How can one person bid 3 times the same amount?

[liawrig.nq8rdwqa3]

I saw this item had "3" bids, but it's by the SAME PERSON?  How is that done?  It looks like she's preventing others from bidding higher?

[liawrig.nq8rdwqa3]

@ Richard No, I never do reserve, but I'll look into it.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Don't bother looking into reserves.  Richard was just suggesting a scenario where a bidder would choose to place multiple bids. Experienced sellers do not use reserves: they incur a significant nonrefundable fee, and many potential buyers avoid listings with unmet reserve prices.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@liawrig.nq8rdwqa3 wrote:

How is he increasing his bid?  It's stayed the same at $10, with 3 bids.

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The full amount that his bids is not shown.  Each bid must be higher than the one before it.  His actual bid amounts could be $20, $30, and $100.  There's no way to know, until somebody bids against him.

The high bid showing on a listing will always be just one bid increment above the second-highest bid.  If there is just one bidder, then the bid will show as the opening bid amount, no matter how many times that member places a bid. But each of his bids is higher than the one before it.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

You probably should read up on how auctions work, before doing them.  As someone else has said, it's worked this way for decades!  Nothing nefarious is going on & this is good for you, as a seller.  You don't seem to believe people, so I'm not going to waste my breath.  

ETA:  Do not use a reserve, they've been passe' for decades & they come with extra fees.  Reserves are just not done anymore for the most part, unless it's someone who doesn't know what they're doing. 

[wastingtime101]

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@liawrig.nq8rdwqa3 wrote:

How is he increasing his bid?  It's stayed the same at $10, with 3 bids.

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Look at it this way @liawrig.nq8rdwqa3:

Buyer A bids $10

The next day, Buyer A realizes they might not be around at the end of the auction so they increase their bid to $20. Nobody else bid yet so their max bid of $20 is hidden while the live bid sits at $10.

Buyer A decides they really want it so they place a third bid for $50. Again, nobody else bid yet so the live bid sits at $10.

This will show up as 3 separate bids with the buyer's high price hidden. Until someone else comes along to place a bid, it will stay that way.

So Buyer B comes along and places a $20 max bid. Because of automatic bidding, the current bid automatically jumps up to $21 with Buyer A as the current high bidder and Buyer B automatically outbid.

You don't have a Buyer B in the picture yet. All you know is that Buyer A increased their hidden max bid a couple times. There's no way to know what Buyer A's max bid is (the numbers I used above are all made up) until/unless someone else bids.

[monroe67]

What you're seeing sounds like one person is, so far, the only bidder.   He places the first bid, for $10.00.

He wants to make sure he wins the auction.  So he places a "maximum bid" of something that is more than $10.00.   Nobody knows what that amount is except himself.  Nobody at eBay knows what it is, only that is it more than his original $10.00 bid.  What the seller sees is two bids from that one bidder, each for $10.00.

But he wants to be triple-sure he wins.  So, he placed another "maximum bid" of some dollar amount that is more than his second bid (his first "maximum bid").   Again, nobody knows what that amount is except the bidder himself.   So, the seller sees three bids of $10.00 each.

That is also what any other bidders see:  three bids of $10.00 each.  Other bidders do not see the first bidder's user name.  

For this example, let's assume the original guy's current maximum bid is $25.00.  Nobody sees what that maximum bid is until or unless another bidder places a bid for it.   Let's say the bid increments are 50 cents.   And I place a bid for $12.50.  The first bidder's maximum bid ($25) is higher than my $12.50 bid, and eBay automatically increases the first guy's bid to $13.00.  I am out-bid.

But if I place my next bid for $30.00, that is more than the first bidder's maximum bid of $25.00.  And I am the winner -- until somebody else bids more than my $30.00.  


On another issue, placing a reserve amount on eBay auctions will cost you, the seller.  Look into those costs before you set a reserve amount.  

 

[eunster1313]

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@liawrig.nq8rdwqa3 wrote:

EB support said they have "automatic bidding" setup.  I don't know what the H*** that means.  I never knew it.

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Automatic bidding

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/automatic-bidding?id=4014&st=12&pos=2&query=Automatic%20bid... 

[aprilmoviebuf2000]

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@liawrig.nq8rdwqa3 wrote:

I dunno....that seems like cheating.  I hope somebody who's watching will outbid them.

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When a buyer places an opening bid, in your case $10.00, eBay will give the buyer a message "Congratulations, you are currently the high bidder.  Increase your maximum bid to avoid being outbid."

Or something to that effect.  Not sure of the actual wording.  

So, that is exactly what your buyer has done.  Meaning he/she really wants your item so they have increased their max bid over and above your starting price.  But, if no one bids above their max bid (an amount you cannot see, nor can other bidders unless they bid above that amount), they will win the auction for your starting price of $10.00.  

The reason you are seeing the 3 bids from the same person at the same amount, bidders cannot bid against themselves.   But again, if someone else goes in and bids over and above the original bidder's amounts, that is when you will see those bid increments in the bidding history.  

[maxine*j]

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@monroe67 wrote:

What you're seeing sounds like one person is, so far, the only bidder...

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@monroe67 

Yes, it was one person.  OP included a screenshot of the bidding which showed the buyer's user-ID.  There was no attempt to obscure the bidder's ID in any way.  It was there for all to see.  That was reported and removed, and quite properly so.

But, yes, just one person bid three times.  Unfortunately, no matter how many different ways it is explained, OP cannot seem to grasp why only the first bid amount shows, altough there are three bids by the one person.

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[ryanrobyn]

Actually this encourages buyers to bid higher as it shows interest in the item. A bidder can increase their bid as much as they like. 

[inhawaii]

I don't know how long you've been selling on ebay, but you really should know/understand how bidding works BEFORE you sell here and if you're going to continue to sell here.

[itsjustasprain]

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@liawrig.nq8rdwqa3 wrote:

How is he increasing his bid?  It's stayed the same at $10, with 3 bids.

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When you place a bid you are putting in the maximum that you are willing to pay. You do not actually have to pay that much unless or until someone else starts bidding against you. Your bidder has increased his maximum bid just in case. If no one else bids against him before the auction ends then the price will stay at the opening of $10.

The one who bids the highest will win the auction. It is not the one who bids the latest. You may get later bids from others but your current bidder can still win if his maximum bid is higher than anyone else. The winning bidder pays no more than one bid increment above the 2nd-place bidders highest bid.

So if your current bidder has a hidden maximum of $75 then he will win against all others unless or until someone bids $75.01 or higher. Ties go to the earlier bidder.

[wastingtime101]

Looks like your buyer placed a 4th bid, and according to their bidding history, it's not unusual for them to place multiple bids on athletic wear listings. You found a very active bidder in a category where they have a lot of interest.

Why do you choose to use the auction format @liawrig.nq8rdwqa3? You're selling everyday items with easily researched market prices - generally better suited for the fixed price format. Almost everything you've sold has ended with one single bid. Using fixed price and not making buyers wait for auctions to end could increase your sales.

[aeparts1]

Don't worry, you'll get some other people bidding on your item, I can almost guarantee it.

[fuzzface50]

Now that there are more bidders involved, look at the bid history page and pay close attention to the time stamps.  You will see that the original bidder that bid three times had bid a $1 more each time but because he had no competition when he bid those three times it stayed at $10.00. Remember when you are leading the price will not change if you decide to bid again. 

You will see that the same bidder is still leading again after coming back and outbidding the other bidder at $13 and again they added an extra bid after that but because they took the lead it still shows them at $13 because you cannot outbid yourself.