Hi, I’ve read your information and the bid was successfully placed, I asked for the one second option. And lost - how is it possible my rival was able to make a bid after the final second? How can I improve my instructions so this doesn’t happen again?

Hello Andrew,

Thank you for your question about your snipe. You lost because your bid was lower than the maximum bid. The time of their bid doesn't really matter-- it has to be the highest. The point of the snipe is to hide you interest.

eBay uses their own automated bidding system. They call it proxy bidding. Here is their help page for that:

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/automatic-bidding?id=4014

We have our own help page that explains how they work together:

https://bidslammer.com/help/sniping-and-proxy-bidding

I hope this has been explained to your satisfaction. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I am happy to help.

Thanks I’m clear that my bid was lower. The situation I’m trying to avoid a repeat of is that the rival bidder had time to make a counter offer when I’d specified that my bid should be made in the last second. The very essence of sniping. How did that happen?

The rival did not bid after you. They had already placed a higher maximum bid before your snipe.

When your bid went in, eBay’s proxy system raised their bid instantly.

Example: if they entered $1,000 a day earlier and you entered $598 in the last second, eBay would record your $598, then outbid you by one increment. The rival wins at just over $600.

This is how eBay’s system has always worked. Sniping only hides your interest; it cannot overcome a higher maximum bid.