How do I make sure automatic bidding is not active.

[jwrjh.dftva9h]

I have been thinking that I am hacked, but now believe I have somehow activated automatic bidding, and want it off.

[woodland_gnome]

It is ALWAYS active as long as the auction is running.  ANY 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).

If you are the leader at more than what you thought you entered as your bid amount, you are either misremembering the amount or you made a typo in entering the bid amount (e.g. left out the decimal divider so that 25.00 becomes 2500.00).   Check the full amount of "Your max bid" in your My eBay: Bids/Offers (maybe--you used to be able to "Customize" the display but that seems to be gone; I customized it to add that field to the display and it's still showing for me). A typo in entering the bid amount is the ONLY bidder error that may be corrected by retracting the bid. You must rebid the correct amount (the amount you intended to type in the first place) immediately after the retraction goes through. There are time limits (12 hours before the scheduled auction end or 1 hour after the bid was placed, whichever is later, but in no case later than the actual end of the auction) so don't delay.
https://www.ebay.com/bfl/retractbid

[jwrjh.dftva9h]

In checking there are 2 ways to place a bid,  you can enter one of the suggested amounts in the blue boxes or enter a self generated Max Bid,  Possibly entering an amount in Max Bid activates the Automatic bid prompt?

[jwrjh.dftva9h]

I do not want eBay bidding for me.  I want total control of how much I pay for items.

[woodland_gnome]

eBay doesn't "bid for you".   YOU bid a particular amount.   The amount you pay if you win is set by the next highest bidder's highest bid or the seller's minimum Starting Price or Reserve Price.  eBay simply hides the full amount of your bid.  Even if you choose an amount by clicking one of the pre-filled amount buttons (which you should NEVER do, because beyond being bad strategy/tactics the amount assigned to that button can suddenly increase with a new bid by someone else and you end up bidding significantly more than you thought you were bidding) you can end up with a hidden maximum bid.

eBay simply HIDES the full amount of your bid if it is higher than the price calculation, both during and after the auction.

There is no such thing as "manual bidding" as opposed to "automatic bidding" on eBay.  It is like driving an automatic transmission automobile and pretending you are driving a manual (without a clutch):  The amount of your bid determines the MAXIMUM you can pay but isn't the actual amount you will pay, just like "gear" you select on the automatic transmission limits how high a gear can be engaged but doesn't prevent the engagement of a lower gear when the transmission calculates it needs to be lower.  Pretending it is "manual" in each case is an inefficient way to drive/bid.

[inceptions]

You're still not understanding automatic bidding. You DO have total control. Enter a bid for the most you are willing to pay, and eBay will use just enough of it to keep you in the lead, one increment at a time. If someone outbids your max, you're done. If no one bids after you do, you pay when you bid. Automatic bidding is the best strategy for winning and you never pay more than you are willing to pay for the item.

Nibble bidding is the worst strategy for bidding, but if you want to do it, you can. Just bid one increment above the current bid and then keep coming back to the auction and do it again and again as needed (hoping no one will outbid you in the final seconds of the auction when there is no time for you to react).

[jwrjh.dftva9h]

This is what I understood was bidding policy for eBay and most online auctions.  I just wanted to make sure this was the bidding method and now know I was hacked.  Thankyou for the clarity.