Ebay help? Please, FAST.?

Question

Okay, this is a lil confusing..

I made a bid on something, and someone else bidded it as well. I made another bid, and when I did it said that I was out bidded by like, a dollar. I thought "hey, there not going to check it in a few hours," so I just bid on it again, and it said I was outbid the second I clicked confirm, and I'm so lost, (I'm bidder 3.)

Bidder 4 £46.00 26-Aug-08 06:51:45 BST

Bidder 3 £45.00 26-Aug-08 10:49:30 BST

Bidder 3 £42.01 26-Aug-08 08:22:29 BST

Bidder 3 £40.01 26-Aug-08 07:20:09 BST

Bidder 3 £38.01 26-Aug-08 07:18:47 BST

Bidder 3 £36.00 26-Aug-08 07:04:36 BST

Bidder 3 £32.00 26-Aug-08 07:03:44 BST

Bidder 3 £29.56 26-Aug-08 07:01:24 BST

Bidder 4 £28.55 26-Aug-08 06:51:12 BST

Bidder 3 £28.00 26-Aug-08 07:01:11 BST

So yeah, how is that person doing this? Because I know the person Isn't bidding.

Answer 1

eBay allows bidders to enter their maximum bid, and eBay will "bid for them" until the bidding reaches that amount.

For example, let's say the bidding is currently at $45, but I entered my maximum bid as $100. For every bid someone makes UNDER $100, eBay will tell them they are outbid (because I was willing to bid higher), and move my bid up to whatever amount the bidding is currently at. If someone bids $50, my bid will automatically be $51 (or whatever the next increment is), and they will be outbid. eBay will keep doing that until the bidding gets over $100.

So what's happening in your case is that this other person has a maximum bid entered that is higher than the current bidding. He will automatically become the highest bidder until bidding reaches his maximum amount. Since you have no way of knowing what that amount is, I recommend just entering the highest amount you would be willing to pay for the item. You will not necessarily have to actually pay that much, but you will if the bidding gets up that amount. If the bidding ends lower than your maximum bid, you will only have to pay however much it got up to.

Feel free to e-mail me if you don't understand. It IS kind of confusing if you've never run into it before.