Do You Bid the Minimum Amount?

How do Sniping and eBay Proxy Bidding Work Together?

Sniping and eBay proxy bidding work well together. While they are similar concepts, they are very different things, so it's important to understand the difference.

While we use sniping to place your bid at the last second, eBay uses their proxy bidding system to ensure that you only pay the minimum amount necessary.

To understand the difference, first consider what proxy bidding is. This is how eBay calculates the current or final price of any auction. At the time any bid is placed, they add one "minimum bid increment." The resulting number is the current price. When you place a bid, you enter the maximum amount you're willing to pay for the item. For more information, see eBay's page for proxy bidding.

Helpful Tip: For auctions, eBay always calculates the price by taking the second-highest bid and adding a bid increment.

So, for bids and snipes alike, eBay will add one bid increment to the price that is showing at the time of the bid. eBay will bid only as much as necessary to make sure that you remain the high bidder, or to meet the reserve price, up to your maximum amount.

Example

1. The current bid for an item is $10.00. Tom is the high bidder, and has placed a maximum bid of $12.00 on the item. His maximum bid is kept confidential from other members.
2. Mary views the item and places a maximum bid of $15.00. Mary becomes the high bidder.
3. Tom's bid is raised to his maximum of $12.00, but not higher. This is the proxy bid. Mary's bid is now $12.50. If he doesn't raise his maximum bid, Mary wins the item.

See Also

• Adding a Snipe
• Do You Bid the Minimum Amount
• What is a Minimum Bid Increment?