eBay has several different kinds of auctions, each with different rules, so it's important to know which type you're dealing with before you bid. This section explains the different types of auctions on eBay and how to spot them.
Most eBay auctions are timed auctions. Not only do you have to outbid other bidders, you also have to beat the clock. With timed auctions, one second after an auction closes is no different from a whole year—both are too late. The ticking clock adds to the excitement, because in many auctions, the real action begins in the closing minutes, as bidders vie with each other to make their best bid as near as they can to the auction's close. This practice of last-moment bidding is called sniping; you can learn about sniping in detail on Section 3.3.1.2.
Most eBay auctions last from three to seven days, although they may be as short as one day or as long as ten. (The seller determines the length of the auction at listing time.) eBay sets the end of the auction, right down to the second, based on the time the auction begins.
You can see how much time is left on an auction on either a search results list (check the rightmost column) or near the top of an auction page (Time Left is near the top of every page).
Sometimes a seller wants to start with a low opening bid to get buyers' attention, but doesn't want to sell at a loss. To help sellers meet these dual desires, eBay lets them set a reserve price on any auction, a secret price that represents the minimum the seller will accept for the item. In other words, in a reserve auction, the seller doesn't have to sell the item if bidding doesn't reach the reserve price.
For example, an auction that starts with an opening bid of a penny could have a reserve price of $100 or more—you don't know what the true selling price is until someone's bid hits the reserve. If the seller has set a reserve price, the words "Reserve not met" or "Reserve met" appear in the listing, next to the "Current bid," as shown in Figure 1-15.
Figure 1-15. This desktop machine started with an opening bid of $800. One bidder opened bidding with that price, but "Reserve not met" indicates that the seller isn't willing to let the computer go for such a low price. If the auction ends without meeting the reserve, the seller has no obligation to sell to the high bidder. Sellers can lower a reserve during an auction to stimulate bidding; a seller who does this usually adds a note saying they've lowered the reserve.
So if you're bidding on a CD player for your car and think you're getting a great deal because you're the high bidder at $25.00, check to see whether there's a reserve. Even if you have the winning bid of $25.00 when the auction closes, you may not get the CD player because of those three little words: "Reserve not met."
Note
The letters NR appear in many auction titles and stand for no reserve. In other words, the item sells for the highest bid when the auction closes—even if that bid is just one cent. In some NR auctions, the seller sets the opening bid at the desired selling price. In others, though, the seller takes a chance by starting with a very low opening bid, then stands back and watches the fur fly as competing bidders decide what the item is worth.
Reserve auctions make some bidders nervous: why bother trying to buy something if you don't know the seller's real asking price? You can bid and bid on an item and still not win it because your bids never get as high as the reserve. It can be frustrating, and many bidders prefer not to have to second-guess the seller on the mystery price.
But before you surf to the next auction, read the description. Some sellers will tell you right there what the reserve price is. These sellers want to protect their investment but realize that a secret reserve will turn off many bidders, so they let you know what they think is a reasonable selling price. (You can agree—by bidding—or disagree and look for another auction.)
Tip
Other sellers might clue you in on the reserve if you ask in an email. While you're on an auction page, click "Ask seller a question" (Figure 1-16) and ask away. You may not get your answer, but it's worth a try.
Figure 1-16. When you click the "Ask seller a question" link on any auction page and fill in this form, eBay sends an email directly to the seller. You can ask about the item, shipping, or payment options. Type your question into the text box, and indicate whether you want a copy for your files and whether you'd like the item you're asking about added to your My eBay Watch list (Section 1.5.1). Any reply from the seller goes directly to the email address you listed with eBay when you registered.
A Buy It Now auction (BIN in eBay discussion-group lingo) is the opposite of an auction with a hidden reserve price. Right there, for anyone to see, is the seller's preferred price—the Buy It Now price. This price can be a little higher than the starting bid, or significantly so.
In many BIN auctions, you have the option of bidding, or you can cut out the competition and buy the item straight out. If you bid, the Buy It Now price disappears and the auction converts to a regular timed auction. If you click the Buy It Now button (Figure 1-17), the auction ends early and you're the winner. Other BIN auctions are straight, fixed-price sales without the option to bid.
Figure 1-17. When you click the Buy It Now button, you commit to buy an item for its BIN price. In an auction like this one, the opening bid is significantly lower than the BIN price, so if you're hoping for a bargain, put in a bid and let the auction run its course. Just remember that other eBayers are looking for a bargain, too, and will soon jump in with bids of their own.
