Bidding for things on eBay, and getting a great deal, is kind of like a science. If you know how to play the game well, you really can score big. Take a look at some tried and true tips that will help you save on eBay from Money Cactus:

• Incorrectly Described Items: things like typos, too few pictures and minimal description can really decrease the price an item will fetch on eBay. So how can you make this work to your advantage? Simply do what many people feel “too busy” to do and message the seller to see if you can get extra details/photos. Or use the search bar to search for common misspellings of the item you’re looking for. Using these few extra steps could save you a whole lot on an item that others simply overlook.
• Look for Odd Finishing Times: eBay traffic peaks in the US between 8pm and 10pm on Sundays, so to save more, look for auctions that close when the least amount of people will be browsing.
  

  Try looking for items that are listed at times outside this range, for example items ending late at night or early in the morning. Times when people are often in transit between work and home are also good to target, as are times when prime time shows are airing on television. It is pretty easy to see this effect when you look at past auctions, so investigate ideal buying times for yourself as well.

• Bid Late: this tactic is one used by many seasoned eBay users:
  

  Make a note of the finishing time in your computer and/or phone calendar so you don’t miss it and determine your final bid price well ahead of time. All you really need to do then is check into eBay a few minutes before the auction ends and place your bid (the later the better). This is a pretty common tactic, so don’t be surprised if you are still beaten at the end.  It really comes down to the number of bidders and how late you can get your bid in without it going past your final price.

Check out 5 more helpful tactics over at Money Cactus’ A Winners Guide To Buying on eBay.