How it works

Every lot at a local auction, already looked up on eBay, with the money left after every cost and the most you should bid. Four minutes to read, and you will know how to use it.

1. 1
   Open an auction

   Pick any auction on the list. Every lot is there with its eBay price, the profit left and your max bid, best buys first.

2. 2
   Trust the call

   Strong Buy and Buy are the lots worth your time. Maybe needs a look. Pass means the math does not work.

3. 3
   Check the sales behind it

   Open a lot and see every eBay sale we found. Tap Use this sale on the ones that match yours and the price recalculates for you, right there.

4. 4
   Set your costs once

   Your tax, shipping and target. Every number on the site uses them from then on.

What a lot looks like

A lot on the auction list, as it appears on your phone. The numbered circles are explained under it.

• 1Bid. The current bid as of our last read, and the next bid the site will take. Closed lots show what they sold for.
• 2eBay. The middle of the real sales we found, and how many. This is the number the money math starts from.
• 3Near you. What the same product closed for at other local auctions. No one else has this number.
• 4The call and the price label. Below.
• 5Profit at next bid. What you would bring home if you won it at the next bid the site will take, after every cost. The high bid itself is already someone else's. Tap the lot for the max bid and the full equation.

The call

A lot gets a call only when there is a number we trust. The call looks at profit if you win at your max bid, not at the current bid, so an untouched lot never looks better than it is.

• Strong Buy

  About $19 or more left at your max bid, from 8 or more real sales of this exact product, and the bidding has not run past half your max.

• Buy

  About $7.50 or more left at your max. Or a Strong Buy with a reason to be careful: fewer sales, prices far apart, or the bidding is already past half your max.

• Maybe

  Money in it, but check first: only a few matching sales, the listing says damaged or for parts, a car part with no vehicle named, or something eBay may restrict.

• Pass

  Under about $5 left at your max, or the bidding is already over your max, or the lot opens above your max so you could never win it at that price.

• Not rated

  No sales we trust enough yet. Open the lot, tap Use this sale on the sales that match, and you get a call from your own picks.

Every call lists its reasons on the lot. A "Check the sales" tag means a second read of the sales disagreed with the number. It never changes the call; it warns you.

The price labels

• PricedFrom sales of this exact product. The number is a real sale in the middle, never an average of two different things.
• Priced, close matchesFrom sales that match closely but not the exact listing.
• EstimateNot enough confirmed sales for a price, so this comes from the likely matches. Rough on purpose, and it says so.
• Similar itemsA ballpark from the same kind of thing. No max bid comes with it.
• ThinOnly a few sales found. Treat the price as a hint.
• No price setSales came back but none passed our check. They are there for you to judge.
• Waiting to be searchedIn line for its search. It comes with the next batch.
• Mixed lotSeveral products in one lot. One eBay search cannot price that, so we show the local closing price when we have one.

The money, all in

Tap a lot and you get this. The costs on the way in come from the auction's own terms; the costs on the way out come from your settings.

Max bid is the highest bid where what you keep is still your target times what you pay (the default target is 2x: keep 2 times what you pay). Break even is the bid where you keep nothing. Profit at next bid moves as people bid; the max bid does not.

Fixing a price yourself

Under the price on every lot is every eBay sale we found, with our verdict and the reason in plain words. Tap Use this sale on the ones that match your lot and the price, the max bid and the call recalculate from your picks.

• Use the filter box to narrow the sales by a word, tap Only this brand, or Use all the sales shown.
• Mark a sale as a wrong match and it stays out for you. When two members on two connections agree, it comes out for everyone.
• Know the item better than the sales do? Type your own sale price and the money follows it.
• Would have searched eBay with different words? Type them in Would you search it differently? We save it and test it.

Your costs, set once

On any lot, open Your costs: sales tax rate (or that you hold a resale certificate), what you usually pay for shipping and packing, whether you pay by card, and your target. Save it and every auction and lot uses it. The auction's own buyer's premium and lot fee are filled in for you when the auction lists them.

Photo lookup, anywhere

Not at an auction? Open Lookup, point your phone at the item or its label, and you get the same thing: what it sold for on eBay, the sales behind the number, what you would keep and the most you should pay. Each photo is one lookup off your plan (25 with the pass, 200 a month on Starter, 1,500 on Club). If the first read is wrong, tap Not it? and a stronger reader takes a second look.

How fresh the bids are

Bids and closing prices come over from the auction sites a few times a day. Every page says Bids as of with the time. Before you bid, look at the live bid on the auction site. The max bid is yours to set there.

What each plan opens

An auction you unlock stays open to you through its close, result included. Cancelling stops the next charge and keeps your access until the month you paid for ends. Refunds and cancelling.

What we do not do

Questions: support@buylowsellhigh.club