Bidding happening after item closed

Question

I waited until the last few seconds to bid and it showed I had won the item. Then the screen refreshed and it showed several bids took place after mine(after it closed) and the screen changed from Congratulations to Sorry, you lost. Anyone else ever been cheated like this?

eburtonlab · Answer

Bidding ends a set number of days after the auction started down to the exact second. Bids are accepted so long as a bid for a valid amount is received by eBay's server before the auction ends, even if those bids are not displayed on individual bidders' pages around the world until a few seconds later.

For some unknown reason eBay no longer displays the ending time to the second at the top of the bid history page, but if there are any bids you should be able to calculate the actual ending time by examining the starting time of the auction at the bottom of the page. Auctions always begin and end at the same time down to the exact second, unless the auction is ended early by the seller. All bidders have the same time to place valid bids, and no one gets any extra time. eBay time stamps every bid as it is received by eBay, and the times are displayed to the second in the bid history if you use a desktop browser.

If you think you have encountered an auction where a bid was accepted after the end of the auction, examine the starting time closely and compare it to the time the bid was received and you should find that the bid was received before the auction actually ended. If not, please post an item number so that others can see it.

If you bid the maximum amount you are willing to pay (taking into account any shipping or taxes) then the only way you can lose is if someone is willing to bid more than you were and actually does so, or if someone bid the same exact amount, earlier.

No one can count on having the last bid, and bidders should assume that other bids will be placed at the end of the auction too late to be reacted to, and set their bids accordingly.

If your auction countdown is not behaving correctly, check to make sure your computer's time and time zone are set correctly, and the date and time are synchronized with an internet time server such as time.windows.com or time.gov.

Check your computer's time here:

https://time.is/

If your computer's clock is fast or slow by a few seconds, that can affect your ability to bid in the final seconds of an auction.