Countdiwn ticker freezing

[edisonguy1]

Suddenly the countdown ticker is freezing. If I go to make a bid on an item ending soon and get the window open, it will count down for a few moments then either freeze or freeze and then restart (mostly freeze). Just seems to have begun today.

Countdown timer working normally if the item page is up. Only screws up when the bidding window comes up.

Anyone else with win 7 notice this?

Using win 7 32 bit and Chrome 103. Also happening in FF.

[mudshark61369]

@edisonguy1,

Have you recently cleared your temporary internet files and cookie cache?  If not try doing that and restarting your device.  Since you are running Windows 7 could this have anything to do with Microsoft ending support for Internet Explorer? 

[woodland_gnome]

Even without it glitching, I do not recommend using the countdown to time submission of a bid during the last 10-20 seconds or so.   The countdown is NOT a real-time feed of bids coming in and eBay's clock counting down and is not an accurate measure of how much time you have left to submit the bid (click the confirm button) so it is received in time. It is rather a script that runs on your device periodically calling for updates on the status and time remaining, and uses your device's clock to count down from the time left display it last received from eBay (which took time to traverse the internet and get loaded into your device's RAM so your clock could start counting down). There is no adjustment for latency either way and so it is doubly slow compared to the time you would have to submit for it to get to eBay in time.

Back before the countdown was introduced, it is was relatively easy (and fun) to synch a local clock to the time remaining by clicking refresh on the Bid History Page at a particular noted time per the local clock (top of a minute was easiest) and then adding the returned time remaining to that time; this automatically adjusted for latency both ways and gave you the second before which you had to click the confirm button (best to do that a few times and pick the earliest result and add a solid buffer time since latency can change). But the countdown replaced the static display that enabled you to get a single unchanging time left display upon refreshing so it's not so easy anymore. I now use and recommend a "snipe service" to place your one true maximum bid about 6 seconds out; mine allows limited snipes for free (up to 4 wins per month) or several different pay plans if you are using it more frequently (or want a bit more reliability that comes with a "mirror server" in another location than the main server) and uses an eBay supplied API instead of the glitch user interface. It also captures any error message that eBay returns if the bid is unsuccessful, as opposed to you using the user interface where any such error message is overwritten when the countdown gets to 0 so you generally don't even see it much less be able to read it. There are other snipe services out there with their own plans, but we are not allowed to make unsolicited recommendations of particular ones.

[edisonguy1]

UPDATE: I called ebay again on this and was told (hopefully correctly) this is an ongoing issue w/some folks along with log in issues. They are working on it

For now, my workaround would be if you bid using the countdown (that's how I do it and have had no problems in countless bids except in maybe 2-3 cases over the years), I would get the bid window up and ready your bid, but have a separate window up with the item counting down, and use THAT as your countdown, but give yourself a few extra seconds with that strategy--then hit your bid when the counter on the window goes down enough for you to want to make your bid. But again, add maybe 3 seconds to your usual bid time to be safe.

[usterri_lp7cu]

Yes, I have the same problem.  The bidding clock freezes during the final countdown.  I have contacted Ebay and they are looking into it.  They said that they were not aware of the problem.  Please contact them by phone as well so that they know that I am not the only person experiencing this.  Thank you.

[kathiec]

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@usterri_lp7cu wrote:

Yes, I have the same problem.  The bidding clock freezes during the final countdown.  I have contacted Ebay and they are looking into it.  They said that they were not aware of the problem.  Please contact them by phone as well so that they know that I am not the only person experiencing this.  Thank you.

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Just so people will know, you can't contact eBay by phone, only by chat or on social media. If you Google a phone number, it's a scam.

[lakeland_music]

Having this issue myself, lost 6 auctions because of it.  
My counter is freezing after 10 or so seconds, and my bids aren't going through. 
I know people say don't bid towards the end, but honestly bidding too early is how you pay more for what you want.  Just a matter of fact on some items.  If people don't see a bidding war going on they may be less likely to bid or at least bid as high.  My bread and butter comes with last minute of the countdown. 

[greg5000]

Yes, confirming the technical glitch with the clock count-down in the Place Bid window (it stops counting).  I almost lost an item because of it today, and from reading here others have lost items they were trying to bid on.  I'm using Windows 11 on a PC, and this is a new technical issue, as I just recently won an auction with no problems last month and have never seen this before.

It looks like the clock will run down longer if there's more time left in the auction.  If there's only a couple of minutes left, the clock will run down 5-6 seconds and stop.  The workaround that was mentioned appears to be the only work-around option for now (i.e., opening two eBay sessions, one with the auction item showing the countdown, and one with the Place Bid window).  I can see this resulting in many eBay buyers missing out on items, and less revenue for Sellers and eBay overall.  Hopefully this is fixed very quickly.

[greg5000]

You should be able to request a call back from eBay via Help & Contact. 

Scroll to the bottom to find Need More Help?

And click on Contact us.

[greg5000]

All of my bids are in the last minute or less (typically the last 10 seconds).  Many eBay Buyers do the same.  I don't use any snipe tools, I just bid the old-fashioned way. 

Prices during the many, many actions I've bid on typically will increase numerous times in the last minute.  Now when the clock stops .... all the fun stops, and buyers can't place their bids.  

[eburtonlab]

If you are using a desktop browser and having problems with the countdown on the bid pop-up window stuttering or stopping, you may be able to scroll down a bit before opening the bid window so you can see the countdown on the item page, which seems to work more consistently.

[min152057]

Thanks 4 the article; I use my iPhone 15 to bid & notice the bid button freezes with 10 seconds or less…

[min152057]

Last 2 auctions my bid button doesn’t work with 10 seconds or less; I’m using my iPhone 15; is it better to use a desktop or laptop?

[mudshark61369]

@min152057,

This topic will soon be locked because of its age.  You should go back to the main Buying page and click on the Start a Conversation button, in the blue banner, to post about your issue.  Do read the reply by woodland_gnome in this topic, their reply explains countdown clock issues.

To answer your question  Use a Computer, not a portable device to bid on auctions.

[kh-stanley1]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.