Section 2.2. Bidding on eBay

2.2. Bidding on eBay

eBay's genius is in its bidding system, called proxy bidding . Proxy bidding is the automated bidding system that lets you participate in auctions even when you're away from your computer: you put in your maximum bid and eBay bids on your behalf , up to your high bid. Here's how it works.

As Figure 2-5 shows, when you place a bid on eBay, the Place a Bid page shows two bid amounts:

• Current bid . This is the high price of the moment; you have to bid a little more than the current bid to join in the auction (eBay shows you the minimum acceptable bid right next to the box where you type in your bid amount).

• Your maximum bid . The amount you type in here is the most that you'd be willing to pay to win the auction. Your maximum bid is a secret amounthidden from everyone but you and eBay's computers. In fact, if the price in an auction doesn't go as high as your maximum bid, no one else will ever know how much you were willing to pay.

Figure 2-5. When making your bid, you must type in at least the amount listed to the right of the text box, but you can type in the maximum amount you're willing to pay. If you're unsure that you're bidding correctly, click "Learn about bidding" in the lower-left corner (not shown here) for a quick pop-up tutorial.

When you type in your maximum bid, eBay checks that amount against the minimum bid. If your bid is at or higher than the required minimum, eBay accepts the bid, and you become the high bidder by one bid increment , the minimum price increase for an acceptable bid. Depending on the current price, each new bid must be at least one bid increment higherfor example, if the current bid is $9.99, the bid increment is 50 cents , so the next acceptable bid would be $10.49.

Note: Bid increments increase as the price does, ranging from five cents for items whose current price is less than a dollar to $100 for items currently prices at $5,000 or more. To find out more about bid incrementsand how to use them to win an auction by just a penny or twosee Section 3.3.

After you've placed a bid, if another eBayer comes along and bids on the same item, eBay compares the new bid with your secret maximum amount. When two people bid against each other, eBay's computers raise the price one increment at a time until the current price exceeds someone's maximum bid.

For example, imagine you find an ultracool pair of sunglasses with an opening bid of $9.99a good price, but you'd pay $15.99 plus shipping and still think you got a bargain. When you type in $15.99 as your maximum bid, eBay checks to make sure that you've bid enough to cover the minimum. You have, so you become the high bidder for the sunglasses at $9.99. But eBay remembers that your high bid is $15.99 and will bid up to that amount on your behalfwith no further action from youif someone else joins the bidding. So when another bidder swoops incall her sunglasses-stealerand hopes to win the sunglasses for one puny bid increment more, she types in $10.49 as her maximum bid. eBay accepts her bid, and then checks your secret amount. Your maximum bid of $15.99 is more than one bid increment higher than sunglasses-stealer's max, so eBay raises your bid by one increment. You're now the high bidder at $10.99.

But what if sunglasses-stealer decides to keep bidding and types in a new maximum amount? The same process happens all over again. eBay compares your high bid with sunglasses-stealer's high bid, increasing each by one increment until the bidding goes over someone's maximum. If sunglasses-stealer's maximum bid is higher than yours, bidding will stop at one bid increment above your max of $15.99staying at $16.49 unless somebody else bids before the auction ends. When someone outbids you, eBay emails you an outbid notice explaining that you're no longer the high bidder and inviting you to bid again.

There are three things worth noting about proxy bidding:

• Bidding always goes up by one bid increment at a time . If the current price appears to make a big jump, it's because both bidders had a maximum bid significantly higher than the opening bid. eBay increased each bid one increment at a timebut at the lightning speed of computers.

• eBay's proxy bidding system will never bid more than your maximum bid on your behalf . If the bidding has gone past your max and you're behind by a few cents, you have to bid again if you want to stay in the action.

• Unlike live auctions, which keep going until no one's willing to make another bid, an eBay auction goes to the person with the highest bid at the moment the auction ends . It's not worth trying to save a few cents by lowballing your bid, because you might find yourself outbid at the last momentat a price that was within your range. Bid your true maximum amount, then let eBay's computers fight it out with other bidders for you until the clock runs down.

Note: A bid is a true offer to buy. Place a bid for $2.00, and you promise to pay $2.00, plus shipping costs, if you win the auction.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION
Instantly Outbid!

How can I be outbid just seconds after I placed my bid ?

If you're bidding in an auction in which there are already other bidders, you might be outbid as soon as you've OK'd the amount you're willing to pay. How can this happen? Are those other bidders hovering like vultures over their computers, refreshing the auction page every few seconds, just so they can outbid you?

Unlikely. Your real opponent is proxy bidding. Remember that when you bid, eBay invites you to specify the maximum amount you're willing to pay for the item, but this amount won't necessarily be your opening bid. Instead, eBay keeps track of the amount you're willing to pay and automatically places bids for you, according to predetermined bid increments, up to your maximum amount.

