Bid count confusion ... not sure what I am looking at ...

[mr_lincoln]

I have some auctions with 2, 3 and 4 bids BUT they are all the starting amount on the auction listing.  I've seen 2 before like this but I don't recall seeing 3 & 4 ... checking the bid history on the 4 bid item the same bidder and same amount are shown 4 times ... same with the 3 bid item (but a different Buyer).

[soh.maryl · Accepted solution]

A bidder can bid as many times as he wants; however, if he is the only bidder, the showing bid will remain the same until/unless a competitive bidder enters the field, at which point that first bidder's showing bid will increase by the increment required to outbid the newcomer.  If the bidding continues competitively, eBay will continue to use just enough of the #1 bidder's hidden bid to keep him ahead of #2 until/unless all of that hidden bid is used up.

At that point, #1 can enter a new bid or simply quit.

Example:  You see an item listed for $50, so you bid $50.  Then you think about it some more and bid $55.  Your bid will still only show as $50 because you are the only bidder.  

[collectfest]

My experience is this: A bidder makes a first bid. For whatever the reason, going on vacation, not present when auction goes off etc they enter another bid.

Four bids, thats a little odd to me.

I have had bidders leave 3 before. Two pretty quick and another a few days later.

Regards

[pburn]

Can you tell whether it's a new eBay member? I can see a new bidder not being able to figure out why his/her bid is not increasing when s/he places it--like why it's staying at the same dollar amount even though s/he has placed progressively higher bids . . .

[escarchac]

The bidder changed their max bid. I've done it before.  Say it opens at 20 and I put a max bid of 25.  Then I would go back and put another bid in at 30, and again at 40.  It will still show only the initial price of their first bid.  In short, sounds like they want your item.

[fuzzface50]

There is an old bidding strategy  some buyers use but instead of just 3 or 4 bids they would bid like 15-20 or more time on the item.  Not sure that it works especially against seasoned buyers because we know they only bid a penny each time after the initial first bid increment.  Maybe they thought 3 or 4 times was enough or just lazy?

Basicly what they are doing with this strategy is making it look like the item has a lot of attention and it would chase potential other buyers to other similar items and away from this item. Especially when they see someone has bid so many times on it and they think they bid the bid increment each time really making this item to expensive and abandon it and move on. 

but the seasoned or well versed buyers know you only have to meet the HIGH SHOWING BID by the bidding increment on your first bid  and all other bids could be just a penny more than your last bid.  So you have a bidder that bids .25 because that is the next bid increment then they can bid another 30 times and only raise the price another .30 for a total high bid of only .55 more but at fast glance a potential buyer doesn't see it that way in their mind.  They think wow, this guy really wants it and is willing to pay anything for it and chases them away.  But in reality it is an easy strategy to see thru and those bidders are easy to beat because they bid so low. 

To me it isn't a good strategy but then this might not be it being only a handful of bids instead of many and the others could be right that the bidders just changed their mind and raised their bid amount to compensate what they really want it for. 

[soh.maryl]

Why would 3 bids from the same bidder seem normal to you, but 4 bids be a "little odd"? 

[heakal-54]

The nibbler wants to nibble so bad they start to nibble before the next bidder even shows up.

[roadking5555]

I see this a lot with my auctions. weird but I am quite use to it. The bidders think they are going to scare off another potential bidder. I also see the same thing near the end of auctions, multiple bids by the same bidder.

Usually when the dust settles, they are not the eventual winning bidder. You can have a look at the ending auction and see that they made a few or more bids initially but they are in small increments.

The other thing you can do is look at their past 30 day bid history and most times you can see a pattern....IE, bids far outweigh the number of items bid on.

it is a familiar pattern, at least from my perspective.

[mr_lincoln]

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@escarchac wrote:

The bidder changed their max bid. I've done it before.  Say it opens at 20 and I put a max bid of 25.  Then I would go back and put another bid in at 30, and again at 40.  It will still show only the initial price of their first bid.  In short, sounds like they want your item.

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That's pretty much what @soh.maryl mentioned and I am thinking that's probably what was going on.  Someone else asked the Buyers were new, they were not, so that eliminates a new Buyer thinking it is a Buy it now and is miffed as to why the sales does not go through when they enter the price ...