There are a lot of people excited about Nectar points on eBay. Friends keep asking me if I’d seen that every time you buy on eBay you can gather points and I’m pretty sure that eBay themselves are also excited at a new way of ensuring buyer’s loyalty. All things being equal if you can buy on eBay or buy at the same price on an alternative site than a loyalty scheme could win the deal.
There might be a fly in the ointment for some buyers though. If you’re bidding on an auction there’s a good chance that you might use a sniping tool. What you may not be aware of is that the majority of sniping tools actually place bids via eBay.com.
Do you actually care how your favourite sniping tool works? Well you probably haven’t up until now, but we’ve just discovered that if your sniping tool is using the eBay.com site you might be missing out on Nectar points. The eBay Nectar points terms say that you .
If you want to collect your Nectar points on eBay you either need to bid directly on the eBay site, or if you’re going to use a sniper you need to make certain your sniper is placing the bid via eBay UK. Currently the only sniper we know of that uses the eBay UK site is the Goofbid eBay sniper.
What is a sniper
Sniping is placing bids during the last few seconds of an eBay auction. By bidding your maximum and bidding late you reduce the opportunity for someone else to increase their bid once they see you bid. Personally I find manual sniping to be great fun as you watch the clock tick down and try to time your bid to be in the last few seconds. However if you don’t want to be glued to your computer screen then there are several automatic sniping services such as Goofbid who will automatically place your bid for you, even if your computer is switched off.
6 Responses
Hi
I cannot understand anybody getting excited about the miserable value of Nectar points except maybe a sales rep who gets to keep the ones he gets on his petrol.
The value is so tine that I no longer bother to take my Nectar card out with me.
As for comparing their value with not using an eBay sniper – forget it – no contest! I bought a boat on eBay recently using an auto-bidder and saved myself about £300 to £400 on a £2100 purchase.
The Brand is big but the purchase value is minimum to say the least.
Yours
Brian
Nectar claim that the standard value of 2000 nectar points is £10.
So you have to spend £2000 on ebay to receive £10 worth of Nectar points.
Why ebay have decided to get involved in the hype of nectar points I do not know.
Why not reduce fees to 9.5% instead which is the equivalent of £10 on the fees for £2000 of sales.
Just something to get more people using eBay but in reality, you barely benefit.
As Brian wrote, sniping is probably more beneficial than the points thing.
Bidball.com is another free sniper to check out.
Just remember that regardless of when your bid is placed, it still has to be the highest to win. EXCEPT, when 2 bids are the same or there isn’t enough difference between them to meet ebay’s minimum bid increment. In that case, the 1st one in wins.
I ceremonially burned my Nectar (and Tesco Clubcard) a number of yrs ago. Waste of time, especially as my wife used to keep all the money anyway!. When I go to sainsburys now I just ignore them when they ask have you a nectar card, or if I am in a good mood I just say I would rather trap my fingers in my car door than keep a nectar card in my wallet!
I preferred it when eBay give me 10% voucher codes – I use those and buy more!
Why is it no one can be positive about anything ebay do, except if they lowered fees.
They are not going to so live with it!
I think the nectar thing on ebay is an excellent idea, it keeps buyers loyal to the site.
I buy most things for the business through ebay and have a nectar card for it and pays for my shopping once a month in Sainsburys.
I also use it when I can for other purchases as why not earn a little extra money when you are buying anyway??