Ebay

[Puffin]

I rarely buy anything from ebay, but thought I would take a punt on an amp. There was one bid and the price was £0.99. I made a bid of £10 which was immediately rejected and it then showed a bid of £10.50. This is now showing as the current bid (£10.50) and not £0.99. How does this work? My thinking is that if I make a higher bid, that it will just keep pushing me higher?

[Puffin]

I have just bid £11.00 and it now shows 3 bids the latest £11.50. Has someone stuck on £50 or something?

[istari_knight]

Yes, it sounds like someone has already put in a higher bid & eBay is doing its auto bid thing.

[Puffin]

So does this autobid thing have a mind of it's own or is it telling you that someone else has made a higher bid? If someone else has put a bid say of £30, why does it not say current bid £30?

[Thing Fish]

As with real auctions you only bid if you need to. For example if say your limit was £50 you wouldn't bid £50 straight away. You would bid in small increments as you might win the item for £20.

With fleabay if you put your highest bid on it will only go as high as it needs to win the auction. Or not. Unfortunatly as a buyer you are not privvy to what the other persons highest bid might be (as it would be in real life).

That's why many people (myself included) use an auto bidding systems that will only kick in with <5 seconds to go.

I hope that helps Rob...

[Puffin]

Yes Dave, it goes some way to explaining how it works. How do I get an "auto bidding system"? Is this what is called a "sniping" tool?

[Clive197]

If you had put a bid of £100 in, it would automatically just beat the current highest bid by the next biddable amount. E-bay does not do anything on its own. Example: 1st bid £20 but will only show £0.99 until you bid £10, e-bay will outbid you simply because it had the 1st bid of £20. Then you put the £100 bid in. The £20 bid is now beaten and goes to £21 and then every subsequent bid up to your £100 after that you have been out bid until you put in a higher maximum bid. Savey?

[Clive197]

Yes Dave, it goes some way to explaining how it works. How do I get an "auto bidding system"? Is this what is called a "sniping" tool?

Sniping is something else. A tool is used to put in a bid in the last few seconds of the auction. It's pretty effective so long as your sniped bid is high enough.

[Rare Bird]

Expecting summert cheap on the Bay think again..

[Thing Fish]

Yes Dave, it goes some way to explaining how it works. How do I get an "auto bidding system"? Is this what is called a "sniping" tool?

Yes Rob they are all called sniping tools. I use 'BidMate' but they are many around. They are free unless you want ultra late bidding.

They are useful on 2 counts - 1. You don't show your hand too early thus possibly pushing up the price. 2. If you aren't around or are unable to bid as the auction ends.