Outbid at the very last second

[blacktopmagazine]

Has anyone else noticed, that right at the very last second you are out bid on an item. I was watching and my bid for $27 was about to win, I had another dollar on my high bid, then at the very last second someone came in at $29 and won it. I have heard of this happening before, just wanted to know if anyone else experiences it and how to get around it.

[monroe67]

OMG -- Is This Still Happening?   (faux outrage)  

Yes, I have experienced it, on this ID, as a buyer.  I shrug my shoulders and move on if I lose.  OR I have made what might seem to an average Joe on the Streets to be an outrageous bid, say, $110 for cotton embroidery thread -- which was no longer being made.   Then the other bidders had to shrug their shoulders and move on.  

On my selling ID, I have five auctions ending in a little over five hours.  I am waiting and watching for bids to come in during those last minutes.   Another of my auctions ended less than an hour ago, and was bid from $62 to $70 within the last 15 minutes or so.   So, on the selling side, I just love my last minute bidders!!  

[kathiec]

2} Because of eBay's proxy bidding system, bidding just a bit above the current high bid is useless. When you do bid, if you really want an item, bid at least twice the current high bid. Thrice would be better.

---

This advice must also come with the warning that if someone else is making a nuclear "thrice" bid you may end up winning for three times what the item is worth/what it's worth to you. And trust me, that kind of nuclear bidding happens all the time, so it's as likely as not that it will happen to you. It seems more logical to simply bid the highest amount you're willing to pay for item, regardless of the current high bid. You're much less likely to encounter an unpleasant surprise when the bidding ends.

[bimm_corp]

@kathiec 

>And trust me, that kind of nuclear bidding happens all the time

As I mentioned to another poster on a similar thread, I have never had a "nuclear bid" and I am very particular about what and how much I bid on. Like Steve McQueen said, "So far, so good".

[kathiec]

@bimm_corp 

I'm not sure what you mean by "I've never had a nuclear bid". You've never made one? You've never seen one? 

I suppose it depends on how close the current high bid is to the actual value of the item. But I personally have seen many cases where an item worth maybe $100 sells for $1000. And in every single case looking at the bid history reveals two bidders who made nuclear bids thinking no one else would. I'm glad that's never happened to you. But it's dangerous advice to be giving to others without also pointing out that there's a downside.

[releasethekraken_1]

---

@bimm_corp wrote:

@kathiec 

>And trust me, that kind of nuclear bidding happens all the time

As I mentioned to another poster on a similar thread, I have never had a "nuclear bid" and I am very particular about what and how much I bid on. Like Steve McQueen said, "So far, so good".

---

Someone who is "particular about .. how much" they bid wouldn't follow the advice to bid double or triple the current bid. They'd simply bid what they were willing to pay, even if that were only $1 above the current bid.

[ndaddy420]

Believe me, I’ve won and lost over 500 auctions on eBay, I know that the times are off by sometimes a few minutes. The more an auction drops under 5 minutes, the higher you are at risk of it ending abruptly. I’ve had them end on me when eBay was telling me there’s still 2 & 3 minutes. It’s very aggravating, I’ve been burned by that multiple times and it doesn’t get less aggravating. As far as The being outbid at the last second by a dollar or so, the best defense is to just increase the max bid- flat out max you’re willing to pay- don’t try to save a buck or two & short the bid or else you’ll be outbid-often by less than a dollar or two. 

[7606dennis]

It is commonly referred to as sniping and is a very effecting bidding tactic in auctions that have a finite known bidding period. 

[mudshark61369]

@ndaddy420, @7606dennis ,

This is a 6 month old topic that has a solution already. 

[d2monsma1]

Not if you don’t know what the the last public bid is. THAT is a silent auction, not a a public auction. Shameful.

[kh-jean]

Hi everyone,

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

Thank you for understanding.