Outbid at the last second by a 3 day old bid with no bidder history
I was out bid at the last second by bidder that had a 3-day-old bid. They had no previous bid history on the item. How does that happen? Is this a sniping tool or something I'm not aware of?
4 comments
bennotbill
·1 year agoMany of those that use sniping tools put on an initial bid manually. That ensures the item can't be changed in any way.
Nothing worse than setting up a snipe and finding out days later you have won something completely different.
eburtonlab
·1 year ago@riks_74
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. Note that the countdown displayed on your device and the bids you see are not updated in real time, and just because you did not see any other bids when your clock reaches zero does not mean that eBay did not receive other bids at the last moment.
You have not won until the page refreshes and you see a note indicating that you have been declared the winner and you see a link to pay or your payment is take automatically. A note indicating you are the high bidder issued while the auction is still ongoing is not the same as being declared the winner by eBay after the auction has ended.
wastingtime101
·1 year agoYou have to provide the item number if you want your questions answered.
an-57470
·1 year agoCould be sniping software, or a lucky bidder. Either way, you should look for another one with a fixed price that you can afford, and buy-it-now.