Ok, I was bidding on something this morning, and I think the reserve price was around $30.
The current price was $20, but I was willing to pay that $30, so I put in my max bid at $30.
The system bidded for me, and I outbid the other guy at $21.50. And so the auction ended with my bid at $21.50.
However, even though I was willing to pay $30, the actual bid was only $21.50 because I had no one to out-bid to $30. And because of this, even though I set my max bid high enough to reach the reserve, the actual bid did not reach the reserve.
Is there any way to fix this problem? Can I somehow immeadiately bid X dollars, instead of bidding an X dollar max and having it autobid just enough to get past the other guy?
Well, if you still want to get the item, you can always contact the seller and see if he’ll deal with you, since the auction is already over. I did this once for a pretty sweet camera and actually got him to go lower than the reserve price, and we were both happy. Of course, it doesn’t show up as a sale on Ebay because the auction ended without a sale, but if the seller wants to sell the item for that price, I don’t see why it should be a problem.
If your maximum bid was above the reserve price, the system would have automatically had you bid the reserve price. If your maximum bid was not above the reserve price, it would have just tried to outbid the other guy.
Ebay’s proxy bidding system is (usually) pretty smart.
The key word here is “think”. Only the seller knows the reserve.
And be VERY careful buying or selling “outside” of eBay. If there is no official eBay transaction, you have a much harder time getting satisfaction from a buyer or seller.
I would say at least use a postal money order because I think that can help you invoke all kinds of federal fraud laws.
That “circumventing eBay fees” offense is a Selling offense, not a Buying offense. So the buy is perfectly able to contact the seller in this situation.
Most sellers will tell you their reserve price for a particular auction if you ask them. Also, you can negotiate a price with the seller and he can set up a Buy-it-Now auction with you as the only pre-approved bidder so the sale is not an eBay violation
Oh my. I don’t mean to be a snoop, but I checked out the auction, and I would be wary of the seller in general. A 7% neutral/negative feedback would freak me out. Also, you need to learn how to snipe - come to the dark side!
Sorry about the bad advice Senor, pay no attention to my ramblings. Wow, I didn’t realize that was a no-no. Good thing I haven’t made a habit of doing it. Just that one time. And if any of you are FBI agents, I promise to be good from now on. Scouts honor!
