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How to set up automatic bidding on an ebay listing
I can't seem to set up automatic bidding - there is only "Place Bid" option.
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I can't seem to set up automatic bidding - there is only "Place Bid" option.
kh-cathy
·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.
house*of*paws
·2 years agoHi @peschn_4473
‘Automatic bidding’ is automatic … meaning that it is built into eBay’s bidding system. There’s nothing to ‘set up’. It’s already there. 😊
mudshark61369
·2 years ago@peschn_4473,
As the others have said there is nothing to set up, just place your maximum bid. When reading the info in the link provided by kathiec, click on the Tips for winning auctions button. When that page opens click on the Bid sniping button to find out what that is.
Sniping takes some practice but it is how most experienced bidders will bid on an auction. You can also engage a sniping service, for the times when it isn't possible to be on your device when an auction ends. To find those do an online search for Bid sniping websites. I use the one that rhymes with Santa's reindeer Blitzen if I can't be near my computer when an auction ends.
kathiec
·2 years ago@peschn_4473
You may find this helpful:
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/bidding?id=4003
In basic terms, on eBay the best way to bid is not to make many bids. You decide the absolute maximum you want to pay for the item, add a few cents to account for ties, then bid that amount. Ebay will then only use as much of that bid as is necessary for you to be one bid increment above the next highest bid until someone bids higher than your maximum.
woodland_gnome
·2 years agoANY bid is treated as a "maximum bid" under the automatic a/k/a proxy a/k/a incremental bidding system. It's not an option that you do something special to invoke or can even opt out of; it is simply HOW eBay auctions work (highest bidder wins, but price is calculated primarily from the maximum bid of the second highest bidder, and eBay hides the full amount of the leader's/winner's maximum bid to the extent it exceeds that calculated price). Even if you just bid the minimum, you can end up with a hidden maximum (if the prior leading bid is cancelled). The notion that eBay "automatically bids on your behalf" is an analogy to describe the process for those who want simple answers but results in many misunderstandings of what actually happens in particular situations (such as thinking there is a difference between "regular" and "automatic" bidding).
So, mechanically, you bid the same way you bid now (unless you are using a 1-click bidding button that purports to put in a bid in an amount eBay says, in which case do not use those as they are not only tactically bad--they encourage bidding round numbers in an amount based on the current bid amount--they are outright dangerous in that the amount can change just as you are going to click), except that instead of putting the minimum bid or whatever amount you are now using in the bid box, you put your TRUE maximum you are willing to pay for that item as listed WITHOUT REGARD to what anyone else appears or doesn't appear to be bidding. Since what is needed to beat the second highest bidder, whether s/he bids before or after you, is already figured into the price if you win, there is no need to factor it into your bid amount; all you have to figure out is at what price point you would rather someone else have the item than you having to pay more than that price.
Tip: make your bid a little higher than the round number you are likely to come up with; this increases your chances of being on the winning side of what might otherwise have been a tie (most bidders bid the round number) and decreases the odds of losing to someone else who knows this tip. I strongly advise that you bid ONLY ONCE at your TRUE maximum: there are circumstances where already having bid on the auction can prevent you from rebidding; further bid late in the auction (but in time for the bid to be received at eBay before the end--the countdown is not reliable for timing that within the last few seconds) for several good reasons, including keeping your options open and not using up your limits.
adamk1234
·1 year agoWhy act like you don't understand the question?
Everyone who used bid faced the issue imo: when you added a bid, your bid was the highest until the very last second, and when the bidding period is over, you got the message that someone outbid you. Obviously it cannot be a person, because nobody can add immediately a higher bid in the very last millisecond. So somehow some users use a method where other bidders do not see their bids, and their bid is running somehow in the backgound, or some automatism enter their bid in the last millisecond.
That's the case we want to understand.
I don't bid too often, but this has happened to me at least 3 times.
Unavailable member
·1 year ago@adamk1234
Why are you commenting on an old thread from April 2024??
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoAutomatic bidding is not a special, separate type of bidding. Just place your bid.