Which ShopGoodwill category has the most wins?

Watches, by a wide margin: 688 wins across 768 contested auctions, an 89.6% win rate. That is more total wins than the next two categories combined. Note that this is a volume figure, driven by how many watch auctions get sniped, not a measure of how winnable the category is.

Which ShopGoodwill category is easiest to win?

Costume jewelry posts the highest rate at 97.5%, but across only 79 contested auctions, so treat it as a small sample. Among categories with real volume, women''s watches at 93.0% across 315 auctions is the more dependable signal.

Which ShopGoodwill categories are hardest to win?

Women''s shoes at 77.7% and men''s shoes at 77.9%. Even so, that is still more than three wins in every four contested auctions, so hardest does not mean unwinnable.

What does contested win rate mean?

Wins divided by contested auctions, where contested means wins plus outbids. It measures head-to-head performance and excludes auctions that were cancelled or never drew a competing bid.

Where does this ShopGoodwill category data come from?

Aggregated outcomes of real timed bids placed by BidPulse users on ShopGoodwill, not estimates or forum anecdotes. Because every auction counted here had a timed bid in it, the rates describe how timed bidding performs, not how difficult a category is in general. The full breakdown updates daily on the public BidPulse Leaderboard.

June 18, 2026

ShopGoodwill Win Rates by Category

Quick Answer: Across the top 10 ShopGoodwill categories, contested win rates run from 77.7% (women's shoes) to 97.5% (costume jewelry). Watches lead on total wins with 688 across 768 contested auctions, an 89.6% rate. The practical takeaway is that the whole spread is about twenty points, so timed bidding converts most contests everywhere. Category is a tiebreaker, not a strategy.

Across the ten ShopGoodwill categories where BidPulse users bid most, contested win rates run from 77.7% to 97.5%. That twenty-point spread is the whole story, and it is narrower than most bidders expect.

The useful conclusion is not “bid on watches.” It is that timed bidding converts the large majority of head-to-head contests almost everywhere on the platform, so picking a category is a tiebreaker rather than a strategy. Below is a snapshot from our public Leaderboard, updated daily. These are aggregated results from real timed bids, not estimates or forum anecdotes.

The top 10 categories by wins (all time)

Rank	Category	Wins	Contested auctions	Win rate
1	Watches	688	768	89.6%
2	Women’s Watches	293	315	93.0%
3	Costume Jewelry Grabbags	218	247	88.3%
4	Purses	213	263	81.0%
5	Shoes Men’s	194	249	77.9%
6	Men’s Watches	133	161	82.6%
7	Golf	122	135	90.4%
8	Accessories	94	116	81.0%
9	Shoes Women’s	80	103	77.7%
10	Costume Jewelry	77	79	97.5%

Win rate = wins divided by contested auctions (wins + outbids). Data as of August 14, 2026. View the live leaderboard →

What these numbers do and do not measure

Two limits matter before you act on the table.

Every auction counted here had a timed bid in it. These are contests where a BidPulse user placed a last-second bid, usually against someone bidding by hand. So the rates describe how timed bidding performs against typical competition. They are not a measure of how difficult a category is in the abstract, and you should not expect the same numbers bidding manually.

The wins column and the win rate answer different questions. Watches lead on total wins with 688, but that reflects how many watch auctions get sniped, not how winnable they are. On rate alone, watches sit fourth at 89.6%, behind costume jewelry, women’s watches, and golf. When a category interests you, read the rate. When you want to know where the inventory is, read the wins.

Sample size cuts the same way. Costume jewelry posts the table’s best rate at 97.5%, but across only 79 contests. Women’s watches at 93.0% across 315 is a sturdier number, even though it looks slightly worse.

Where the spread actually shows up

The easier end is costume jewelry (97.5% across 79 auctions), golf (90.4% across 135), and women’s watches (93.0% across 315). What these share is a buyer pool that is knowledgeable but not large. Bulk jewelry lots reward sorting rather than trophy hunting, and golf gear needs enough spec knowledge to thin the crowd.

The harder end is footwear. Women’s shoes sit at 77.7% and men’s shoes at 77.9% on much heavier volume. Sneakers and boots are a resale hotspot with widely published brand values, so more bidders arrive with a researched ceiling. Purses and accessories both land at 81.0%, in the same competitive tier for the same reason: recognizable labels and light shipping keep casual bidders in the room.

We can see the outcome gap clearly. We cannot see bidder counts or competing maximums, so treat the resale-demand explanation as the most plausible reading rather than something this data proves.

Even so, note what “hardest” means. The toughest category in the table still converts more than three of every four contested auctions.

What this means for your bidding

Because the spread is only twenty points, category selection is worth a little and your ceiling is worth a lot. A disciplined maximum moves your results more than switching lanes ever will.

Follow the inventory, not the ranking. Watches and women’s watches are where the volume is, which means more chances to be selective.
In the harder lanes, tighten the ceiling rather than avoiding the category. Losing 22% of shoe contests is a normal cost of a crowded market, not a signal to leave it.
Do not chase a 97.5% headline built on 79 auctions.

If you want to see how close these contests actually are, we broke down every losing bid in Why ShopGoodwill outbids miss by one dollar.

The full breakdown updates daily on the BidPulse Leaderboard. If you want timed bids that fire in the final seconds without you watching the clock, see how BidPulse works.