Note
If a BIN auction also has a reserve price, the BIN button stays active until the reserve price is met; it doesn't disappear after the first bid.
Buy It Now really means "buy it, now." Some eBay newbies mistakenly think that clicking the Buy It Now button is like putting an item in your online shopping cart and that you can remove it if you change your mind. But eBay doesn't have shopping carts, and you can't change your mind with Buy It Now. If you click that Buy It Now button and confirm on the next page, you're commiting to purchase the item.
Tip
If you think you might like to buy a BIN item but you want to give it some thought and come back later, add the item to your Watch list (Section 1.5.1) in My eBay. Someone else might beat you to it, but at least you won't commit to purchasing something before you're sure.
In some BIN auctions, the seller is open to a little haggling, inviting you to make your best offer. You can recognize a Best Offer auction by the Submit Best Offer link just below the BIN button. Click the link to name your top price—and to try to convince the seller to sell you those hundred-dollar baseball tickets for 75 bucks. Figure 1-18 shows you the Best Offer form.
Figure 1-18. When a seller invites offers, type the highest price you're willing to pay into the "Your Best Offer price" box. If you have a great argument that might convince the seller to take your price, type it into the Message box. The seller has 48 hours to accept or reject your offer. Submitting a Best Offer means that you agree to pay the amount offered (plus shipping) if the seller accepts
Best offers are binding, just like a bid, so if the seller accepts your offer, you've made a purchase. And there are limits to the number of best offers you can make—these vary by category, but you get a notification from eBay when you're about to hit the limit.
A seller can keep bidders' identities a secret in an auction. Sellers might do this for a couple of reasons. Some items, like certain adults-only products, might otherwise scare easily embarrassed bidders away. Other times, price is the issue. When the auction is for something enormously expensive, like a $120,000 diamond necklace, many bidders would prefer not to let the whole eBay community know that they can afford such things. So to attract bidders, sellers of high-priced goods often make their auctions private.
In a private auction, the identity of anyone who bids remains a secret. During the auction, only the high bid shows, not the ID of the bidder, as shown in Figure 1-19. There's no way to search specifically for private auctions, so you won't know whether an auction you're interested in is private until you look at the auction page. If you bid on a private auction, you can view your bidder status (see whether you're the high bidder), but you can't check out who's bidding against you. When the auction is over, eBay sends contact information to the high bidder and the seller so they can complete the transaction. At that point, anyone can see the bid history on the auction page, but only in terms of what bids were placed and when. You still can't see bidders' eBay IDs. Otherwise, private auctions work just like any other.
eBay allows auctions for adults-only items, called MA (for mature audiences) auctions. Most of these auctions have to do with sex, and eBay takes steps to ensure that children and those who might be offended by MA items won't view them.
Note
The Mature Audiences category is not "anything goes." For example, eBay doesn't allow child pornography, obscenity, or hidden-camera videos—all of which are illegal.
First, eBay makes it hard to stumble across MA auctions by accident. These auctions don't appear in main areas of the site, such as the Featured Items area of the eBay home page. Second, anyone who wants to view an MA auction must have a credit card number on file; this requirement serves as age verification.
If you want to view MA auctions, go to eBay's home page and look in the left-hand Categories menu for Everything Else. Click the link, and on the Everything Else category page, click the Mature Audiences link. eBay prompts you for a passwordand presents you with terms of use. These terms include verifying your age, promising not to show MA pages to minors, agreeing that you're not offended by items of an adult nature (or you'll leave the MA area if you find yourself becoming offended), and promising to abide by all relevant laws. Click Continue if you agree to these terms. If you don't have a credit card number on file, you can enter one in the next step. If eBay does have your credit card number, you can search, view, and bid on MA auctions. Many MA auctions are private auctions (see Section 1.4.4).
Note
MA auctions have some other restrictions placed on them: sellers can't set these auctions up as Buy It Now auctions or use PayPal (Section 2.3.1.1) as a payment method.
A seller can create a list of preapproved buyers or bidders and apply it to an auction. If you're not on the list and you click the Place Bid button, you won't see the usual page that lets you type in your bid amount. Instead, eBay responds with a notice asking you to contact the seller by email. The seller can then choose to add you to the preapproved list and you can get in on the action.
