Sometimes you'll be outbid as soon as you enter your bid, even though the bid you entered was higher than the current bid shown on the item listing. When this happens, you will usually be notified immediately and you’ll be given a chance to bid again.

This happens because another buyer had a higher maximum bid than yours. Your bid prompted eBay's automatic bidding system to raise the other buyer's bid above yours. The other bidder may have placed their bid hours or days before.

Last-minute bidding

Placing a high bid in the closing seconds of an auction-style listing is called “sniping” within the eBay Community. Sniping is part of the eBay experience and all bids placed before a listing ends are valid - even if they're placed one second before the listing ends.

To help avoid disappointment, ensure that the maximum bid you enter on the item page is the highest price that you're willing to pay. The eBay bidding system automatically increases your bid up to the maximum price you specify, so entering a higher maximum may help prevent you from being outbid in the closing seconds of a listing.

Email notifications

If you’re outbid on a listing, you’ll receive email notifications:

Outbid notice

When another buyer's bid exceeds your maximum price, you’ll receive an email letting you know that you have been outbid. You can use the link in this email to return to the item page and increase your bid.

End of item notice

When a listing ends, an email is automatically sent to losing bidders, informing them that they didn't win the item. It also highlights items that are similar to the one they lost.

If you do not want to receive these email notifications, you can change your notification preferences.

eBay alerts

eBay can send an SMS alert (text message) to your mobile phone, pager, or PDA to notify you when you have been outbid or when an item has ended. eBay can send an IM (instant message) alert sent to your chat window.

To subscribe for these alerts, go to My eBay and change your notification preferences.

• Bidding on eBay

• Bid Increments

If you're looking for more help or have a question to ask, contact us.