With a little patience and planning you can get some real bargains on sports fan stuff on eBay. Here’s how I do it…

First, I know the maximum I’m willing to spend on a particular item before I ever place a bid. I only bid once, near the very end of the auction, and that bid is my maximum amount. The way eBay works is that you’ll only pay the starting bid if nobody else bids, so, yes, if nobody else bids you get the card or whatever for the starting price such as a penny.

This is sometimes called ’sniping’, and, in spite of it making some people mad, it is completely within eBay’s rules. You can even buy programs that automate the process for you. This is how I’ve gotten some great stuff over the years for some very good discounts.