Incomplete bidder list
Summary: stubenkram describes a problem with an online auction in which their bid of 111 euros was not shown on the bidding list, although it should have been submitted on time. lidor3073 explains that the missing bid may be due to another bidder having a higher maximum bid. However, stubenkram remains unsure and tries to observe the phenomenon by placing bids again in other auctions. petersmodellbahnstuebchen suggests that bidding steps that were not successful are not displayed. After further tests, stubenkram reports that the bidding problem now seems to be fixed and speculates that changes to the platform’s bidding system may have caused the initial confusion.
Hello everyone!
Yesterday an auction ended, in which I had bid twice. Once a smaller amount, right at the beginning, and then about 6 seconds before the end, 111 euros. But my bid is missing from the bidding list, and I think there was also at least one other, somewhat higher bid from another bidder.
Here are the last bids. I don’t understand the jump from 88, 88 euros (or 89, 88 euros) to 120, 77 euros. My bid of 111 euros should be in between there. Can someone explain this to me?
stubenkram
OP1 month agoOkay. Another try. There’s this notice telling you to increase your bid, yet again.
Here I had just bid in the last 8 seconds and got this notice. I’m the bidder with the 66 euros:
https://www.ebay.de/bfl/viewbids/188893912507?item=188893912507&rt=nc&_trksid=p4429486.m145235.l2565
So everything’s fine and as usual.
Only with this auction the other day did something go wrong.
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·1 month agoHey @stubenkram
just name the item number once, then we can get the eBay employee who’s here right now involved.
stubenkram
OP1 month agoHello @petersmodellbahnstuebchen
Here is the article number: 147531374345
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·1 month agoHey @stubenkram
I took a look at the bid overview. When you bid € 111, did it show you that you were the highest bidder?
Normally, the bid overview only shows the highest bidder each time and not the € 1.00 increments in between.
In this example, several jumps can be seen in the bidding history.
The € 1 increments that didn’t lead to success just aren’t shown.
stubenkram
OP1 month ago · EditedHello @petersmodellbahnstuebchen
No, I was the highest bidder only for a few days after my first bid.
In those last few seconds after my second bid, I was only shown that I had been outbid. I also looked at the bidder list again. The matter is clear to me if I assume that my bid of 111 euros was no longer accepted, even though it was just in time.
stubenkram
OP1 month agoHello @petersmodellbahnstuebchen
I don’t think that’s correct. But maybe I’m misunderstanding you?
The current highest bids are each 1 euro (or 50 cents) above the next lower bid, and all of these bids are also listed. So this also applies to bids that are lower than other bids that have already been placed. (Exception: bids placed at exactly the same time but in different amounts)
Since bids at different amounts can come in at different times, only the current amounts are shown in the correct order. But the times when these bids were placed are all mixed up. That then looks like "jumps" or "gaps" in the amounts on the list.
These were the three highest bids in this auction:
r***1Feedback score (2791) - EUR 121.77 - 6 Sep 2026, 20:10:12 CEST
4***7Feedback score (375) - EUR 120.77 - 6 Sep 2026, 20:10:09 CEST
u***1Feedback score (881) - EUR 88.88 - 6 Sep 2026, 12:37:18 CEST
And these are the three most recently placed bids, there’s a difference there:
r***1Feedback score (2791) - EUR 121.77 - 6 Sep 2026, 20:10:12 CEST
4***7Feedback score (375) - EUR 120.77 - 6 Sep 2026, 20:10:09 CEST
1***iFeedback score (5723) - EUR 75.00 - 6 Sep 2026, 20:08:03 CEST
My bid of 111 euros should be in here somewhere. I pressed the button 7 seconds before the end, but in the last 6 seconds I only got the notice that I’d been outbid. Normally, in a case like that, a different screen appears, where I could still quickly enter a higher bid.
Usually I only bid once, 8 or 9 seconds before the end. That actually works very well, except when my internet connection is just slow. But then my bid isn’t accepted at all anyway.
This time it was different. My first bid was this one:
Feedback score (550) - EUR 25.00 - 3 Sep 2026, 12:01:30 CEST
Up to that bid, I was the highest bidder:
4***4Feedback score (3132) - EUR 26.00 - 5 Sep 2026, 10:03:27 CEST
I must have placed my second bid of 111 euros shortly after this bid, because the auction was already at 89.88 euros at that point, if I remember correctly:
4***7Feedback score (375) - EUR 120.77 - 6 Sep 2026, 20:10:09 CEST
It seems pretty unlikely to me that those two bids could have happened in the same fraction of a second, and that’s why my bid doesn’t appear on the list.
So I suspect other reasons: system error, bid cancellation, or something else entirely - no idea. Maybe I’ll notice next time I bid. From now on, though, I’ll only bid once, right near the end.
Just now I read this note in the help pages:
An interesting new feature. 😉 I wonder whether that could also apply to the Collectibles & Antiques category and whether that might be why such confusion/errors occur?
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·1 month agoMoin @stubenkram
then take a look at the following note on the help page you quoted from your:
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find my bids overview?
To open your bids overview, please go to My eBay and select Bids/Offers.
There you can see all items you are currently bidding on, the ones you have bid on – but were not the highest bidder when the auction ended – as well as all offers you have sent.
To delete the bids overview, select the relevant item and choose Delete.
Maybe you'll get more clues there.
As far as I know, this change has not yet been communicated to commercial sellers.
Maybe dear @selina_b@ebay can share some more information about it, thanks Selins.❤️
I won't write any more about this topic here either.
stubenkram
OP1 month agoThanks for the info, Peter.
It says there that my maximum bid was 25 euros.
But that doesn't explain to me why my 2nd bid of 111 euros apparently wasn't accepted.
lidor3073
·1 month agoHello @stubenkram
The top bidder had a maximum bid invisible to you and everyone else (now hypothetically speaking 600 euros). Then it jumps to the highest bidder with a 1 euro difference, like here to the losing bidder. This bidder had set a maximum bid of 120.77 euros, which is why your bid of 111 euros doesn't appear... The same applies to the small amount too. eBay bids automatically when someone has set a maximum bid. That's how I understood it anyway.
stubenkram
OP1 month ago · EditedHello @lidor3073
I did not increase my first bid, after which automatic bidding would continue. I bid manually twice in this auction. The second time shortly before the end, those 111 euros.
From 50 euros it continues in 1-euro increments. The second bidder 1***7 (374) here on the list, who has automatic bids and whose maximum bid was 120.77 euros, should also appear here with an automatic bid of 112 euros; below that I should then be listed with my 111 euros.
I don't understand the big gap between the 89.88 euros (automatic bid) and the 120.77 euros. The same time is also noted for both bids.
My bid was accepted by the system and then before the end there was still the notice that I had been outbid. But since my name doesn't appear up there in the list, either there is an error or my bid may have been removed afterward? I only looked at the bidder list a few hours later.