Why do people do this?

[Boomerangb0bby]

I’m bidding on baby stuff on ebay a lot at the moment.
I tend to wait until a few seconds to go and put in my best bid.
Why do people bid before the item is ending, pushing up the price?! Am I missing something?

[ScreamingValenta]

I tend to do the same as you, OP, but sometimes I have to bid earlier - if I'm not going to be around at the point the auction ends, for instance.

Arguably, if you only ever bid once, but bid your maximum, the timing of your bid doesn't make any difference as to whether you win the item or not

[19lottie82]

I agree with screaming...... just make one bid of your best offer, the timing doesn’t really matter, does it?

[NerrSnerr]

I bid early as I usually forget when the auction is ending. I'm always tempted to spend more at the end as well so I do my highest bid a bit early.

[Mydaddysgirl]

The timing does matter.

If two bids are for the same amount & that amount ‘wins’, the first bod ie the ebayer that submitted that amount first, gets the item.

[19lottie82]

So with that train of thought you’d be best putting your best and final bid in as soon as the auction begins (or as soon as you decide you want to buy).

[ScreamingValenta]

Good point @Mydaddysgirl.

[LolaTheDarkdestroyer]

Obviously you don't put you top bid in first! As that's just going to push the price up of and when others bid in between then and the auction ending.
If you wait until last minute there's less chance of that happening.

The only time I bid early is if I really want something and don't want to forget about it...but then I'll bid like 1.20 and save my max till near the end.

[viccat]

Lola The system is automated. If the starting price is £2 and you set your max bid at £30, your first bid will only be £2 and it only goes up if others bid higher than £2.

I agree with the OP to some extent - lots of bids early on does seem to encourage more competition that pushes the price up unnecessarily. But then that's kind of the point of an auction...

[Mydaddysgirl]

Not forgetting of course that the higher price an item gets, the more commission Ebay makes.
They made the rules to suit themselves, obviously.

[LolaTheDarkdestroyer]

Yes I know it's automated! But people get carried away and when they see they are outbid as soon as they bid they keep trying...