eBay - beaten by random increment from new bidder.

[Deva Link]

I wanted to win an item on eBay last night, and the bidding was up to £54.

With 9 seconds to go I bid £72.40 only to be beaten by a NEW bidder who bid with 5 seconds to go, £73.00.

Now, I fully understand that that can happen if they bid a maximum bid of £73 earlier in the auction but I selected to show automatic bids and this bidder was bidding for the first time.

As I understand it, they ought not to have been able to bid just 60p more than me, their bid should have been rejected as the increment should be £2. So what happened - have the rules changed if the bid is near the end of the auction or something?

Edited by Deva Link on Saturday 27th June 18:37

[Gun]

Isn't that just someone using one of those eBay snipers?

[Deva Link]

Maybe, but my thinking is that the bid should have been rejected as the increment wasn't big enough.

[Nolar Dog]

If they were prepared to pay more than you does it matter "how" or "why"?

[TheEnd]

The point is why did a new bidder manage to win via a 60p increment, when i assume it should automatically say "please enter xxx or more" which should be the next increment up

[jafoole]

This happens when they've already got past the 1st page... they're just waiting to hit confirm.

Many times I've beaten people by a few p.

[va1o]

jafoole said:

This happens when they've already got past the 1st page... they're just waiting to hit confirm.

Many times I've beaten people by a few p.

Correct, bit difficult to get your head round though

[grumbas]

The bid increment only applies to the current price of an item.

So in your example, you place a bid of £72.40 when the bidding is at £54, probably knocking the current bid up to £56 or something like that.

The new bidder will only have to apply the minimum bid currently being shown, probably £58 now, so as they bid £73 ebay will accept it, and then look at any other automatic bids to determine the new current bid.

[sadako]

Bad luck, I do this to people all the time when playing ebay. I set a timer to count down exactly when the auction ends and set a value probable to be very slightly over the value other people will be trying to type in quickly, and fire it off with less than 2 seconds to go. It ususally works and it gives me the best price.

[Deva Link]

grumbas said:

The bid increment only applies to the current price of an item.

So in your example, you place a bid of £72.40 when the bidding is at £54, probably knocking the current bid up to £56 or something like that.

The new bidder will only have to apply the minimum bid currently being shown, probably £58 now, so as they bid £73 ebay will accept it, and then look at any other automatic bids to determine the new current bid.

Ah - that's it, thanks. I read the rule that explains that but it didn't make sense.


I'm not worried about it, it's an item that comes up regularly, but I was bit dismayed that my bid didn't blitz the auction. Presumeably it must be sheer chance that, looking at the current bid of £56, the winning bidder picked a price very marginally higher than my maximum.

[va1o]

You did the same as I would, bid a very specific ammount when there are just a few second left, like £45.63

Has worked for me every time, but I guess its not guaranteed to get you a win.

[n3rdy]

sadako said:

Bad luck, I do this to people all the time when playing ebay. I set a timer to count down exactly when the auction ends and set a value probable to be very slightly over the value other people will be trying to type in quickly, and fire it off with less than 2 seconds to go. It ususally works and it gives me the best price.

Good tactics, I've been using this method for years with great success. Bet it pisses many people off though

[Simpo Two]

Beaten by someone who was prepared to pay more than you. Life's a bugger ain't it.


It's very simple. Decide how much you want to pay for an item. Bid that amount with 5 seconds to go. If you win, hurrah; if you lose, someone was prepared to pay more than you were. 'Simples'

[Nolar Dog]

Deva Link said:

Presumeably it must be sheer chance that, looking at the current bid of £56, the winning bidder picked a price very marginally higher than my maximum.

You don't know that he did.

[Deva Link]

Nolar Dog said:

Deva Link said:

Presumeably it must be sheer chance that, looking at the current bid of £56, the winning bidder picked a price very marginally higher than my maximum.

You don't know that he did.

