Class Action against eBay

[kmorris8]

Glen Block in PA has filed a suit against eBay saying that their system sometimes "tricks" you into bidding against yourself. If you already have the high bid and enter another bid to raise your maximum bid it will increment your already-highest bid. I don't know the conditions under which this happens, and it does not appear to happen all the time, but I have seen it after auctions have ended and did not understand how it could happen. The winner had the two highest bids, one increment apart. Maybe if your maximum bid is only one increment or less greater than the second-highest bidder? Anyway, when it happens it does not seem right and looks like a mistake.

Ebay's official response was that the suit filer "did not understand the bidding process."

Has anybody else seen this or "understand" it?

Keith

[SLOT DYNASTY]

Glen Block in PA has filed a suit against eBay saying that their system sometimes "tricks" you into bidding against yourself. If you already have the high bid and enter another bid to raise your maximum bid it will increment your already-highest bid. I don't know the conditions under which this happens, and it does not appear to happen all the time, but I have seen it after auctions have ended and did not understand how it could happen. The winner had the two highest bids, one increment apart. Maybe if your maximum bid is only one increment or less greater than the second-highest bidder? Anyway, when it happens it does not seem right and looks like a mistake.

Ebay's official response was that the suit filer "did not understand the bidding process."

Has anybody else seen this or "understand" it?

Keith

Hi Keith:
Even tho eBay's past practice has always been, "We will do what we want to do, when we want to do it, for no logical reason", this may be a case of the bidder not knowing the bid rules. From my past experience, if you 'UP' your own high bid by less than a full increment, it will kick you up to that point. I am not sure if you just bid the exact increment, it will knock you up, as I have never tried that. But, if I had put in a Max-bid more than the next increment, my previous bid has always stayed the same. You should be able to put in as many Max-bids as you want by following these rules. Now, if eBay has made changes in their bidding rules, I am unaware of it.
Cheers, Bill

[watlingboy]

I too have put in multiple max bids and I have never ended up bidding against myself. This can happen if you are high bidder and then enter another bid and trigger the reserve then you will bid against yourself. If you are the first bidder and bid over what the seller is asking for as an opening bid it will automatically go to your high bid so you have to enter a bid as the opening minimum and then raise your bid.

Watlingboy

[Carl]

I think I know how this happens. Lets say the current high bid is $40.00 so the minimum increment is $1.00. What you do not know is what the maximum bid of the current bidder is. Even though the auction is at $40.00 the current bidder may have bid $49.99. You come along and bid $50.00. You have exceeded the $1.00 increment so Ebay accepts your bid. And you are now the high bidder at $50.00. However, it appears that Ebay's computer remembers that the previous bidder bid a amximum of $49.99 and even though your $50.00 bid was accepted you only bid 1 cent above the previous biddr's maximum bid. Ebay would probably say they let you get away with something. Now you decide to protect your bid by bidding a second time at $55.00. You expect your high bid of $50.00 to remain, but much to your suprise it increments to $50.99 because Ebays program remembers the first bidder's maximum bid of $49.99. Is it fair? Could argue either way.

[kmorris8]

Carl, you are correct. eBay always tries to maintain one full bid increment between the highest second-highest bidder.

It's explained here:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/bidding_change_bid.html.

In case anybody's interested, here's the story:

http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y05/m02/i24/s01

And here's the actual suit in case you want some late-night reading:

http://www.lerachlaw.com/cases/ebay/complaint.pdf

Keith