Losing Automatic Bidding Right At The End With No Prior Signs

[csk12345]

I lost to an automatic bid, but up until a few seconds left in the auction it was only then I saw that I was outbid. The seller stated that I had lost to an automatic bid but I did not see the notification that I was outbid until there were a few seconds left. Is this normal? I've bid on other items from the same seller with automatic bids that told me that I was outbid, but here it seemed a bit odd that it was at $30.30 for the longest time (My highest bid was at $250) and with six seconds left that one bid later I lost to a bid at exactly $250... Are automatic bids like this normal?

[eburtonlab]

@csk12345 

It appears the winning bid was placed with six seconds left in the auction. The winning bid amount was at least one increment above the second highest bid, so the winner's bid is shown as one increment above the second highest bid -- the actual bid amount is unknown.

When your bid is overtaken that late in the auction, there is little time for an outbid notice to appear. In some cases, an outbid notice may appear after the auction has ended, even though the actual bid occurred before the end of the auction.

In many auctions there is bidding activity in the final seconds of the auction, so bidders should be prepared for that and not expect to necessarily have the opportunity to bid again after all the other bids are in. If you bid your maximum amount (with a few odd cents to avoid a tie), then the only way you can be beaten is if another bidder is willing to pay more than you are willing to pay.

[csk12345]

Just seemed a bit odd to me that it was right at $255 at one bid, unless if he had prior knowledge of the bid...

[quiltgeek]

That $255 bid is a showing bid, was calculated by eBay at ONE BID INCREMENT over your actual bid of $250.

Just as your showing bid prior to the last bid was less than your actual bid of $250, the winner's showing (winning amount) bid is less than their actual bid.

The fact that they placed their bid only 6 seconds before the end is just a strategy aimed at not leaving enough time for anyone to  bid after they did. Their late in the auction bidding is a way to keep reactive bidders from responding to their bid.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@csk12345 wrote:

Just seemed a bit odd to me that it was right at $255 at one bid, unless if he had prior knowledge of the bid...

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The winning bid will always be shown as one bid increment above the second-highest bid.  His actual bid amount might have been $255.00. But it also might have been $275. Or $2700.

In a bid history, the bids are arranged by amount, not by the time they were placed.

[reallynicestamps]

"Private listing" bid $27.00 at 8:32 on May 19.

You bid $250 at 11:40 which showed at $29.00 - one increment higher

PL bid again  on May 22- his bid shows as $29.30 but you remained the high bidder at $30.30.

PL bid - possibly with an electronic sniping service- on the 24th of May some unknown amount surpassing your $250 bid and winning at one increment higher than your underbid.

Bid once. Bid late. Bid your maximum.

Basically PL bid more than you did.

And no, the seller is delighted with the outcome and welcomed the sniping.

[mudshark61369]

@csk12345,

  "...unless if he had prior knowledge of the bid"

There is no way that can happen. No ones maximum bid is known unless someone else surpasses it.  You bid $250, 5 days before the auction ended, so you must've thought the item was worth that much.  Is it surprising then, that someone else also thought the item was worth that much or more. 

If you bid that much because you thought $250 was a lot more than the item was worth (nuclear bidding) didn't you ever consider that others might have the same idea. What if the other person had bid only $240?   You would have been stuck with having to pay $242.50 

[7606dennis]

It appears that you were the victim of what is commonly referred to as Sniping.  It is the practice of waiting until the last possible moment before the bidding period ends to place one's only bid on the item.  Thus other bidders relying on the bid/counter bid strategy don't have time to react.  It is a very effective bidding strategy for auctions that have a finite bidding period.

One cannot really determine if the winning bid was only one bid increment over an under bidder since eBay bidding system only uses the amount necessary to place that bidder one increment in the lead.  The sniper's bid could potentially have been much higher.

The only time that the winning bid can be below one bid increment is if the winning bid was placed before the second highest bid and the system used the total of the bid to determine the winner.  See eBay's proxy bidding for a more detailed explanation. 

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Someone else bidding at the end does not make the OP a victim of anything other than their decision not to place a higher bid when the auction is live. Sniping is a perfectly acceptable bidding strategy and victimizes no one. 

[7606dennis]

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

Someone else bidding at the end does not make the OP a victim of anything other than their decision not to place a higher bid when the auction is live. Sniping is a perfectly acceptable bidding strategy and victimizes no one. 

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Yes, sniping is perfectly legal and is, quite frankly, a very good bidding strategy for auctions with a finite bidding period.  My use of the word victim is, I believe, accurate since the OP fell victim to the sniper's use of the legal strategy.  It isn't necessary for an act to be illegal or a violation of a rule for one to be a victim of it.  After all, we all can fall victim to our own misconceptions.