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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132133
Posted: 22 November 2014 at 7:16am | IP Logged | 1  

...continues to mystify me. The other day I found an item of passing interest. Not enough to bid on it, but enough to wonder how the auction would actually go. So I have been dropping in from time to time to check the bids.

This morning I found there are two bids listed for the same amount, one place two days AFTER the other. How the heck does that work? I mean, I know the earlier bid will take priority, but why would the later bid even be accepted?

My head hurts.

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Ryan Maxwell
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Joined: 16 April 2004
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Posted: 22 November 2014 at 7:25am | IP Logged | 2  

If the opening bid is $1, fer instances, and you put in a max bid of $5, eBay will show one bid at $1.  The next person who comes along may also bid $5, not being able to see yours.  The price automatically kicks up to $5, instead of $1.50 which is really the next increment, and your bid takes precedence.  
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Raj Dhami
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Joined: 07 March 2008
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Posted: 22 November 2014 at 7:49am | IP Logged | 3  

Hey John,

The two bids - are they from two different bidders or the same bidder?

It could be that the original bidder will not be available for the closing of the auction and has bid a higher amount as a contingency to protect the initial bid.

I had a listing on ebay where one of the people bidding had put in an extra 8 bids to protect their original bid.

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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
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Posted: 22 November 2014 at 9:59am | IP Logged | 4  

The two bids - are they from two different bidders or the same bidder?

••

Curious question. If they were the same bidder, I wouldn't be asking.

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Brian J Nelson
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Posted: 22 November 2014 at 9:35pm | IP Logged | 5  

So many possible reasons. You are going to largely get nothing more than speculation without a link to the auction.  In the case of my own speculation, I am going to guess that the seller has multiple items up for auction or the first bidder has retracted their bid.
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Brian Miller
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Posted: 23 November 2014 at 6:51am | IP Logged | 6  

What would the seller having multiple auctions have to do with two bids of the same amount on just one of those items?


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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
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Posted: 23 November 2014 at 8:04am | IP Logged | 7  

What truly mystifies me is the bidders not being allowed to see the actual amount of the previous bids. Not knowing WHO is bidding is good, but why is HOW MUCH a secret? Looking again at this particular item, I notice a number of bids by the same person, clearly trying to figure out what the high bid is. What a ridiculous waste of the bidder's time! Just SHOW the high bid, eBay!!
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Philippe Negrin
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Posted: 23 November 2014 at 9:01am | IP Logged | 8  

Well eBay makes more money the higher the final price is. If they tell you what the highest bid is and you know it's out of your range, you won't bid at all.
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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

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Posted: 23 November 2014 at 9:08am | IP Logged | 9  

Well eBay makes more money the higher the final price is. If they tell you what the highest bid is and you know it's out of your range, you won't bid at all.

••

But eBay makes no money off BIDS, only WINNING bids. There could be 10,000 bids, and eBay would collect only on the last one.

If someone bids and loses, or doesn't bid at all, the net for eBay is the same.

Plus, as I understand it, the winning bid is automatically adjusted to the minimum necessary to win. If someone bids $600 for something that tops out at $55, the $600 will be adjusted down to S60 (or whatever the increments are).

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Michael Roberts
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Posted: 23 November 2014 at 9:23am | IP Logged | 10  

If someone bids and loses, or doesn't bid at all, the net for eBay is the
same.

----

There's a psychological investment with bidding. It's the same reason
that auctions that start at 99 cents will get final bids much higher than
auctions that start close to the average going price. I've seen a lot of
auctions where the final bid was way over the selling price for Buy It
Now auctions available for the same item at the same time, and it's
obvious that the bidders were too caught up in winning that particular
auction.
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Brian J Nelson
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Posted: 23 November 2014 at 10:08am | IP Logged | 11  

"But eBay makes no money off BIDS, only WINNING bids. There could be 10,000 bids, and eBay would collect only on the last one."

This is incorrect. Bids are exactly how eBay makes money. If there is a widget i really want, and I'm willing to put an outrageous bid of $10,000 on the widget, this will impact what others due. Every other bidder, if they could see my $10k bid, may realize that is way too rich for their blood.  There is no point in bidding. At the end of the auction, my bid is adjusted and I end up getting the widget for the lowest possible amount, which may be $1. Ebay only gets their commission for the sale based on what I paid.  So they get pennies.

Now, as eBay really works, people can't see my $10k bid. So people think they have a chance to win.  Other bidders try and end up raising my bid up to $5k before the general public gives up. Therefore eBay gets their commission on $5k instead of $1. 

The bids are exactly what raises the amount eBay will make on an auction.  


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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132133
Posted: 23 November 2014 at 11:15am | IP Logged | 12  

"But eBay makes no money off BIDS, only WINNING bids. There could be 10,000 bids, and eBay would collect only on the last one."

This is incorrect.

••

Unless there is some way that eBay somehow makes money on EVERY BID, my statement is 100% correct. No matter how high or low the bids, eBay collects its fees only on the WINNING bid, whether that be $5 or $50,000 (or more).

≠≠≠≠

The bids are exactly what raises the amount eBay will make on an auction.

••

And bidders will give up if they are unable to get higher than the unknown highest bid. This is no different from knowing what the highest bid is, except for the bidders having to waste their time guessing.

eBAY ONLY COLLECTS ITS FEES ON THE WINNING BIDS.

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