eBay Help: Questions and Answers
If you still have questions about bidding, selling and closing sales on eBay read below for answers to some of the more common questions.
Bidding
How do I place a proxy bid? It looks like I can only place a maximum bid.
A proxy bid and a maximum bid are the same thing. To place a proxy bid, just enter the maximum amount you are willing to pay. eBay will then automatically bid up to your maximum amount for you.
In this way, you can win the item at the lowest possible price. Your maximum bid is only placed when a competing bidder also bids up to that same amount.
How can I prevent being outbid at the last second?
The only way to protect yourself from being outbid at the last second (also called being "sniped") is to bid the highest maximum you are willing to pay. Remember, it's not the last bid that wins, it's the highest.
There is a common misconception that snipers always win. This isn't so. To win, they must outbid you. If someone places a last-second bid that isn't high enough, they almost never have enough time to try again and place a winning bid before the listing ends.
Why doesn't the high bid increase when I raise my bid?
If you are the high bidder, your high bid will increase only if there's another bidder competing against you. Otherwise, eBay will keep your maximum bid a secret and use only as much of it as needed. In this way, you don't end up paying more than you have to if you win.
Why do I get messages immediately telling me I've been outbid?
This just means that the current high bidder's maximum bid is higher than the bid you placed. For example, let's say you place a $20 maximum bid and another person places an earlier $25 maximum. In this case, you are immediately outbid because your bid of $20 is not high enough to beat the earlier maximum bid of $25. Remember: eBay will confidentially bid up to your maximum, but in order to avoid being outbid, you must have the highest maximum bid.
Why was I outbid by less than one increment?
This is a normal occurrence. Remember that the winning bid only has to be one increment above the high bid currently showing on the listing page. For example, let's say you are the current high bidder at $12 with a $20 maximum.
Let's say another bidder places a maximum bid of $20.01 and becomes the new high bidder for this item. This new person's minimum bid is $12.50 — one increment above $12.00. As long as a bidder enters the minimum bid amount required, any bid over that will satisfy meeting the bid increment. The winner of the item will be the bidder with the highest maximum. In this case, the winner could win by one cent.
Selling
How can I change something on my listing?
Title, description, or picture information: These can be changed as long as there are no bids on your item. Go to your item's page, look for "Update item" link near the top of the listing, and click on "revise."
If your item has already received a bid, you can't change any of the existing information, but you can add pictures or text by using the Adding to Your Item Description page.
Category: You can move your item to a different category at any time. When you change the category, the change will be reflected immediately on the item page, but it won't show up in the new category until the next category update is run.
Opening bid, reserve price, quantity, or item location: These cannot be changed. If you really want to change this information, you will need to cancel and then relist your item. See next section for instructions.
How can I cancel a listing completely?
If there are bids on your item, you will need to end the auction and if you'd like, relist it following steps 1 through 3 below. If the item doesn't have any bids yet, you only need to do steps 1 and 3.
1. First, it's a good idea to explain why you are canceling. You can add your explanation by going to Adding to your item description.
2. Cancel each bid you have received. In the 'Your explanation of the cancellation' text box, enter a brief, clear reason.
3. Once all of the bids have been canceled, end your listing. NOTE: Do this quickly before another bidder has a chance to bid.
If you want to relist the item, go directly to your ended item page (find it by searching by your item number) and click "Relist item" which is below the payment and shipping terms.
Closing the Sale
What if I won, but my seller won't sell to me?
First, if the auction is a Reserve Price Auction and the reserve is not met, the seller is not obligated to sell the item to you.
If this is a regular auction without a reserve price or seller exclusions (for example: seller states they won't sell to bidders with negative feedback), the seller is obligated to sell to you. Please read eBay's Non-selling seller policy for more information.
What if my winning bidder won't pay?
If your listing doesn't have a reserve price (most don't), your auction falls under eBay's Non-paying Bidder Policy. It would also qualify if it did have a reserve as long as the reserve was met. If your bidder does not pay, this policy will tell you how to request a fee credit from eBay.
What is feedback and how do I leave it?
Every eBay user has a Feedback Profile made up of comments (positive, negative, or neutral) from other traders—an official electronic "reputation." Feedback answers many questions you may have about how a person does business on eBay. Does he sell quality merchandise? Does she follow through with payment?
To leave feedback for another eBay user, just go to the Feedback Forum or look for the Feedback Forum link at the bottom of almost every eBay page.
Another easy way to leave feedback is to click the feedback links on your ended auction page. eBay fills in the item number and ID's of the traders so all you have to do is add your password, rating, and comment.
What if I can't reach my winning bidder?
Like you, bidders can have emergencies, illnesses, or computer problems. Check your bidder's feedback to see what other users have said. If there is mostly positive feedback with little or no mention of problems, be patient. Your bidder may not be able to respond to you right away for legitimate reasons.
If you get no responses through email, you can request your bidder's phone number. A phone call may help facilitate the communication.
If this is a regular listing without a reserve or a Reserve Price Auction where the reserve is met and you are unable to contact your winning bidder, your auction may fall under eBay's Non-paying Bidder Policy. This policy will tell you how to request a fee credit from eBay if your bidder does not pay.
Please note that if your auction is a Reserve Price Auction and the reserve is not met, the transaction is not considered successful. Offering to sell an item directly to bidders in a Reserve Not Met auction is against eBay rules and is also called fee avoidance.
What if I can't reach my seller?
Like you, sellers can have emergencies, illnesses, or computer problems. Check your seller's feedback to see what other users have said. If there is mostly positive feedback with little or no mention of problems, be patient. Your seller may not be able to respond to you right away for legitimate reasons.
If you get no responses through email, you can request your seller's phone number. After a reasonable amount of time, if you are still unable to contact the seller via email or phone, you can leave appropriate feedback to alert other bidders about your experience.
Why did this listing end early?
To find out, check your listing's ending time against the starting time. If both times match, the listing did not end early. If the start and end times are actually different, the auction was ended early by the seller. You can contact the seller if you wish to get more information.
If a seasonal time change occurred (such as Daylight Savings Time), there may be a one-hour time difference.
You may also think the listing ended early because you didn't realize that eBay times are shown in 24-hour format (military time). For example, 7:00PM will display as 19:00 and 7:00AM as 07:00.
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