I thought I had it in the "bag", I'm being outbid, can anyone tell me what's up!?!?!?

klb4556

O.G.
May 18, 2009
2,061
118
I bid on a purse 3 days ago, and I have been the highest bidder the whole time, and it's not a very sought after bag, then it occurred to me that maybe the seller did not want to sell it for that little. Maybe they thought it wasn't going to sell at all but then I bid on it at the lowest price and they got irritated because they didn't want to sell it for that little, so THEY are doing the automatic bids, either that or they got somebody else to do it.

My question is, how do I beat these automatic bids? tomorrow when the listing is ending, in the final minutes, how do I make sure I win??

This just makes me so angry, because this whole time it's just been me bidding on it, and now this automatic thing comes up... I really believe it's the frickin seller that's doing this. I just have a gut feeling.


thanks guys!
 
I just bid my maximum bid and now it's telling me I'm the highest bidder, does that mean I've outbid the automatic bid?



For the time being, yes, you are the highest bidder.

Since there seems to be bids coming, in why don't you want
until the last moment & then place your final maximum bid..

If there is someone else interested they probably will keep
bidding..
 
I just bid the highest amount I'm willing to pay and if I lose it, I lose it. I will be at work tomorrow at the end of the auction, so there's no possible way to come in and try to win at the last minute.


Unless it's the person who is selling it, who didn't want to take less for it than what they wanted, and now that I did my maximum, they may feel that's good enough. No clue. Or it's like you all said, it could really be someone else interested, in which case, I'll just have to give up
 
As a seller I love when people bid early (and often) as a buyer it pi$$es me off when people get in bidding wars with 5 days left. It didn't occur to me then that they could be shilling.
 
Look at the bidding history of the proxy bidder. See if there's anything that raises red flags.

What you're describing isn't necessarily shill bidding and there's more information needed to determine if that's the case.

As a bidder, I have always preferred to snipe at the last minute.

But many bidders placed their highest limit bid at the beginning and never look back. That could be what you're seeing in this listing. And the reason you keep getting outbid by automatic (proxy) bids is because you're placing your bids in small increments, not knowing what the previous bidder's limit is. Had you placed your highest bid right off the bat, you wouldn't have the concerns you have now.

Each bidder is different with different bidding styles.
 
I just bid the highest amount I'm willing to pay and if I lose it, I lose it. I will be at work tomorrow at the end of the auction, so there's no possible way to come in and try to win at the last minute.


Unless it's the person who is selling it, who didn't want to take less for it than what they wanted, and now that I did my maximum, they may feel that's good enough. No clue. Or it's like you all said, it could really be someone else interested, in which case, I'll just have to give up

That is the best way to approach it - put in your highest bid and then walk away. Whether you place your bid early or late is strictly up to you but getting into a bidding war rarely ends well.
 
OP: Well, why exactly are you saying that the seller is shilling? Pretty strong accusation to make.

I'm not trying to accuse them of that, I just have a strong feeling that's what's going on. I searched the crevices of ebay to find it, it didn't have many views and it went 3 days out of the last 4 without any activity then all of a sudden there's this automatic thing to make me up my bid. Not too much, just enough for it to have gone up 30 dollars.

BeenBurned: I will go look at the history, that's a good idea, I would have never thought of that.

northerndancer: it stresses me out to be in a bidding war at the very last few mins and seconds, I would rather just go ahead and place the highest and get outbid.
 
That is the best way to approach it - put in your highest bid and then walk away. Whether you place your bid early or late is strictly up to you but getting into a bidding war rarely ends well.

I agree here as well.. Place your max bid if you get it you get it..

Very often the same item will turn up sooner than you expect

or sometimes a second chance offer may come your way as

not all buyers pay for their items & you may have room to negotiate:smile:

So wait & see,,,