Dropped bids
I have been having trouble with bidding. Some are being dropped. Bids are not confirmed .Additional 15 seconds coming up after ending time. Submitting bid amount 3 times over. Bid amount disappearing. Anyone having this trouble
1 comment
eburtonlab
Mentor3 years agoRegarding bid amounts disappearing as new bids are received by eBay: you may be able to avoid this situation by changing the way you submit a bid. Instead of entering a bid amount directly on the item page which may be erased, hit the bid button without entering a number at all. Then, when the bid entry window opens, enter your number there.
Others have noticed problems lately with differences between the countdown time shown on the item page compared to the time shown on the bid entry pop-up. Keep in mind that those counts are generated on your computer, not by eBay. Typically for me the difference between the two counts is rarely more than a few seconds and very often only one second, with the item page count being the more reliable of the two.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Ask-a-Mentor/Ebay-s-Timer/m-p/33131702/highlight/true#M251427
The problem appears to be only with the countdown display. Auctions are not actually getting extra time or ending early. Examining the bid history using a desktop browser indicates that auctions are beginning and ending at the exact same time -- down to the second -- a set number of days apart just as intended, and all the bids shown were received by eBay before the end of the auction.
Even if the countdown time is totally accurate, a valid bid placed at the end of an auction may not have time to be transmitted around the world and displayed on every other user's screen before the auction ends.
If the auction countdown does not seem to be synchronized with the actual end of the auction, check to make sure your computer's time and date settings are correct, that your time zone is set correctly, and that your computer's time is synchronized with an internet time server such as time.nist.gov or time.windows.com.
Differences between your computer's time and other computers' times can lead to all sorts of problems including the inability to get needed updates.
Bidders should always assume that there will be late bids that cannot be reacted to and plan their bids accordingly. No one can count on being the last bidder, but that is not necessary; it is the high bid that wins, not the last bid. If you bid your maximum amount before the auction ends and eBay accepts it, the only way you can be beaten is if another bidder bids more than you or if an earlier bidder had bid the same amount.