ebay - newbie question

[Zandy595]

I just bid on my first item on ebay yesterday. My first bid was beat when I looked this morning, so I bid again and it was beat immediately. This happened one more time before it stopped with me winning. How does that happen? Can you set something up so it will automatically bid for you up to a certain amount?

Also, what stops a seller from bidding on their own item (with a fake name) just to bump up the price?

 

[MickeySP]

There are several "snipe" programs out there, if you just google tons will pop up.

as far as what stops them, well if you get caught you get suspended or bounced & Ebay pulls all your auctions. They do monitor suspicious bids, like 1 person always bidding but never winning on the same seller. Also people do notice and will turn rule breakers in.

 

[Zandy595]

As a bidder, can I see the names of other people bidding on the same item?

 

[prettyblueskies]

Perhaps other users have a maximum set up to where their bid automatically rises to beat yours until you go above their maximum? I haven't used Ebay in years, but know that other auctions use this method.

 

[Zandy595]

Perhaps other users have a maximum set up to where their bid automatically rises to beat yours until you go above their maximum? I haven't used Ebay in years, but know that other auctions use this method.

That's what I was wondering, but I'm not seeing it anywhere.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

Perhaps other users have a maximum set up to where their bid automatically rises to beat yours until you go above their maximum? I haven't used Ebay in years, but know that other auctions use this method.

this is how ebay works as well.

Say an item has a $10 opening bid, and bidder #1 will pay up to $25. Their maximum is hidden until another bidder puts in an amount equal or greater to the $25.

If you are bidder #2, you see the item has one bid and is currently at $10 - put in your maximum bid of $15 - and the bid instantly jumps up to $15.50 with bidder #1 still winning.

Sniping service wait until a predetermined time before the auction ends, and then places a bid for you. the one I use is set for 6 seconds. This does 2 things, it allows you to wait until the very end of an auction without having to actually be sitting at the computer - and by waiting you avoid potentially driving up the auction price. sniping services do charge a small fee - you have to decide if it makes sense for you to use.

 

[cluvsdisney]

You wont see what someone else's maximum is - the price will keep increasing until you or another bidder has outbid that person.

 

[laurie31]

Yes, that is how it works. When you enter your bid, you enter the amount you are willing to pay. Someone else may have bid $20, but the auction is at $12, so if you enter $15, the person who entered $20 will automatically be the high bidder, until someone else comes along and bids higher than $20.

The snipe programs are where they wait until the last few seconds of an auction to enter the higher bid, so no one else has a chance to outbid them before the auction closes. You can do this manually, without a program, by sitting in front of your computer and refreshing the screen like mad. I would have to REALLY want the thing to go to so much effort, though. Normally, I just put in the amount I'm willing to pay when I first bid, and if I win great and if not, such is life. It's easy to end up paying more than you intended if you let yourself get into a bidding war.