is still affordable and hasn’t been bid out of my price range, i wait and watch some more. it’s like stealth shopping!
and then when it’s 2 minutes to close, i enter my bid and then when it’s 1 minute to close, i press send! if i think i may not win it, i increase my bid to where i’m comfortable and press send again. in this case, i swooped in over 24 other bids and won this beauty!! anyway, i was so chuffed, i just had to share, and i hope these ebay tips help you win something you’ve been dreaming about! these are just my own tips, but if you’ve got more ebay tips for us, let us know!
*garland image via door sixteen, where i found the inspiration to cover the exposed lightbulb in my bedroom.
how fun! Congrats on your new item!!
I love it! Can’t wait to see how you set up your new digs!
i ADORE eBay! – u can find the best deals/finds on there .. just gotta be good with the search – good for u with the finds! – loves it!
it is gorgeous Victoria! I am looking for a yellow one :)
have you heard of a program called AuctionSniper? it’s a tool that bids for you at the last second (or however you set it) you just enter your maximum bid, then how close to the end you want it to bid for you and viola it does all the work for you :) here’s the link if you want to check it out http://auctionsniper.com/
i saw a yellow one on there this week!
i just heard about auctionsniper, and i will check it out! thanks for the tip!
Hey Victoria, nice one! I’ve been using a snipe service like Kate… I just set my bid and they *try* to forget about it… saves a little bidding stress. I’ve been using justsnipe.com for a couple years now.
matt – you are the chair wizard! i gotta say – i kinda like the ‘rush’ i get from getting that last minute bid in! like vegas, but way better! ;)
Like Kate, I’m a fan of letting robots do the work for me. I use esnipe.com (it sounds a lot like Auction Sniper). It does all the remembering for me, which is good, because I am super-forgetful.
p.s. The chair and the garland are both super scores! I’m envious.
You got a great deal! And it’s in such fabulous shape. I, too, snagged a great deal on Ebay a couple of years ago the same way that you did. I won a vintage 6 ft. aluminum pom-pom Christmas tree that had only been out of the original box once or twice. It came complete with both a vintage color wheel and turning tree stand and the dealer even threw in a nice vintage Christmas tablecloth. I snagged it in February of that year for a measly $150, plus $13 shipping. It’s gorgeous and everything works perfectly. It was my best deal ever on Ebay.
Can’t wait to see your newly decorated home! You should get a pet. ;-)
LOVE the garland! i’ve always been buying stuff on ebay but i never knew that u could score such great furniture finds! did u go inot ebay with the intention of looking for these items or did u look around?
audrey – i knew i wanted a black eames – but not necessarily a rocker. it was such a beauty, i fell in love at first sight! the garland was actually a ‘buy it now’ – so you can find it here:
http://myworld.ebay.com/toms-house/
yep, i’m also a quick-fingered last minute bidder! it’s the only way and it keeps the price down. however, if you can’t be in front of you computer at closing — use auction sniper! it’s the best. :)
Try Auction Sniper. It will cost you 25 cents if you win the item and will bid for you with seconds left in the auction (you set the time frame). No more alarm clocks and sitting by the computer refreshing your screen waiting for the auction to end only to have your computer freeze up on you or your internet go poof.
I used to do the “manual” bidding until that very thing happened to me – my computer froze and I lost out on a last minute bid. I’ve used Auction Sniper for several years and never once lost out on a last second bid. If I don’t win it’s because my bid was too low. You don’t even have to be near a computer to place a last second bid.
Good find on the chair and the garland!
Yeah, you gotta use a sniping service — much easier than setting your alarm to bid in the middle of the night! ;-)
I wrote a guide to eBay buying awhile back; tons of handy and surprising tips here: http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/decorating-dos-and-donts-with-ebay/index.html and http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/decorators-shopping-guide-to-ebay/index.html
Happy bidding!
That’s an excellent price for Eames! eBay has quite a few Cherner chairs too which I’ve had my eye on. Good on you!
excellent tips! i’m always loosing treasures on ebay due to my naivete.
Yep, that’s how to do it! Score! May I ask what the shipping was, or was it local pick up? That’s usually what keeps me from bidding on large items at Ebay, the shipping scares me off.
the shipping was affordable, too. $40 UPS. :)
So great! Most of my furniture I get on craigslist but I will try ebay for once…
^_^
I wait until there’s only 2o seconds left, and place my highest bid. I’m to emotional if I bid more than once, and will usually spend more than I should. I scored a vintage Bertoia chair in perfect condition for 60$. Also it ended really late at night, which I think helps!
I’m a huge ebayer, both selling and buying and I too watch then pounch at the last minute.
And I’m LOVING the Tord Boontje light garland…I think thats one to add to my ‘must have’ list for my newly decorated bedroom. cheers! KA
teehee! I should have typed ‘pounce’ not pounch…no idea how you would ‘pounch’ onto something!!!! =)
I love your chair – the texture of the fibreglass is incredible. Your ebay bidding is very much like mine, however it doesn’t always work out for me. Congratulations, can’t wait to see it in context in your new place.
I like to pounce at the last minute, too. If you use this method, one more ebay tip is to add a very small amount to your absolute final figure, like $150.05, because if someone else enters a figure that is the same as yours at the last minute, you will win by the tiniest increment.
Gorgeous chair! K XXX
yeah. that is an awesome chair. and i really love that you shared your strategy. that is greatness. that is mentoring. that is sharing. expect good things to come back to you…
Lovely items Victoria! I’m also looking for some Eames chairs , but the dining version. They are much more expensive here in Europe, at least £200 English pounds upwards. Your price was brilliant, well done.
I am a big fan of e-bay too, there are the most amazing things on there!
This garland is stunning! I need to figure out a way to talk my husband into getting one! :-)
i’ve always wondered how to win the bid on ebay. thanks for sharing your tips!! and what a gorgeous eames rocker. lucky YOU!!
this was super helpful! you are serious stealth woman. i need to learn a thing or two from you.
If you are interested in a free sniping service that is really easy to use, try out http://JustSnipe.com
i also use justsnipe.com. no alarms, no last minute sweating it out. i can win auctions while i am out for the evening. just set it up and forget about it. although, if it is really something you want, you may want to check in and adjust your limit accordingly if there have been lots of bids.
Ah, there’s nothing like the thrill of ebay ;)
oh my gosh! you’re so lucky!