New: Auction Max Bid Tells You Exactly What to Bid on eBay

For a long time RarityFinder only looked at Buy It Now listings. The reason was simple. An auction sitting at $0.99 looks like a huge bargain, but it rarely ends there. Calling that a deal would have been misleading.

So we flipped the question around. Instead of asking how cheap an auction is right now, we ask: what is the most you can pay and still make money? That number is now on every auction card for Hunter members.

How the max bid works

We start with what the item actually sells for. RarityFinder looks at recent sold listings for the same item and needs at least three good matches before it will give a number. If there are not enough sales, the card says so instead of guessing.

From that resale price we take out:

• EBay's final value fee, about 13.25% plus 40 cents
• Shipping to your buyer (we assume $5)
• Whatever the seller charges to ship it to you
• Your profit, using the percentage you pick

What is left is your max bid. Bid up to that and you hit your target. Go past it and you are eating into your profit.

A real example

Say a graded card sells for around $100. At a 30% profit target, eBay fees take about $13.65, shipping out is $5, and your profit is $30. That leaves a max bid of roughly $46. The card would read: "Max bid $46.34 for 30% profit on a $100 resale, after fees."

Cheap items are a different story. On a $10 item, fees and shipping eat almost everything, so the max bid often comes out at $0. That is useful too. It tells you to skip it.

Set your own profit target

Everyone flips differently. Some people are happy with 20% and fast turnover. Others will not touch anything under 40%. Switch to Auctions and type in your target. It starts at 30% and remembers your choice.

What you see on each auction card

• Current bid and number of bids
• Time left, with auctions ending soonest at the top
• Your max bid and the resale price it is based on

What it does not do

RarityFinder does not bid for you or snipe. It gives you a number and you decide. Buy It Now is still the default view, and auctions sit behind a switch next to the search filters.

Who gets it

Auction mode is part of the Hunter plan ($9 a month). New accounts get a 3-day Hunter trial, so you can try it on your next search.

Start your free trial and see what you should really be bidding.