Help needed about when an item ends and can a bid be accepted on the exact time the item ends

[adlo-8235]

Hi there,

I was bidding on an item today. I bid about 7 seconds before the item ended and was the highest bidder. I watched the counter go to the end of the item. The item then finished and I thought that's great, I've won.

The page then refreshed after the item had finished and it said that I had not won. I was very surprised so looked at the bidding history. The item had finished at 4:42:16 PM. There had been a bid accepted by someone else at 4:42:16 PM.

I don't understand how the other person's bid can be legitimate as the item had already ended on the when the person had placed their bid. I thought that the second the item ended, no bids would be accepted.

Is there any help that I can get as I still would like to get the item?

Kind regards to all,

A.

[donsdetour]

you were sniped: you lost the item. They win that way.

[jameshen1]

Their bid may have registered a half second before the auction ended.  Or a quarter second.  Or 1/10 second.  No way to know, but it was clearly registered before the auction ended.

[adlo-8235]

Apparently so, but I'm not sure they did as their bid was on the exact time the item ended.

[adlo-8235]

It sounds a bit strange that would be a thing. I could just about understand if it was 1 second before, but not on the exact time the item finished.

I don't think that their bid could have been registered before the item ended as the bid was registered on the exact time the item ended which was 4:42:16 PM. Surely if it was half a second or another small denomination of time before this, it would be registered at 4:42:15.

[eburtonlab]

Bids are received by eBay servers around the world, and timestamped by eBay. It may take several seconds for a bid to be received and notice sent around the world to other bidders, which is one reason why you should decide in advance how much you are willing to pay, taking into consideration any shipping and taxes, and bid the appropriate amount as late in the auction as you are comfortable. If a bid comes in in the last few seconds, you will not have time to react and rebid, so bid your maximum amount once, and if it is a round number add a few odd cents to the amount to minimize the chances of a tie (which would go to the earlier bidder).

Many bidders only bid in the last few seconds, so as a bidder you should expect that and be prepared for that to happen.

If you bid the maximum amount you are willing to pay and your bid goes through and you become the high bidder, the only way you can lose is if someone else is willing to spend more than you are and they actually submit a valid bid before the auction ends.

[releasethekraken_1]

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@adlo-8235 wrote:

Apparently so, but I'm not sure they did as their bid was on the exact time the item ended.

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You have no way of knowing that. Auctions are timed to the millisecond, but eBay only displays full seconds. All you know is that the bid was accepted by eBay in the last fraction of a second, not after the auction had ended.

[adlo-8235]

Thanks for the tips!

The time stamp for the other persons bid is the time stamp the actual item ended. Here is a screen shot of the bidding history:

I suppose next time I should bid a bit more. But even if I was to have done that in this scenario and bid say £25.00 when I did, the other person could have bid something like £30 at the time they did, I would still have lost and the item would have sold for £25.01.

Maybe like jameshen1 said, the person could have bid a nano second before the item ended which is still a little odd that would be allowed.

What I was wondering was if an item ends at a certain time, how could a bid that is cast on the exact second that the item ended be considered legitimate? It just looks a little bit suspect to me.

[adlo-8235]

Well the bidding history says that the bid was on the same second that the item had finished. Here is a screen shot of the bidding history:

[releasethekraken_1]

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@adlo-8235 wrote:

Well the bidding history says that the bid was on the same second that the item had finished. Here is a screen shot of the bidding history:

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Yes, I know that. As already explained, eBay times things to the MILLISECOND, but only displays full SECONDS. The bid was placed while the auction was still running. You lost.

[releasethekraken_1]

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@adlo-8235 wrote:

Maybe like jameshen1 said, the person could have bid a nano second before the item ended which is still a little odd that would be allowed.

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Why is it "odd" to allow a bid while the auction is still running? Please explain. How long before the auction officially ends should eBay stop taking bids? And why?

[eburtonlab]

@adlo-8235 

What I was wondering was if an item ends at a certain time, how could a bid that is cast on the exact second that the item ended be considered legitimate?

eBay only displays the times to the second -- presumably eBay keeps track of things more precisely even if that information is not displayed to users.

It may be that the bid times are rounded up to the nearest second, in which case the actual bid may have been received by eBay from anywhere from 15.5 seconds to 16.0 seconds, assuming the auction ends at exactly 16.0 seconds.

But even if I was to have done that in this scenario and bid say £25.00 when I did, the other person could have bid something like £30 at the time they did, I would still have lost and the item would have sold for £25.01.

The bidder bidding £30 would have paid one increment above the hidden maximum bid at that level, or £26, unless the bid was less than an increment above the previous maximum.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/buying/bidding/automatic-bidding?id=4014

If you bid your true maximum, you do not have to worry about fractions of a second. Either you have the highest bid at the end or you do not.

[adlo-8235]

I think it is "odd" to allow a bid a millisecond before the end of the auction as it is not fair on the other bidders as they have no opportunity to counter the other persons bid.

I would say bids that are made under the last second of the auction should not be counted as it is not fair to the other bidders. If the person hasn't bid before the last second, well maybe they should have bid earlier.

But then I suppose that might just cause similar sorts of situations.

Yes I know I have lost as if I had won, I probably wouldn't be on eBay Communities writing this post.

[adlo-8235]

Thanks very much for the information. I'll remember that next time 😀👍

[eburtonlab]

@adlo-8235 

I think it is "odd" to allow a bid a millisecond before the end of the auction as it is not fair on the other bidders as they have no opportunity to counter the other persons bid.

eBay allows anyone to bid right up until the auction is closed. And no one can bid after that.

It is fair because every bidder has the same amount of time -- seven days in most auctions -- to place their bid. No one has extra time, and everyone has the same deadline. High bid always wins (unless there is a tie which goes to the earlier bidder).

It is never necessary to wait for someone else to bid to place your own maximum bid. In fact, you should ignore other bidders entirely except to assume that someone else likely values the item close to the amount you have in mind and intends to bid near the end of the auction.

eBay does not guarantee anyone an opportunity to bid again after all the other bids are received. No one can guarantee who gets the last bid. That is why veteran users suggest calculating your maximum bid in advance, and then bidding that amount once, as late in the auction as you are comfortable. Probably not the last millisecond, or even the last second, though; in most cases, the last five or ten seconds will be close enough to prevent most other bidders from reacting to your bid. Keep in mind the time it takes for information to travel around the world is often a few seconds.

Online auctions are not like live auctions where everyone is in the same room, and eBay auctions require a different strategy if you intend to win. eBay should be thought of more like a sealed-bid auction, where everyone submits a (mostly) hidden bid amount and the high bid wins and pays an increment or so above the second highest bidder's amount.