Get It Quick with Buy It Now

Tired of waiting around for the end of an auctiononly to find out you didn't have the winning bid? Well, there's a way to buy some items you see for auction without going through the bidding process. All you have to do is look for those auctions that have a Buy It Now (BIN) option.

Understanding Buy It Now

Buy It Now is an option that some (but not all) sellers add to their auctions. Figure 9.1 shows an auction with the Buy It Now option, as identified by the Buy It Now price and button at the top of the listing.

Figure 9.1. A Buy It Now auction.

With Buy It Now, the item is sold (and the auction ended) if the very first bidder places a bid for a specified price. This effectively lets you purchase the item at a fixed price, bypassing the entire auction process; you don't have to wait for the auction to end to see if you've won or not.

Note

Some users refer to auctions with the Buy It Now option as "fixed-price" auctionseven though they're slightly different from eBay's real fixed-priced listings.

eBay also offers true fixed-price listingsthat is, item listings with no bidding allowed, just a flat fixed price. These listings work pretty much like Buy It Now auctions, except that your only option is to buy at the stated price; there's no option to place a bid lower than the BIN price.

Purchasing with the Buy It Now Option

Buying an item with Buy It Now is really simple. Just follow these steps:

1.	Click the Buy It Now button.
2.	When the Review and Commit to Buy page appears, as shown in Figure 9.2, click the Commit to Buy button. Figure 9.2. Committing to buy an item via Buy It Now.
3.	When the Buy It Now Confirmation page appears, as shown in Figure 9.3, click the Pay Now button to arrange payment. Figure 9.3. Arranging payment for a Buy It Now purchase.

You'll immediately be notified that you've won the auction and the auction will be officially closed.

Bidding a Lower Price in a Buy It Now Auction

Of course, you don't have to pay the Buy It Now price. Instead, you can place a bid at a lower price and hope that you win the auction, which then proceeds normally. (The Buy It Now option disappears when the first bid is madeor, in a reserve price auction, when the reserve price is met.) But if you want the item nowand you're willing to pay the asking priceyou can use the Buy It Now option to make an immediate purchase.

"Mike Sez"

You should use Buy It Now only if you really, really, really want the item; if you think the Buy It Now price is reasonable; if you fear that the final price will be higher than the Buy It Now price; or if you don't want to wait for the auction to run its course to complete your purchase.