eBay Bid History Question

[CaptainSlow]

I'm currently bidding on a car but the bid history looks strange.

Currently showing

Bidder 2 £3,200
Bidder 2 £3,200
Bidder 2 £2,600
Me £2,500 (my max bid)

I'm showing automatic bids
Unsure why Bidder 2 has gone so high when no other bidder has gone against them?

[Wagonwheel555]

Assuming maybe they stuck a bid in to outbid you, then stuck another couple in to ensure they had a maximum bid to prevent being outbid?

[shutter_speed]

I think someone has bid against them, and that's why it's increased their bid. If they bid a maximum of £10,000 and someone else bids £5,000 it will just say bidder 2 - £5,000.

[drgoatboy]

I can't explain it but I have seen similar.
I assumed that if someone else has bid but the previous bidders max bid had not been reached it didn't show you the bid that forced the price up. Pretty sure it's normal.

[oakdale]

CaptainSlow said:

I'm currently bidding on a car but the bid history looks strange.

Currently showing

Bidder 2 £3,200
Bidder 2 £3,200
Bidder 2 £2,600
Me £2,500 (my max bid)

I'm showing automatic bids
Unsure why Bidder 2 has gone so high when no other bidder has gone against them?

Because the item has a reserve and the other person is effectively bidding against the reserve?

[dundarach]

I noticed once, that I was the only bidder, however I upped my own bid in case and it showed 2 bids (both mine)

Therefore I wonder if you could use this as an advantage...

So see something you're interested in, bid low, then make another 20 bids in the smallest amounts you can.

To the casual passer by, it'll show 20+ bids and at that point I often think no point, I'll never win it and move on....

Is this a known trick and I've only just spotted it?

[CaptainSlow]

oakdale said:

Because the item has a reserve and the other person is effectively bidding against the reserve?

how does it go up if there is no other bidder going against them?

[dundarach]

CaptainSlow said:

how does it go up if there is no other bidder going against them?

See my post above

They'll win it at the lowest amount, however they'll have bid it up.

So 99p start
I bid, 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 etc
20+ bids, so long as no one else bids, I win it for 99p

[TheDrownedApe]

shutter_speed said:

I think someone has bid against them, and that's why it's increased their bid. If they bid a maximum of £10,000 and someone else bids £5,000 it will just say bidder 2 - £5,000.

this is the correct answer

[CaptainSlow]

TheDrownedApe said:

shutter_speed said:

I think someone has bid against them, and that's why it's increased their bid. If they bid a maximum of £10,000 and someone else bids £5,000 it will just say bidder 2 - £5,000.

this is the correct answer

Why isn't the competing bidder shown?

[oakdale]

If their last bid has reached the reserve, the other bids they've made will then show.

[CaptainSlow]

oakdale said:

If their last bid has reached the reserve, the other bids they've made will then show.

But the bid wouldn't have gone up without another bidder against them.

[Scrump]

CaptainSlow said:

oakdale said:

If their last bid has reached the reserve, the other bids they've made will then show.

But the bid wouldn't have gone up without another bidder against them.

I thought it did if the bid met reserve.

[oakdale]

CaptainSlow said:

oakdale said:

If their last bid has reached the reserve, the other bids they've made will then show.

But the bid wouldn't have gone up without another bidder against them.

It would.

[CaptainSlow]

ok understood, thanks

[ilikejam]

TheDrownedApe said:

shutter_speed said:

I think someone has bid against them, and that's why it's increased their bid. If they bid a maximum of £10,000 and someone else bids £5,000 it will just say bidder 2 - £5,000.

this is the correct answer

Confirming this is correct.

Bidder 1 - £2,500
Bidder 2 - £2,600 (max bid £3,200)
Bidder 3 - £3,000 (this gets ignored because of the above)
Bidder 2 - £3,200


So what you see is Bidder 1, Bidder 2, Bidder 2 etc

[oakdale]

ilikejam said:

Confirming this is correct.

Bidder 1 - £2,500
Bidder 2 - £2,600 (max bid £3,200)
Bidder 3 - £3,000 (this gets ignored because of the above)
Bidder 2 - £3,200


So what you see is Bidder 1, Bidder 2, Bidder 2 etc

Don't think that's how it works, there doesn't need to be a bidder three and if there was, the bid would show.

It works like this
Bidder 1 £2,500
Bidder 2 £2600
If bidder 2 then bids an amount equal to or above the reserve, that bid will show at the reserve price.

[ilikejam]

oakdale said:

ilikejam said:

Confirming this is correct.

Bidder 1 - £2,500
Bidder 2 - £2,600 (max bid £3,200)
Bidder 3 - £3,000 (this gets ignored because of the above)
Bidder 2 - £3,200


So what you see is Bidder 1, Bidder 2, Bidder 2 etc

Don't think that's how it works, there doesn't need to be a bidder three and if there was, the bid would show.

It works like this
Bidder 1 £2,500
Bidder 2 £2600
If bidder 2 then bids an amount equal to or above the reserve, that bid will show at the reserve price.

I sell quite a lot on ebay and have seen that happen numerous times. I've never used the reserve function so both could be true.

[oakdale]

In the ops case, bidder 2 may have made many bids to increasing the amount slowly until he found the reserve price, these bids will not show as he would be effectively bidding against himself.

All bidders will be shown in the list but not always all their bids.

There is effectively a third bidder in the ops case, and that is the sellers reserve price.