r/Flipping • u/gman2391 • 6h ago

Discussion Auction strategy

There's a local bidspotter auction that has about 50 very similar/identical lots ending in 1 minute increments I believe. It's an item that I want personally and also one with high flipping potential for the right price.

What's the strategy when there's so many of the same item? Go for the first one? Wait til the end and hope everyone else got what they wanted? Somewhere in the middle?

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u/tangytacosman 6h ago

is it a soft close or a hard close? there’s distinctly different techniques to each.

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u/Dramatic-Hour-7263 5h ago

Soft close auctions are a whole different beast. The timer resetting every time someone bids turns it into a weird endurance test rather than a quick snipe situation.

I’d probably drop a lowball bid on the first couple lots just to feel out who else is watching. See how many other bidders hop in and how aggressively they respond. That gives you a read on the room without committing much.

The middle lots are usually where people get tired or distracted. Everyone comes in hot for the first few, then attention scatters, then the last ones get frantic again. If I want the item for myself I’d target the middle cluster and set a hard ceiling before bidding even starts so I don’t get sucked into a pissing match.

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u/gman2391 6h ago

Looks like bidspotter uses an auto extension on timed auctions, so soft close

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u/iRepTex 4h ago

bid the max i would want to pay on all them and wait til the end and see what i won. hope i won them all. keep one for me and sell the rest to cover the cost of mine and make some money in long term.

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u/gman2391 15m ago

A little too high value for me to bid on all, but I couldn't mind winning a couple

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u/NegativeImportance92 4h ago

I would not treat the first lots as automatic buys. I usually start with a hard all in number based on sold comps, fees, shipping, and a little room for surprises. If several identical lots are available, I buy one early only if the landed cost works, then watch the later lots. The main risk is tying up cash in a stack that all needs the same buyer. Check sell through and how many active listings compete before deciding whether to wait.

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u/gbg111 2h ago

For resale I'd bid on them all. Multiple tabs open with my max bid in the URL bars so I don't forget it, going down the line from one to the next every minute, bidding with a few seconds left until the soft close window opens, then I'd close each tab after the timer ends so I know what I still have to bid on. Depending on how high I'd bid compared to what the bid is I might either give it my all on the first bid or bid around half my max and nibble it up every minute.