Bids for Auctions with wrong dates and timestamps, appears to be an exploit to win after times up

[cool_techie]

I'm seeing suspicious bids on recent Auctions. 

https://www.ebay.com/bfl/viewbids/355521002917?item=355521002917&rt=nc&_trksid=p4429486.m145235.l256...

And 

https://www.ebay.com/bfl/viewbids/156107655414?item=156107655414&rt=nc&_trksid=p4429486.m145235.l256...

Somehow the bid is submitted with the wrong date or wrong timestamp and they are able to win the auction even after the time is up and bidding is supposed to have stopped.

[eburtonlab]

Keep in mind that there was a one hour daylight savings time adjustment between the start and end of those auctions. The auctions stared in PST and ended or will end in PDT (the latter auction is still ongoing at this time).

For some unknown reason eBay no longer displays the ending time to the second at the top of the bid history page, but if there are any bids you should be able to calculate the actual ending time by examining the starting time of the auction at the bottom of the page. Auctions always begin and end at the same time down to the exact second, unless the auction is ended early by the seller. All bidders have the same time to place valid bids, and no one gets any extra time. eBay time stamps every bid as it is received by eBay, and the times are displayed to the second in the bid history if you use a desktop browser.

[cool_techie]

This auction ends in a few hours. At the moment the winning bid has a date that is 8 *days* behind the one before it.  I know the bid was submitted recently yet it's back dated. 

 I suspect the bidder is practicing for the end of this auction in a few hours. 

https://www.ebay.com/bfl/viewbids/156107655414?item=156107655414&rt=nc&_trksid=p4429486.m145235.l256...

The date dependency of 8 days, is not due to different timezones. 

[monica-sells]

I see nothing out of line in this bidding...could you point out what you see as a discrepancy? It is a 10-day auction...bidder (478) made a proxy amount back on the 10th that is higher than anyone else has bid yet

[albertabrightalberta]

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@cool_techie wrote:

This auction ends in a few hours. At the moment the winning bid has a date that is 8 *days* behind the one before it.  I know the bid was submitted recently yet it's back dated. 

 I suspect the bidder is practicing for the end of this auction in a few hours. 

https://www.ebay.com/bfl/viewbids/156107655414?item=156107655414&rt=nc&_trksid=p4429486.m145235.l256...

The date dependency of 8 days, is not due to different timezones. 

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The bidder who placed the early (8 days before) bid placed a high bid. He remains the high bidder until a later bid comes in that outbids his proxy.

[cool_techie]

The winning bid in the image above shows a March 10th date. It also suspiciously matches the date of TWO earlier bids by the same bidder. Note that all three bids by this bidder have the same date down to the SECOND.  When the auction ends in a few hours, I predict that when the auction ends today, the winning bid will come in with the back date and it will be for 50 cents more than the previous one. 

[eburtonlab]

The winning bid in the image above shows a March 10th date. It also suspiciously matches the date of TWO earlier bids by the same bidder. Note that all three bids by this bidder have the same date down to the SECOND.

The bids shown in italics are automatic bids -- meaning that the bidder bid once, and when another bidder placed a bid below the current high bidder's maximum bid amount, the amount of the showing bid was raised to beat the new bid by up to one bid increment.

eBay does not display the current high bidder's full bid amount until or unless another bidder outbids it or bids within one bid increment of it.

[eburtonlab]

When the auction ends in a few hours, I predict that when the auction ends today, the winning bid will come in with the back date and it will be for 50 cents more than the previous one.

The bid increment for bids under $100 is $1, so if the bidding stays under $100 and no one outbids the current high bidder, the high bidder will likely win by $1 -- unless the next highest bidder happens to bid within $1 of the high bidder's earlier hidden bid amount. If the bidding goes up to $100, the winner will likely win by the $2.50 bid increment.

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

The winning bid can be placed at any time in the auction; unless someone outbids the hidden high bid amount, the highest bid remains at the top of the bid list, as bids are sorted by amount, not by the time the bid was placed.