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Help please with eBay bidding
Russell - 18/9/14 at 09:11 PM

I saw a car part on eBay that I want. It was listed as an auction with 99p start and £100 buy it now. I was tempted with the buy it now but £100 was the absolute maximum I wanted to pay so instead I bid £100 in the hope I would get it for less. I'm not that fussed if I'm outbid, another one will come along eventually...

Anyway, my bid was done and I'm sure I saw the listing showing 1 bid at 99p a few days ago, as I would expect. I looked tonight and it's still my 1 bid but now that bid is £100

I've been an eBay user for 9 years with 500+ transactions and I thought I understood how bidding works. Surely for a 99p start auction with 1 bid of £100 the listing should show 1 bid with the price at 99p? Or am I wrong?

tul214 - 18/9/14 at 09:30 PM

Someone has probably thought the same as you but because you bid £100 first, you are the winning bidder.

Russell - 18/9/14 at 09:40 PM

But there's only one bid and it's mine.

tul214 - 18/9/14 at 09:45 PM

Mmmm, not sure? Is there a 'helpline' you can contact?

Wadders - 18/9/14 at 09:53 PM

I wonder if it shows as £100 from someone else's computer? U2u me the item number and I'll have a look for you.

Dusty - 18/9/14 at 10:05 PM

You didn't press the buy it now button did you rather than the bid button. Contact ebay and tell then about it.

Russell - 18/9/14 at 10:09 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Wadders
I wonder if it shows as £100 from someone else's computer? U2u me the item number and I'll have a look for you.


Thanks! U2U sent

loggyboy - 18/9/14 at 10:10 PM

If he put a 100 reserve on it, and you bid 100, the auction will automatically jump to the reserve amount.

Russell - 18/9/14 at 10:14 PM

It's bloody difficult to find anywhere on eBay to report a general issue with an item. I have emailed them but still waiting for a reply.

I guess the worst case is I end up paying £100 for the thing, which is what I was prepared to pay up to anyway but as a matter of principle I don't like feeling I've been stitched up by eBay. Withdrawing a bid looks like a palaver...

Wadders - 18/9/14 at 10:19 PM

Yes it's showing at £100 with one bid.

pekwah1 - 18/9/14 at 10:22 PM

i thought retracting a bid was quite easy, there's options for "entered in error" and stuff like that isn't there?

Russell - 18/9/14 at 10:24 PM

OK maybe I'm a muppet and there was a £100 reserve on it but I'm sure there wasn't. Ho Hum and thanks for the replies guys, I'll trouble you no more.

slingshot2000 - 18/9/14 at 10:27 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Russell
I saw a car part on eBay that I want. It was listed as an auction OR £100 buy it now. I was tempted with the buy it now but £100 was the absolute maximum I wanted to pay so instead I bid £100 in the hope I would get it for less. I'm not that fussed if I'm outbid, another one will come along eventually...

Anyway, my bid was done and I'm sure I saw the listing showing 1 bid at 99p a few days ago, as I would expect. I looked tonight and it's still my 1 bid but now that bid is £100

I've been an eBay user for 9 years with 500+ transactions and I thought I understood how bidding works. Surely for a 99p start auction with 1 bid of £100 the listing should show 1 bid with the price at 99p? Or am I wrong?

Wadders - 18/9/14 at 10:30 PM

Mhh looks likely Loggyboy's theory was right on the money. Guessing you missed it had a reserve on it.

Copied from ebay:
"If your maximum bid is the first to meet or exceed the reserve price, the effective bid displayed will automatically be raised to the reserve price."




Originally posted by Russell
OK maybe I'm a muppet and there was a £100 reserve on it but I'm sure there wasn't. Ho Hum and thanks for the replies guys, I'll trouble you no more.

ReMan - 18/9/14 at 10:33 PM

retracting a bid is easy enough.
You will burn in Ebays hell for it and be branded a bad person but its easy.
Just copy the item number then type retract bid in the help search and it'l get you where you need to be

r1_pete - 19/9/14 at 06:42 AM

Yes retracting is easy, I don't know whether you get penalised for it, but I've done it several times when I've been outbid, then the higher shill (sp) bid has been retracted and one a quid or so less than my max has been entered....

franky - 19/9/14 at 07:51 AM

£100 reserve/ £100 buy it now. As an experienced ebay user you'll know that if you bid over the reserve that's where the bid goes to. You can retract your bid as the wrong amount then re-bid.

Or contact the seller, offer what he'd get out of ebay without all the ££££££'s worth of auction fees.

dhutch - 19/9/14 at 12:10 PM

quote:
Originally posted by franky
£100 reserve/ £100 buy it now.

That would be quite an odd way to list an item, however.

franky - 19/9/14 at 12:27 PM

quote:
Originally posted by dhutch
quote:
Originally posted by franky
£100 reserve/ £100 buy it now.

That would be quite an odd way to list an item, however.


yes, the most expensive way!

Daddylonglegs - 19/9/14 at 01:25 PM

As long as the auction isn't soon finishing, just retract the bid, say "wrong amount" or similar and submit it. I've had to do that a couple of times and it works fine. You won't get any bad feedback from the seller because you won't be in a transaction with them