|   eBay experts...please explain this | alibi
Oct 21, 2003 1:55 PM | | Here's the way the bidding history showed up on an auction I was in:
bidder #1: $6.00 (opening bid)
me: $12.55
bidder #1: $12.56 (winning bid)
So, what are the scenarios that can lead to winning an auction by $.01 in the range where the bidding increment is $.50? I can think of 2; 1)a lucky guess, or 2)submitting an outrageously high bid, thereby exposing my high bid, then quickly retracting it. This, however, was not indicated as being the case on the bid history page after closing.
I realize that the entire bidding history does not show up after closing, so yeah, I guess there could have been a big session of penny increment bids in there. I was not watching.
Just curious what technique was employed here, as it seems like it could be useful in the future.
Thanks in advance. |
| re: eBay experts...please explain this | Spain
Oct 21, 2003 2:05 PM | | I'd venture to say that it WAS a lucky guess, or to be much more precise, a very unlucky guess on your part. The only time I've won an auction by a penny was due to the fact that I set my max bid as $10.01; unfortunately for the other person bidding on the item, his/her max bid had been $10.00 even. How did that happen? Well, the item in question was sitting at like $6; I placed my bid in the last thirty seconds or so of the auction (again, max bid $10.01), so not only did I outbid the $6 amount, I also outbid the other person's max bid by a penny. I win! Lucky for me, sucks for them (er, ah, you). The guy who outbid you set his max bid at $12.56; you set yours at $12.55. That's why people often bid up a cent or two, to make sure they're not oubid by a penny. But it really comes down to luck (or a lack thereof) I guess.
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| just click on the "bid history" for that info (nm) | I'm Going Hungry
Oct 21, 2003 2:27 PM | | |
| re: eBay experts...please explain this | Rich-CA
Oct 21, 2003 2:53 PM | | I'm not sure of the exact terminology but it is possible to have ebay automatically make bids for you.
You set a max amount you want to spend. Each time someone out-bids you, EBAY automatically bids to make you the new high-bidder. I believe this is done in $0.01 intervals. |
| It's called ... | alibi
Oct 21, 2003 3:17 PM | | "proxy bidding", and that bid increment increases depending on the current bid. For instance, if current bid is between $5 to $25, increment is $.50; if $25 to $100, it's $1.00, and so on. |
| He got lucky | Mikey
Oct 21, 2003 3:32 PM | | His max proxy bid happened to be $12.56.
When you use proxy bidding, eBay will increment your bid by the set amount (as the other person said, .50, 1.00, 5.00) depending on what the price currently is. But if your max proxy bid is less than the increment, but still higher than the other bid, then that'll be the bid.
If he'd placed a higher bid to flush out your max and then retracted it, you'd see the retracted bid in the lower part of the "Bid History" page for the item. eBay supposedly keeps an eye on people who develop a habit of retracting bids. |
| okay | jasonwa
Oct 21, 2003 9:53 PM | | When you type in a bid - that is your highest bid.
Ebay will bid for you in increments listed up to that amount.
When someone bids higher than that amount - you have to type in your new highest bid. |
| Thanks all.... | alibi
Oct 22, 2003 10:34 AM | | I guess "he got lucky" is the consensus, although it still smells a little fishy to me. |
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