Multiple bids of the same amount by the same buyer

[erakmike]

Does ebay allow a bidder to make multiple bids of the same amount on an auction sale? I have an auction in progress and the same bidder has bid the same amount three times over several days of the auction.

[nobody*s_perfect]

The bids aren't actually the same amount. Each new bid must be higher than the previous one. BUT multiple bids by the high bidder will all show as the same amount because you can't bid against yourself.  It will show as one bid increment above the second-highest bidder, or as the opening bid price if there is only one bidder.  The high bid showing will increase when another bidder comes along.

[eburtonlab]

In a no-reserve auction, eBay only displays enough of the highest bidder's amount to either match the starting bid amount or to beat the second highest bidder's bid amount by up to one bid increment.

When you see multiple bids by the same bidder and the current bid amount does not change, that means that the high bidder is increasing the hidden maximum amount of the bid.

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

If there is a reserve on an auction -- a hidden minimum bid amount set by the seller that must be met for the seller to complete the transaction -- then the multiple bids may be an attempt by the high bidder to reach or discover the reserve amount. When a bidder bids at or above the reserve, the current bid price jumps to the reserve amount, the reserve is met, and the auction then proceeds as a no-reserve auction.