Once you've made the decision to save almost $400 on an IPhone by buying an Iclone CECT P168 (aka the IPhone Clone), of course you'll want the best deal possible. I'm going to save you lots of time by assuring you that without question, the cheapest, safest, and most reliable place to get an IClone is on eBay. Generally speaking, these wonderful phones run an average of $50-$75 cheaper on eBay than what you will pay if you buy your phone from an overseas provider. And, that's not even calculating shipping from the overseas merchant, which will be much higher than what you will pay on EBay. Plus, if you pay by pay pal, you'll get pay pal's fraud protection and you can use EBay's feedback system to ensure you're buying from a dependable Iclone seller.
STEP ONE: SIGN UP FOR EBAY: Signing up for eBay is free, fast, easy and secure. I recommend signing up well prior to when you plan to actually bid on or buy any phone. I say this because I have a personal experience with losing out on an auction because I waited to register and did not allow myself enough time to both register and bid. So, give yourself time to register, then plenty of time research your options, then plenty of time to bid.
STEP TWO: RESEARCH AND NARROW EBAY CONTENDERS: Once you've registered on eBay and are ready to start your research, go to eBay's main page and type "CECT P168" in the search box. I know most of us call it the Iclone or Iphone Clone, but most vendors list it as the CECT P168 - so type in this exact phrase for the most results. (You can link directly to this search on the website listed below). You have the option to include this search term in descriptions as well as titles. I don't recomend this because doing so will pull up some auctions that aren't related.
Now, on the left side of the screen, there is a section which says "narrow your options." If you are in a hurry, you can limit your auctions to "buy it now." This means you'll be shown only auctions where you can buy the phone at a set price without having to bid on the auction. Sometimes, "Buy It Now" is a good deal if you can find a low "buy it now" auction that has just been listed and can snap it up before anyone else sees it. (You can link to "buy it now" IClone auctions on the website listed below).
Or, if you want to save money on shipping you can limit your auction to sellers within a short distance of where you live and contact the seller to see if you can pick the phone up rather than paying shipping. Most sellers are happy to do this.
If you do not want to limit the auctions to "Buy It Now" or you're fine with paying shipping, then don't do anything to limit your options. Once you're looking at a screen of probably 600-700 phones for sale, go to the very top of the list where a box says "sort by". Set the sort to "price plus shipping - lowest first." This will list the auctions from lowest to highest priced. See if any of the cheapest ones are ending their auctions soon. If so, this could be your best bet. Also, try to pick auctions that end at odd times or on weekdays. People are most likely to watch and bid when they are home - on weekends and in the evenings. Choose auctions that are late at night or during a time when most people are working. (You can link from lowest to highest IClone auctions on the website listed below).
Next, pick what you think are the top 5 contenders for your auctions. Check the item description and make sure there isn't anything about the product you don't like. Next, check the seller's feedback. You want to see as close to 100% positive EBay feedback as possible. It is very difficult to get 100% positive feedback, but most good vendors will have over 98% positive. Read the comments from other buyers who bought this seller's product. They all should be good. You can also contact the other buyers by clicking on the description and then hitting "contact this eBay member". Once you do that, simply send the buyer an email and ask them if they like the product and would recommend the seller. I felt very comfortable buying my Iclone once I had several other buyers telling me they loved theirs.
STEP THREE: PUT ALL CONTENDERS ON EBAY'S WATCH LIST AND DO NOT BID UNTIL THE LAST SECONDS OF THE AUCTION: Here is the most important thing to remember for getting your Iclone cheap. DO NOT bid on the auction you really want until the LAST POSSIBLE SECOND. This is the number one mistake Iclone bidders make. Once, you've determined you want to bid on an auction hit "watch this item" on the top right hand side of the auction listing. This will put the auction in your "my eBay section." Basically, you place all your contenders on your watch list, allowing you to keep an eye on them WITHOUT BIDDING and driving the price up. What happens is a lot of excited bidders bid immediately, tip their hats and run the price up. Then, the serious bidders wait till the end to bid - but the price has already been driven too high.
Calendar the end time of your actions, wait until about 20-30 seconds until the auction ends (if you practice you can get it lower than this - I usually go in at about 15 seconds), and pounce out of nowhere. (Make sure you are already registered and logged in or your bid will not go through and you'll be heartbroken.)
BIDDING AT THE LAST SECOND WORKS: BUT GO ALL IN WITH AN ODD NUMBER FOR BEST RESULTS: Although this strategy has allowed me to "steal" many EBay items at the last second including the Iclone, it's very important to remember that you must put in the highest amount you are willing to pay. But don't worry because EBay will only bid the lowest amount needed for you to win. So let's say you are willing to pay $150, put an odd number close to that in as your highest bid. Do not put in $110 because if some other bidder is waiting till the last second also, but he puts in $111, he is going to win. If you had put in, say $151.76, you would've won the auction for $112. Remember though, if the other bidder put in $145, then you would be bid (and win at) $146. I find it's best to put in odd numbers as my high bid. If I'm willing to go as high as $150, then I will put $151.76 - yes, that is a little more money - but most people will automatically put in $150 and by putting in $151.76, then you will steal the Iclone away from a bunch of other people who put in $150 for a high bid for only about $1.50 more.
I hope these tips help you scoop in and win an IClone auction at the second. So open an eBay account or log on if you already have one and start narrowing your Iclone auctions.
Happy Bidding!
Squidoo
