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Can a seller see top bid
Can a seller see the top bid someone has placed as I was asked to increase my top bid to be sure of winning the item then at the 7 seconds before the end of the auction 2 bids were placed by an account that increased to price to almost my max limit despite no other bidders since I placed my top bid. It just seems strange that I was asked to increase my top bid from the message the seller sent "I am sure you will win them if you put in a top bid a little higher" which I did then at the last few seconds the price gets increased to almost my top limit.
6 comments
youn2240
·1 year agoI wait for the final 5 seconds before I let my bid out.
woodland_gnome
·3 years agoThe seller cannot see the hidden maximum of the leading bidder. Not unless it is not hidden and your full bid amount is already used up and the price is showing as less than a full increment over the underbidder's maximum (in which case everyone in the world sees it).
Someone else valued the item about the same as you (but a little less), so you ended up paying what you were willing to pay. If you hadn't raised your bid you would have lost the item at a price less than you were willing to pay (1 bid increment over your old "maximum" bid).
Bid your TRUE maximum that you are willing and able to pay for that particular item as listed (don't forget to back out shipping etc.) WITHOUT REGARD to what others appear or don't appear to have bid. There is absolutely no need to figure out what others have or haven't bid or might bid* in determining your bid amount, since it ALREADY will have been figured into the price if you win. While some claim tactical reasons to place a lower bid early in the auction and then wait until near the end to bid your full TRUE maximum, I advise bidding only 1 time (can't repeat it enough: at your TRUE maximum) because you are never guaranteed a rebid (and there are circumstances where the prior bid prevents a rebid on that same auction). For several reasons later bidding is better than early bidding (doesn't use up your Limits, keeps your options open, doesn't leave your hidden maximum available for others, including dishonest sellers, to probe by "nibbling" at it) and I recommend using a third party "snipe service" (do a websearch, there are reliable and secure ones that are free for limited use or there are different fee schedules that best suit your bidding quantity and ratio of wins) to place your bid during the last few seconds using eBay's API rather than the not especially reliable web interface or, worse, mobile app.
*(other than to assume someone else will value the item about the same as you, so bid a bit ABOVE any round or roundish number you come up with to increase your chances of being on the winning side of what might have been a tie or a loss to someone else who knows this tip)No.
danhsams
·1 year agoIt is true but no one can see a maximum bid. However, what is known is the current market value of the item being sold.
If an item that market value is $500, it's starting big at $200, and it has been up for bid for 7 days. There was one bidder at $200 with 10 minutes left. The seller is able to see how much interest by how many are watching.
Not willing to let it go at $200, he can have somebody make a bid for $500.
No one is the wiser.
danhsams
·1 year agoAllow me to give a personal example. Currently, I am he only one bidding on a camera that's been up for bids for 7 days. The market value for the camera is around $500. The bidding started at $200. As of this writing, there are just hours left, and I'm still the only one bidding at $200.
If I am the seller, and I am not wanting it to go at $200, I can have somebody, or have a second account, and make a bid that's closer to the market value of 500 dollars.
I do have a max bid of $420. He doesn't know that. But, if he decides to place a bid at $400 last minute, realistically I lost out at $220
nobody*s_perfect
·1 year agoMany auctions get most of their bids during the final minutes or even seconds of the auction, so a seller who deliberately places a high bid takes the risk of winning the item and losing a transaction with a valid bidder who would have paid a reasonable amount for the item.
In the early days of eBay, sellers could count on getting multiple bidders. Nowadays, it makes more sense for a seller to start the bidding at the lowest price that they'd be glad to sell the item for, in case they get just one bidder.
kh-laura
·1 year agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.