There is no need to be afraid of bidding in any Ebay Live auction as long as you know the rules. When bidding on items in an Ebay live auction read the auction house terms and conditions of sale regarding buyer's premiums (like a tax added to the bid price automatically) and shipping information. (many auction houses use expensive third party shippers) One should be very careful to understand the fine print before bidding in one of these auctions. Usually when you participate in an ebay live sale via the internet, the buyer's premium is higher because ebay charges the auction house 5% of the bid price of the items you buy via Ebay live. It is usually less expensive to bid via the auction house directly via the phone, left bid or in person, (recommended) although ebay does not have any sort of buyer's protection in that case. Note:  Auctioneers call it a buyer's premium and not a buyer's penalty??? Thanks to the big NY and London auction houses this practice is considered normal.

Ebay live auctions run different than a regular ebay listings. First you must be approved through the individual auction house in advance. That can take a few days, so I suggest doing it very early. Although the listing shows up in the normal way via search or browsing the categories the bids are executed differently.  Bidding on an item that is in an Ebay live auction can be a bit tricky because your bid is sent to the auction house only at the exact moment the item is being bid on in the auction room. That keeps the auctioneer from running up the price at your expense. Warning... this system depends on many things to operate correctly including your own and the auction house's connection speed as well as the ebay system. So some bids are not executed because the auctioneer in the room sells the item before your bid ever reaches the auction house computer. Usually it is best to place your proxy bid early rather than using the live auction applet especially if you have a slow internet connection.

Using the live auction applet can be a lot of fun if you have a fast internet connection. You actually see all the bids executed live along with a photo of the item and a list of next 10 or so items coming up to the auction block. Almost like being in the auction room! I have also participated in several auctions at once by opening several live auction windows at once and bidding in several auctions simultaneously.

Reserve bids (if there is a reserve) in most of the live auctions on ebay are usually executed in the auction room as the bidding progresses and show up as a Live Auction Floor Bidder. Bidders in the room are also considered as a Live Auction Floor Bidder. so one does not know if it really is a legitimate bid or just the execution of a reserve to protect the seller's interests. When seaching completed auctions via ebay the item's winning bid shows up green if it has been sold to a legitimate buyer. Unsold items are shown in red. This is not nesessary true if the item has been sold via Ebay live because reserve bids are listed as Live Auction Floor Bidder and the system has know way of knowing if it was an actual bid. You can see this in action by looking at Go Antiques Live auctions completed sales and see the same item listed and being sold on month after month. Go Antiques is a good company and no disrespect is meant by this comment. They seem to have a small loophope in the way sales are reported. The Ebay live system is working very well for most concerned and I'm sure any bugs or glitches will be worked out as these discoveries are made.

Watch for more guides from the author about Ebay live auction secrets