Sellers sometimes block bidders who live in countries they don't ship to, who have a negative feedback score, or who've been reported as a nonpaying buyer by more than one seller in the past month. If you're in any of those boats, you won't have much chance of talking the seller into letting you bid. In addition, many sellers won't add you to their preapproved list if you have fewer than 10 feedback comments or any recent negative feedback. (For more on feedback, see Section 2.1.)
Warning
Be careful if you're looking at a preapproved bidder auction run by a seller you don't know. Some scammers take advantage of preapproved bidder auctions to get eBayers' email addresses and try to sell them something offsite. Only they don't actually have anything to sell—they just want your money. Never agree to an off-eBay transaction—you lose eBay Buyer Protection (Section 2.4.4), the right to file an Item Not Received report (Section 2.4.3.2), even the right to leave feedback (Section 2.1). For more on this kind of scam, see Section 4.2.4.
Dutch auctions aren't about windmills and wooden shoes. Also called a multiple-item auction, a Dutch auction is an auction that lists a number of identical items. Several bidders can win this kind of auction, not just the single high bidder. Dutch auctions let you buy items in quantity for a low price—sometimes for even less than you actually bid. You'll find Dutch auctions for all kinds of items, from tulip bulbs and beads to digital cameras and MP3 players.
How a Dutch auction works is a little confusing until you get the hang of it, but it's a great way to pick up a bargain or two—or even more, depending on the quantity up for grabs.
In a Dutch auction, you specify how many of the items you want and what you're willing to pay for each. The highest bidders win, but they pay only the price offered by the lowest successful bidder. Confused? You won't be after you take a look at Table 1-1. In this example, a seller is offering five disposable cameras for sale; the opening bid is set at $1.50 per camera. Five eBayers bid on the auction.
Table 1-1. A Dutch Auction for Disposable Cameras
Bidder | Number Desired | Bid |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | $4.00 |
| 1 | $3.75 |
| 1 | $3.50 |
| 3 | $2.00 |
| 1 | $1.50 |
As in all auctions, those willing to pay the most win. In Table 1-1, the seller has five cameras to sell, so these will be distributed among the highest bidders, starting with whoever bid the most. Working from the highest bidder down the bid ladder, bidder A wins two cameras and bidders B and C win one apiece. Bidder D would like three cameras, but there's only one left, so that's all bidder D can buy. Bidder D is the last bidder who qualifies for a camera, so his is the bid that wins—the lowest winning bid. Because in this case $2.00 is the lowest winning bid, bidders A, B, C, and D all get their cameras for that price, no matter what they were willing to pay. Note that $2.00 isn't the lowest bid, it's the lowest winning bid. Bidder E, whose bid is below that $2.00 cutoff, is out of luck, because all the cameras were gone before her bid could be considered.
Note
Winning bidders in Dutch auctions can refuse partial quantities. So bidder D in Table 1-1 can buy one camera at $2.00 or none at all—without penalty. If you don't get the quantity you bid on, you don't have to complete the transaction.
Sellers sometimes label their Dutch auctions in the item description: Search for "dutch auction" to find one. You can also find Dutch auctions from the Advanced Search page: Enter your search terms, then scroll down to "Multiple item listings" and type in a number. When you've found a Dutch auction, look for the word Quantity under "Start time" to find out how many items the seller has up for sale.
For more on Dutch auctions, including strategies on how to win without overpaying, see Section 3.3.4.
Timed auctions are exciting, but for some bidders nothing beats the back-and-forth competition of a live auction. eBay's live auctions put you right on the floor of auction houses around the world. You bid against other Internet bidders and bidders physically present at the live auction. You can place an absentee bid before the auction begins if it's happening while you're at work or asleep, or you can watch the auction and bid in real time. Figure 1-20 shows you the eBay Live Auctions home page (located at http://pages.ebay.com/liveauctions).
Figure 1-20. Find the eBay Live Auctions site at http://pages.ebay.com/liveauctions. Start dates and times appear for each auction under Upcoming Auctions. To see the auction catalog (a list of items up for sale, with photos), click the title of an auction. Any registered eBayer can watch a live auction in progress (click the View Live button), but if you want to bid, you have to sign up. Click the Bid Now button to sign up for an auction in progress or the Sign Up button for one that hasn't started yet.
During the auction, a window shows a picture of what's up on the block, as well as its estimated worth and the current high bid. Instead of an auctioneer yelling, "Going, going, gone!" the window displays the words "Fair Warning" when the auction is about to close. The action is fast-paced, with bids flying in from the Internet and the auction floor.
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