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How bidding works now
I haven’t done an eBay auction in quite some time so maybe the process has changed. The bid was $15.99 and it said that there were two bidders. I bid up to $18.00 and it immediately said I was the high bidder at $17.50. I assumed one of the other bidders had bid up to $17.00 or so. But when I review the auction I see that it was listed at $15.99, and the same email
address made two bids about a day before my first and only bid.
What is going on? Why didn’t the current auction reflect those higher bids? Apparently the auction was still reflecting the starting bid.
12 comments
mr_lincoln
Mentor3 years agoHi @milkglass58
I'm not quite sure I understand the point you are trying to make, did you win the auction and if so for what price? I agree with @gosimus that if you can provide the eBay Item number we can check the bid history. The bid increment for the prices you are talking about is 50 cents with automatic bids. So if you won it for $ 17.50 with a max bid of $ 18.00 and had the $ 18 bid in before anyone else bid as much as $ 17.50 then you would win.
Automatic bidding | eBay
gosimus
Mentor3 years ago@milkglass58
< Why didn’t the current auction reflect those higher bids? >
You need to provide the item number so we can look at the bid history. You'll find the item number on the right hand side of the listing *about* halfway down. It's in very small typeface so watch carefully for it while you scroll down.
Without enough information to form a conclusive answer, I'll make a tentative guess that the two earlier bids you saw were made by the same person. A second bid made by the same person will not increase the showing bid – a bidder can't bid against himself – unless the second bid satisfies a Reserve, or unless a different user places a bid between the two.
milkglass58
OP3 years agoThank you very much for your reply. I don’t want for this to seem like a complaint perhaps toward my very well reviewed seller so I won’t list an item number. However, you are correct in that there was the listing price of $15.99 (which appeared as the current price when I was reviewing the item and bidding), followed by two bids from the same person, one for $16.00, followed a minute or so later by one for $17.00. Those bids were more than a day before I started bidding. And perhaps the bids were close together in time if a reserve had not been met.
So I does seem to me the bid should have shown $17.00 rather than $15.99 which I now know was the starting bid.
Thank you for your insights.
gosimus
Mentor3 years ago@milkglass58
< so I won’t list an item number >
It would not be perceived as a complaint, by the seller, by me, or by anybody else. It's only information. We need to see the bid history ... if you don't want to provide it, then have a nice day.
milkglass58
OP3 years agowoodland_gnome
·3 years agoWhen there is only 1 bidder and no Reserve, the price ("current bid") cannot go above the Starting Price.* eBay hides any bid of the high bidder that exceeds that calculated price. That is how it has always been. Your bid SHOWS at $17.50 because the price calculation (2nd highest bidder's highest bid plus 1 increment) is substituted for your actual bid amount. Same with the $17.00 bid before you bid (only 1 bidder so Starting Price).
* ETA: Doesn't matter how many time s/he bid or how high s/he's bid. Without a second bidder (or an unmet Reserve) the price can't go above the Starting Price. Multiple bids at the top of the list by the same bidder will always show at the same amount until you reach the underbidder's highest bid, or the Reserve Price (if the Reserve Price is more than an increment over the underbidder's maximum bid), or the Starting Price.
milkglass58
OP3 years agoAnd hopefully it is clear that, based on dollar amount, this is not a big deal. However, I do want to understand current bidding procedures in case my next purchase is larger.
woodland_gnome
·3 years agoHere is how eBay auctions REALLY work:
eBay does not use an English Outcry auction format (bid and counterbid, going going gone to the last bidder at the full amount of the last bid) and you put yourself at a big disadvantage if you try to bid like it was such a format. eBay's auctions use a fixed-time semi-sealed-bid modified second-price (Vickery) format. This makes them fair to all potential bidders no matter their timezone or schedule. What you need to know to understand how eBay auctions work:
The highest bidder (as of the end of the auction) wins, regardless of when his bid is placed (even if it was received in the last second and didn't show on your screen when your countdown got to 0), but the price is set by the SECOND highest bidder (generally that underbidder's highest bid plus 1 bid increment; less if the winner's bid is not a full increment higher than the underbid, including an earlier tie; more if needed to meet the reserve in a reserve listing; the starting bid amount set by the seller if there is only 1 bidder and no reserve).
During the auction eBay calculates and posts a "current bid", which is simply what the price will be if there is no further bid activity before the auction ends, and uses that "current bid" to set a minimum amount for new bids (1 increment over the "current bid" except for the very first bid, which need only be at least the "starting bid" amount set by the seller).
During and after the auction, eBay hides the full amount of the leader's/winner's bid to the extent that it exceeds that calculated price. (If the winner/leader has made multiple bids, only those that exceed the price have their full amount hidden.) For any such hidden bid amount, eBay substitutes the calculated price amount for the full amount of the bid.
When you bid less than what the current leader has bid before you (or the same amount--ties go to the earlier bid), you are immediately outbid and become the new underbidder and the "current bid" is recalculated at 1 increment higher than your bid (or the full amount of the previously hidden maximum if less than an increment over your new bid, including an earlier-placed tie). When you bid more than what current leader has bid before you, you take the lead at 1 bid increment over his/her (previously hidden) maximum (or the full amount of your bid if it is less than a full increment over his previously hidden maximum; but if it was "Reserve not met" before you bid and your bid was at least as high as the previously unmet reserve price you take the lead at the exact amount of the reserve price unless the general rule would dictate a higher price because the previously hidden maximum was less than an increment below the reserve).
Some people, including eBay, try to simplify this by drawing an analogy to an outcry auction, but one where eBay "automatically places bids on your behalf" up to your maximum bid (hence the phrase "automatic bidding"). This is an imperfect analogy, and in many cases people trying to apply it to a particular situation end up either oversimplifying or overcomplicating the process leading to many misconceptions. If you want to understand how the eBay bidding process happens you need to get away from that analogy. (It is not necessary to understand it if you know and use the following winning strategy below and are willing to accept the results as accurate even though you don't understand how they were arrived at.)
The only winning strategy on an eBay auction is to bid your real honest wouldn't-bid-an-increment-more TRUE maximum that you would pay for this particular item WITHOUT REGARD to what anyone else appears or doesn't appear to have bid. Since what anyone else has or will have bid by the time the auction ends is already figured into the price if you win, there is no need to try to figure it into your bid (other than to assume that someone else is likely to bid about the same amount as you, so it is a good tactic to bid a bit over the round number you likely have in mind as your true maximum to increase your odds of being on the winning side of what might have been a tie or a loss to someone who knows this tactic); all you need to figure is at what price point you would rather someone else get the item than you having to pay more. When you bid, early or late, or whether you put in a lesser bid(s) before your true maximum, those are tactical matters that may or may not influence the behavior of others (other bidders, potential bidders, and the seller) to your advantage or disadvantage.
milkglass58
OP3 years agoThank you for your thoughtful reply. Your last paragraph is very true, and while I never thought about it exactly like that, I tend to do the same while I also allow for the postage.
Good suggestions! Thanks.
mr_lincoln
Mentor3 years agoHi @milkglass58 Thanks for that, that helps explain things. If there is only one bidder on an auction they can bid as high as they want BUT they only need the starting auction price from their max bid to win or be winning the auction. So that amount is all that is displayed. If a second bidder comes along and bids UNDER their max but above the starting price ( $ 15.99 in your case) then that 2nd person's bid will establish the current high bid but the 1st bidder will still be winning until someone else bids above their max.
milkglass58
OP3 years agoThank you very much for that clarification.
mr_lincoln
Mentor3 years ago@milkglass58 You are more than welcome.