ebay Q ?

[andy55]

ebay n00b questions:

Tried bidding on an ebay item, but immediately when I confirm my bid I am informed that I have been outbidded.

When looking at the bid history there are a number of bids by myself with different dates and timestamps, but the other bidder's single date/time is always exactly the same, the bid value just keeps changing(rising).

what is happening here ? Is it possible to place 'hidden' bids somehow or what.

If there is a reserve price, is a "reserve (not) met" or similar text always displayed so that everyone knows if the minimum price has been reached or not ?


EDIT: hmm the timestamp of the winning bid does seem to change but there is always only one bid by the winning username, while my bids show up as several separate bids...

[erase42]

actually whats happening is common. what happens is that someone very early on bid quite high on an item that they really want to win. even if they bid 100 dollars on an item thats currently showing 20 dollar bid amount, the amount ebay will show is the amount of the next highest bid plus the "bid increment" usually a few dollars, thats set buy the seller. so even tho the listed current price is 20 dollars and you bid 40 dollars the new item price will rise to $40+bid increment or about $45. however since the earlier bid was $100, it will show that you were outbid by another bidder (since he bid 100, they system will automatically increase his bid to keep it the highest untill the amount exceeds his $100 bid) . this other bidder is now obligated to pay the $45 amount that you were willing to pay, even if he had bid $100.
if you bid again at 60 dollars, the other bidder will then have to pay $65 even if he had a $100 bid placed. you can keep bidding untill you either are no longer interested in paying that much, or you will reach a point where you outbid the other bidder. in this case that would have to be over $100. when you look at the bid list, it shows the outbid people, and the highest bidder, however his MAX bid remains a mystery untill someone else exceeds that amount, or the auction ends, and even then im not sure if you see his max bid, or only what he ended up paying, which may be much lower than his MAX bid, but higher than your MAX bid.
hope this helps, and if i missunderstand any of this i hope someone else steps up.

[erase42]

oh and yes a reserve not met label will show below the bid amount.

[andy55]

thanks !
I tried to read the ebay docs but this is not clearly explained there.

[zoltan]

Hi,

I have seen this thread about ebay and I would like to ask for help if someone can help. I am from Romania, so, despite I got a visa card for buying on ebay - from a card issuer, due to the fact that Romania is not on the list of countries from where I can send money (pay) on PAYPAL, I could not yet buy anything on ebay. I contacted PAYPAL but they said I must wait until the service will be available for Romania, no other help. Is here someone who can advice me what I can do to be able to buy on ebay as I am from Romania and it seems that PYAPAL is not yet available.

Thank you,

Zoltan

[Al_The_Man]

Zoltan, You could find out from any of your financial institutions if they issue money orders in US funds drawn on a US bank ( if this is for US purchases).
If so, contact the seller and explain and see if they will take the MO.
Other wise ask your bank on advice of sending US funds.
It also helps if you have a good feedback rating.
This method also applies to purchases in other countries.
Al.

[zoltan]

Thank you very much. This is true a way. Unfortulately, I checked already with banks and they charge a lot, here in Romania. It is minimum 25$/transfer and in average is 7.5% which is too much for me.

Anyway, thank you again for trying to help me. I really appreciate.


Zoltan

[imserv]

If the sellers list Visa/mastercard as a payment form in addition to paypal, you can often use the visa card, rather than paypal.

Ebay owns paypal, so they try to make you think that is the only way to use a credit card. They then get the auction fee and the paypal fees.

Fred Smith - IMService
http://www.cadcamcadcam.com/hobby

[andy55]

Originally Posted by erase42 actually whats happening is common. what happens is that someone very early on bid quite high on an item that they really want to win. even if they bid 100 dollars on an item thats currently showing 20 dollar bid amount, the amount ebay will show is the amount of the next highest bid plus the "bid increment" usually a few dollars, thats set buy the seller. so even tho the listed current price is 20 dollars and you bid 40 dollars the new item price will rise to $40+bid increment or about $45. however since the earlier bid was $100, it will show that you were outbid by another bidder (since he bid 100, they system will automatically increase his bid to keep it the highest untill the amount exceeds his $100 bid) . this other bidder is now obligated to pay the $45 amount that you were willing to pay, even if he had bid $100. if you bid again at 60 dollars, the other bidder will then have to pay $65 even if he had a $100 bid placed. you can keep bidding untill you either are no longer interested in paying that much, or you will reach a point where you outbid the other bidder. in this case that would have to be over $100. when you look at the bid list, it shows the outbid people, and the highest bidder, however his MAX bid remains a mystery untill someone else exceeds that amount, or the auction ends, and even then im not sure if you see his max bid, or only what he ended up paying, which may be much lower than his MAX bid, but higher than your MAX bid. hope this helps, and if i missunderstand any of this i hope someone else steps up.

does it work this way also for subsequent bids or is this mechanism only in place for the first bidder (initial bid) ?

[zoltan]

Thank you for help.

Zoltan

[Al_The_Man]

Originally Posted by andy55 does it work this way also for subsequent bids or is this mechanism only in place for the first bidder (initial bid) ?

The highest bid always goes to the person with the highest (reserve) bid, this is the bid amount you enter when you place a bid, you have two options to go the next highest bid increment, which may be refused if the existing high bidder has a higher 'reserve' bid. Or place your own highest bid amount, which if higher than the present bidders reserve, will hop over his by a bid increment amount.
No one will know what your 'reserve' was if no one else bids.
Al.