how does ebay bidding work?

By migles, May 24, 2018 1,091 17 0

  1. migles

    OP migles All my gbatemp friends are now mods, except for me
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    so, i was bidding in an item in ebay.. the item was 2 days left, and i did bid it, i was the highest bidder until the very last 5 seconds. and this made me really confused and shocked..

    when the timer was 20-10 seconds left i tought it would commence a bidding war, like i would bid and then another dude bids and time will increase 1-5 minutes. but no, in the very last 5 seconds a bot or a guy who knows how ebay works, outbid me so fast, i had no change to make a higher offer...

    this coupled with the automatic bidding system i don't know how it works, the first time i bid, i was outbid in that very instant and i did see ebay has a automatic bidding thing i don't understand...

    can someone enlight me and give tips for bid in ebay and shit?
    or is just a matter of setting up a bot and get my computer next to ebay servers to bid in the last microsecond?
     
  2. Scarlet

    Scarlet Pretty Pretty Princess
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    The time remaining is absolute, you don't have any added on after each bid. It's why I never bid until like the guy you were up against lol.

    People call it sniping. It's kind of an arsehole thing to do, but ultimately it's the easiest way to pay the least amount of money. If you bid early, chances are somebody will try to outbid you in the time remaining anyway.
     
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  3. smileyhead

    smileyhead I like cute stuff.
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    What a dick!
     
  4. Psionic Roshambo

    Psionic Roshambo GBAtemp Addict
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    Rest well knowing you bid this unknown person up a bit migles and made them pay more :P lol
     
  5. asnka

    asnka GBAtemp Regular
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    https://www.gixen.com/index.php
    Put in your top price.
    It will keep you the top bidder till you get outbid.
    People have been sniping ebay since the 90's.
    You can also search for BIN and sort lowest to highest.
    Or check the newly listed BIN sometimes people lowball themselves...
     
    Last edited by asnka, May 24, 2018
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  6. EyeZ

    EyeZ GBAtemp Addict
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    If you want to win an E-bay auction at the possible lowest price, why would you make bids throughout the auction time limit?

    You would just be paying a higher cost for an item by out bidding other bidders, so the way to go is bid as late as possible with a high enough bid to win at the very least time left to prevent you from being out-bid.
     
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  7. SomeGamer

    SomeGamer GBAtemp Guru
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    What if both bidders use it?
     
  8. asnka

    asnka GBAtemp Regular
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    Whoever puts in the higher top bid, wins.
     
  9. Flame

    Flame Me > You
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    you win some you lose some. to the next bid.
     
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  10. Joe88

    Joe88 [λ]
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    Generally its just bots doing it, I suggest also not "watching" something because it just lets other people know there is X amount of people interested, just bookmark it instead
    there is also people that upbid because it gives them a thrill even if they don't want the item, I try to avoid auctions in general
     
  11. Quantumcat

    Quantumcat Dead and alive
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    If you want to win an ebay auction, bid late and bid the most you're willing to pay.
     
  12. RandomUser

    RandomUser Rosalina in Plush Form
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    This is the process known as bid sniping. It can be done and for a fee some website have services to snipe a bid right at 1 seconds before auction ends. These sites are questionable though as they do require your eBay username and password credential.
     
  13. porkiewpyne

    porkiewpyne Report-er
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    You just got bid sniped. There are no extensions for auctions like Ebay unlike some other auctions sites, so as you may have already found out, the final bidder wins regardless of when he enters the bid.

    Ebay's Automatic Bidding works like this. You put in the highest amount you are willing to pay. Ebay slots you in as the next increment. When someone tries to outbid you, Ebay will automatically bid the next increment up, until it hits you max and/or said person outbids your initial max bid. At any point in time, you are allowed to increase you max bid.

    I personally would not go through the effort of scripting a bot for bid wars. I'll put my max price and if someone else really wants to pay more, then all the power to them. Also I generally try to avoid bids if possible because there have been times when the stubborn sore loser within me will manifest and will try to win the bid war at all cost, leaving my wallet a lot thinner than it should be T^T
     
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  14. Quantumcat

    Quantumcat Dead and alive
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    It will probably have gotten returned to sender. Put in a claim on ebay for item not received. If there happened to be an identical address in that other postcode, AND the seller used postage that has tracking (showing it as delivered in that postcode) you may lose, but you were going to give up anyway. If the seller did not get tracking, or it hasn't been delivered, you will get a refund. If this fails, you can try a PayPal claim after the ebay one loses, and if that fails, you can ask for a chargeback with your credit card (because you used a credit card didn't you? If not, make sure to use one next time).
     
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  15. xpoverzion

    xpoverzion GBAtemp Regular
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    Why bother with Ebay auctions??? Just pay the buy it now price for a few dollars more and get on with your life! Auctions make sense for very high priced items where it's hard to put an exact value on it. But auctioning commodity items like electronics, and just about everything else most people buy, is a complete waste of time and effort for the buyer and seller imo.
     
    Last edited by xpoverzion, Jul 4, 2018
  16. Quantumcat

    Quantumcat Dead and alive
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    Many listings don't have that option
     
  17. xpoverzion

    xpoverzion GBAtemp Regular
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    Unless it's the only item of it's kind that exists (which I highly doubt was the case with your item), find another seller with a buy it now price.
     
  18. Quantumcat

    Quantumcat Dead and alive
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    That doesn't work with collectibles.
     
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