Imagine you spot a good deal on an antique wooden fishing lure. You're willing to pay up to $200 (plus shipping) to add it to your collection. The current high bid, made by fishing- lure-guy, is only $49.99 and the bid increment is $1.00, so you've got to bid at least $1.00 more than the current bid. You type in a bid for $50.99. Within seconds, you've been outbid, and fishing -lure-guy's high bid has zipped up to $51.99.

When you made your bid, eBay's computers checked to see whether any other bidders had a higher maximum bid. Fishing-lure-guy did, so eBay automatically raised his bid to beat yours.

If you bid again, specify the maximum amount you're willing to spendin this case, $200. Now eBay keeps track of your maximum bid and raises your bids accordingly as the situation changes. You might find that you're the high bidder at $98.99. That means that fishing-lure-guy's maximum bid was $97.99. Is the lure yours? Maybe, maybe not. eBay notifies the other bidder that he's been outbid, and he might come back and raise his maximum bid. Or other fishing- lure fanatics might jump in. You never know who's won until the auction's over.

2.2.1. Placing a Bid

eBay gives you two ways to place a bid from the auction page. Scroll to the top of the auction page and click the Place Bid button, or save yourself a precious mouse click by heading to the "Ready to bid?" section near the bottom of the page and typing your bid into the "Your maximum bid" text box.

Tip: When you're new to eBay, start small. Learn how the system works before you make your first big purchase. Scammers often look for new eBayers, preying on their lack of eBay experience to lure them into buying an expensiveand nonexistentmotorcycle or diamond watch. For more on common scams and how to avoid them, see Section 4.3.If you want to start really small, eBay offers a test auction where you can practice bidding to get comfortable with the process before you do it for real. Type http://pages.ebay.com/education/tutorial/course1/bidding/index.html into your browser's address bar or, from the Help page, select AZ Index P "Proxy bidding "test auction."

If you click the Place Bid button, eBay takes you to the Place a Bid page, shown in Figure 2-5. Read the description to make sure the item you're bidding on is the one you want. (If you've been browsing lots of auctions, things can get a little confusing.) Check out the current bid, and then type your bid in the text box. Click the Continue button to confirm your bid.

Warning: Typing in a bid and clicking Continue does not mean you've bid. You must confirm the information you're submitting by clicking the Submit button on the Review and Confirm Bid page.

eBay reminds you that your bid is a contract and that the seller, not eBay, is responsible for the auction listing. Clicking the Submit button means you agree to all that (even though you already agreed to these things when you registered). Now, with your cursor hovering over the Confirm Bid button, is the time to consider whether you really want or need or can afford that set of platinum -rimmed pasta bowls.

Tip: If you notice a mistake in your bid on the Review and Confirm pagelike you thought you typed 12.99 but now eBay is telling you that your maximum bid is $12,299click the Back button on your browser and type the correct bid in the text box, then click Continue. Check to make sure that the new amount is the amount you want to bid.

The Bid Confirmation page tells you that eBay has accepted your bid and whether you're the current high bidder, as shown in Figure 2-6. Make sure that your maximum bid really is the most you're willing to pay. If you bid low and tell yourself you'll place a higher bid later, you could lose to a sniper a bidder who swoops in during the closing seconds of the auction and outbids everybody. For more on sniping, including how to do it yourself, see Section 3.3.1.2.

Tip: When you place your bid, add a few cents$12.53 instead of $12.50, for example. To see why a couple of cents can make a big difference in who wins an auction, see the section on bid increments (Section 3.3).

Figure 2-6. If the current bid is the same as your maximum bid, eBay warns you that you're in danger of being outbid. You'll lose the auction if just one more bidder comes along.

2.2.2. When to Bid Again

Just because you bid on an item doesn't mean you'll win the auction. If someone else bids higher, you're knocked out of the gameunless you bid again.

How do you know when you've been outbid? Two ways:

• You can tell eBay to fire off an automatic email notification telling you you've been outbid . The email tells you the current high bid and provides a link to take you right to the auction page, so you can snatch that Elvis bobblehead doll away from the interloper who's bidding on your auction. See Section 1.5.5 on how to set your notification preferences.

• You can check the auction page from time to time . The auction page always displays the latest bid, so you can tell at a glance whether it's higher than your max. You can also keep an eye on the auction's status in your My eBay page (Section 1.4.9) under Items I'm Bidding On, although My eBay is notoriously slow to update in running auctions. Better to find the auction in My eBay, then click its title to get up-to-the-minute bidding news.

Tip: New eBayers are more likely than seasoned bidders to get caught up in a bidding war , where emotions (rather than market value) drive bids through the roof. Don't let excitement over an auction cause you to bid more than you're willing to pay. You can find tips for avoiding impulse bidding on Section 3.1.15.