All about bidding

It's quick and easy to bid on eBay. In an auction-style listing, sellers name a starting price and you bid against other buyers. You can watch the item to see how the bidding is going. When the listing ends, the highest bidder wins the item and completes the purchase. However, you should keep in mind that each bid you make is a binding contract to buy the item if you win.

To help answer any questions you might have about how bidding works, this article has links to all of our most useful bidding articles.

When you place a bid on an auction-style listing, you can choose to enter a maximum amount you feel comfortable paying. Once you've set your maximum, we'll keep an eye on the auction for you, and if you get outbid we'll automatically bid again for you, up to your limit. Using automatic bidding makes it easier to win the listing you're interested in.

Whenever you bid on an item, you’re agreeing to buy it if you win. Sometimes though, you might need to retract a bid you've made on a listing. For instance, if you made a mistake while bidding or if the seller changes the description of the item, you might be able to retract your bid.

Sellers can choose to add a reserve price when listing an item in an eBay auction. It's the minimum amount the seller is willing to sell for, so if the reserve price isn't met, the item won't be sold. If you place a bid that's below the reserve price, you'll see a 'Reserve not met' message. This means that even if you're the highest bidder at the end of the auction, you won't win the item.

If you don't win an auction, sometimes a seller may make you a Second Chance Offer, and give you another opportunity to buy the item. This may happen if they have extra stock of an item or if no one met their reserve price but they still want to sell the item. With a Second Chance Offer, the item is available for you to buy at the amount you offered in your last bid.

Auction-style listings will often have a number of competing bidders, but you can maximize your chances of winning by having a well thought out bidding strategy. We've put together some tips to help you find exactly what you're looking for, and to give you the best chance of being the top bidder when the listing ends.

Frequently Asked Questions