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There are many things to keep in mind when buying at auction, particularly in the fast-paced world of e-commerce. If you're a first-time buyer and you're not careful, you could spend a lot more money than you need to.

The first thing to remember is that buying at auction should SAVE you money. If it's going to cost the same as, or more than going to a store and just buying the item, then why buy it through an auction site?

Therefore, you want to avoid auctions for hotly contested items, where the price will be driven up by buyer demand. Unless the item is rare or hard to find, you shouldn't spend more than the average price for it. And look around the Internet to see what prices you can find. Sometimes buying at auction isn't the best thing after all.

If the item you want is rare, and bidding for it will be competitive, decide up front the absolute maximum you are willing to spend -- and stick to it. Don't bid any higher than that, period.

A better option for a buyer is to use a reverse auction site, such as Oltiby.com. There, sellers compete for your business by offering their lowest prices on the items you're looking for. You don't have to worry about prices being driven up by competition, because there's only one buyer -- you. Buying something in an auction is most likely to be financially wise when there's less competition between you and other buyers.

When all is said and done, the important thing is that you got what you were looking for and you weren't ripped off. If you do it right, an auction service can be the safest, smartest way to buy things.