I think I do - if they'd bid a way higher amount, then in that case the winning bid would have been £2 higher than mine. As it was, the winning amount was just 60p higher than my bid, therefore their bid must have been &73.

[baptistsan]

Can't believe no one has asked what you were buying.

So, what were you buying?

[Mr Whippy]

Simpo Two said:

Beaten by someone who was prepared to pay more than you. Life's a bugger ain't it.


It's very simple. Decide how much you want to pay for an item. Bid that amount with 5 seconds to go. If you win, hurrah; if you lose, someone was prepared to pay more than you were. 'Simples'

That is the best way to do it. Drop in what you are prepared to pay a week before the end even, if you win, yay, if not, you were not willing to pay more, so tough luck I guess.

Getting drawn into these little bidding wars is exactly why eBay means you spend more than you should on things. Putting in little amounts one after the other in the last minute doesn't ever get you things cheap
I think I learnt that one after the second thing I paid too much for

Kinda like a gambling site for plenty I imagine. Daring themselves to pay a bit more to "win", then actually doing so, realising they have paid more than for a new one

Dave

[Deva Link]

Mr Whippy said:

Simpo Two said:

Beaten by someone who was prepared to pay more than you. Life's a bugger ain't it.


It's very simple. Decide how much you want to pay for an item. Bid that amount with 5 seconds to go. If you win, hurrah; if you lose, someone was prepared to pay more than you were. 'Simples'

That is the best way to do it. Drop in what you are prepared to pay a week before the end even, if you win, yay, if not, you were not willing to pay more, so tough luck I guess.

Getting drawn into these little bidding wars is exactly why eBay means you spend more than you should on things. Putting in little amounts one after the other in the last minute doesn't ever get you things cheap
I think I learnt that one after the second thing I paid too much for

Kinda like a gambling site for plenty I imagine. Daring themselves to pay a bit more to "win", then actually doing so, realising they have paid more than for a new one

Dave

I was bidding £70 ish for something that would cost £300 so not much danger of paying more than the retail price.

I know opinions about this vary, but if I buy something on eBay I want it as cheap as possible. Never mind what I'm prepared to pay, or what's fair and reasonable, I want it for 1p (plus postage - always take that into account ) if possible.

I don't get into a bidding war, I look at an auction as it's getting near the close and if the price is still low then I'll make one (hopefully) "killer" bid in the last few seconds. It usually works. If it doesn't then so be it.

I've tried bidding early and all that happens is it seems to force the price up - you see it all the time when the same item is on several listings. There will be a bidding frenzy on some, and others are ignored (and everything looks the same - good feedback etc). Weird. Shill bidding can take the auction up to your max bid. I'm convinced that happens a lot.

I was just intrigued as to what had happened this time, but now understand.

[King Herald]

sadako said:

Bad luck, I do this to people all the time when playing ebay. I set a timer to count down exactly when the auction ends and set a value probable to be very slightly over the value other people will be trying to type in quickly, and fire it off with less than 2 seconds to go. It ususally works and it gives me the best price.

Same here. Some numpties will repeatedly bid over several days, but just enough to beat everybody else. The easiest way to beat them, without making a huge bid, is simply to outbid them with seconds to go, before they have chance to come back with yet another bid a couple of quid higher than yours.

Of course, anybody who has made a higher bid than you will win anyway due to the proxy bidding system.

Making your maximum bid early in the auction simply allows Mr Quid-at-a-time to beat you. The fun of the Ebay game is to win, and pay as little as possible doing it.

Edited by King Herald on Saturday 27th June 23:33

[Mr Whippy]

Hehe, eBay is a bit crap for this very reason. Too much double guessing.

I like the blind auction idea better. Can still bid last minute so you are not waiting to see if you win if it's something you need quick, but means there is no real tactic or snipe system etc that can work. Ie, a fair grounding for everyone.

All the best bargains I've ever had I've found and rung up for/bought outside eBay, but spotted stuff through it, if that makes sense

Dave