I don't get into bidding wars on the thrift auction site because there are bidders who will run lots up to ridiculous prices to get what they want. There is generally nothing I want that badly, and I can usually buy it cheaper retail anyway. Generally. Usually.
I was the first bidder on this lot of yarn, which included five new-looking skeins of Mandala Ombre yarn in my favorite shade of Serene. I would have added it to my latest round of wannabuts, only the skeins retail for $8.99 each and they're very hard to find locally. I also love this yarn, which is a dream to crochet. I knew there would be a bit of a bidding war over it, but I'd just gotten a nice royalty check, so I set my max bid higher than usual.
Obviously new yarn attracts attention, but only four other bidders came after the lot. I did a couple of things to keep from igniting a bidding war with them that would drive the price over my max limit: I didn't react at first when I was outbid, but let the price stand for several days; this often makes the new bidder assume they have the winning bid. On the final day of the auction, I waited until an hour before the bidding ended to retake the lead with a higher bid (I am not a sniper.) Then I monitored the auction until time ran out, and twice outbid the other bidders who tried to take it from me while staying under my max.
It really came down to the wire, including a sniper who tried to outbid me at the ten-second mark (jerk!), but in the end I won the lot.
The lot includes other yarns, crochet hooks and what looks like binding or trims. I'm super happy that I won it for the price I was willing to pay, especially as this is my last online thrift of 2025.
Image credit: all of the pics in this post came from the original auction listing at ShopGoodwill.com.
Comments