While I love Black Friday, I’ll admit that I'm more of a Cyber Monday kind of gal, lurking around online to find cool bargains that don't require me to leave my couch. More recently, this preference has helped me discover a secret deal-finding weapon. Yes, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great days to find deals, but the competition is fierce. Try visiting a site like eBay on Thanksgiving Day, and you’ll find lots of juicy deals ripe for the plucking. (This, of course, is because all the serious bargain hunters are chowing down on turkey and pie.)

So if you're in the mood to get really sneaky about bargain shopping, visit eBay on Thanksgiving Day and put these tips through their paces! 

3 Key tips for bidders

eBay itself offers these three tips for bidding success.

1. The timing of your bid is everything.

You want to bid as close to the end of the bidding period as possible (ideally, 15-30 minutes before closing). You also want to bid when there are very few other people on eBay (like, for instance, on Thanksgiving Day).

2. Shop with sellers who are new to eBay.

When you choose new sellers, there’s a good chance they price their store items below what experienced sellers ask for–making it easy to find great deals!

3. Misspelled items are bargains waiting to be discovered.

If you want a "waffle iron" and so do 500 other eBay shoppers, searching on "wafle" or "irn" may yield rock-bottom prices hiding in plain sight.

3 Other essential bidding tips 

Incorporate these additional tips to score the best prices on eBay.

1. Look at shipping costs before bidding.

Not all sellers offer free shipping, so be sure you check before placing a bid.

2. Score deals for pennies in the off-hours.

For the best deals, flip your timetable upside down. If the other bargain hunters are snoring and you are awake, you may just score deals for pennies!

3. Set your "best offer."

eBay gives you the option of setting your account to auto-bid on your behalf up to a certain amount. If you are bidding on several items simultaneously, using this feature can optimize your chances of success.

For more information on how to score the best deal on eBay, check out these articles!

 

 

The Sneaky Way to Grab Huge Bargains on Thanksgiving Day