Real time update

[7rzzb_24]

Has anyone else lost out on an item at the last few seconds ??     Well the other day I religiously watched an item I wanted ; made sure I was high bid ; but at 12 seconds left it came up outbid , I  returned a bid at 5 seconds; but system did not accept my bid, it had already started to end process even though I bid a 5 seconds .  I was told by agent I had been sniped. But after looking at bidder history, I was outbid almost 12 minutes prior to close !!!!!!!!      So I lost out because ebays app didn’t update in real time, wonder how many other things I lost out because of that issue ?

Reall time immediate updates are an essential part of online bidding , also to prevent sniping, a 2 or 3 minute extension for bids put in within last few minutes would correct that issue.  Most online auctions have that on their sites now, why doesn’t eBay ?     

Sincerely, very sad buyer

[rock.star]

It is the highest bid that wins the auction not the last one.

Bid once with your high bid and then snipers can not beat you.

[buyselljack2016]

@7rzzb_24 

Not sure how long you had been watching there near the end of the auction, but it has been suggested to refresh to be "up to date".  Beyond my ken why that is necessary, but for anyone that is "reactive bidding" it may be helpful.

Real time bidding is not the answer.  Real time bidding is an annoyance.  If were to be interested in an eBay auction I want it to end when it is so scheduled to end, not be dragged on, and on by reactive bidding from those that do not know how much they are willing to bid.

On the ever so rare occasion that I bid on an auction it will be done within the last 10 seconds.

[sbailey5858]

I lost an auction today and I was 61$ ahead of everyone else with 20 seconds left. Then, a sniper came in. So, I ran him up. I figure, if I am not going to get the item, I am going to run him/her up. It is my consolation for being burned by an external sniping tool. Now, you probably wonder, how does that hurt the sniper? Well, the sniper has to put in a maximum bid in to their tool. Often, they leave an extra 10-20% in there in case they are dealing with another sniper using an external tool. They really don't want to pay the maximum amount or anywhere close to it. So, I run them up. Yes, they might beat me, but they are licking their wounds because they paid close to the maximum amount that they put in to their sniping tool. Now, if I win, so be it. I have seen auctions where there are obviously 2 or 3 people using sniping tools. I stand back on those and let the snipers  using external tools destroy each other.

[eburtonlab]

You should always assume that there will be other bidders bidding against you. Many bids are placed towards the end of the auction. If your strategy relies on being able to counter late bids, it is time for you to get a new strategy. No one can guarantee getting the last bid; in many cases you may not be able to place a second bid at all, so make your first bid count: bid your maximum amount, once.

Because eBay bidders and eBay servers are located throughout the world, it can take a few seconds after a bid has been received and timestamped by eBay for notice to go out around the world to all the other bidders viewing the item page. If a bid comes in at the end of the auction, such notice might not be seen until several seconds after the auction actually ends.

If you are interested in winning an item, your best course of action is likely to decide in advance the maximum amount you are willing to pay for the item including any taxes or shipping, and then bid the appropriate amount once, as late in the auction as you are comfortable with. If the amount is a round number, consider adding a few cents to avoid a tie which would go to the earlier bidder. Bidding late ensures that other bidders have little time to react to your bid, or to bid you up and possibly discover your maximum bid amount and then retract (if a shill) or outbid you (if a competitor).

Because of the way eBay auctions work, there is no real benefit to bidding less than your maximum amount. Bidding less will not allow you to pay less -- except possibly by a minimal amount in rare cases where you outbid the underbidder by less than a full increment and wind up winning; in that case bidding your maximum may result in paying one full increment above the underbidder's bid. But the downside of bidding less than your max is that a late bid can beat you and you can lose for an amount less than what you were actually willing to pay.

If you bid your true maximum and the bid goes through, the only way you can lose is if someone else is willing to pay more, and they actually place a higher bid before the auction ends, or if someone was willing to pay the same amount as you and they bid sooner than you did.

Newbies bid for a bargain, hoping to win; veterans bid to win, hoping for a bargain.