Can bidbud bid like that?

dacraka: Wrong forum, mate.

Thought that 30 sec after I posted it...

gnfb:

 

Can bidbud bid like that?

 

Seen it before. Not sure if its just someone who really fancies that car, or being more cynical, the car seller trying to up the ante...(but I'm sure that never goes on so thats ok)

Most likely someone using BidBud. I recommend you use it too - just don't bid against me haha 

Interesting. Thanks people 😀

Finding the reserve if it's below the reserve.

Mehrts:

 

Could be someone trying to find the reserve price maybe?

 

This. TM (well, used to, assume they still do) show a notification when bidding gets to within 15% of reserve so people bid in small increments to get close to reserve and work out what it is.

EDIT: nothing to see, normal bidding.

No, with an autobid you'll see another person bidding as well, with the exception of a bid that matches an existing autobid you'll just see the autobid.

Handsomedan: Doesn’t that happen when using an autobid?

You can use auto-bid to find the exact reserve.

Item reserve is $99, starting price is $50, item market value is $200. Instead of bidding in $5 increments to get to $100 from $50, enter your "max" bid as an autobid, and in a single bid it will take you to your max auto-bid ($120, if the reserve was not met/is higher) or to the exact reserve price ($99).

premiumtouring:

 

You can use auto-bid to find the exact reserve.

 

Item reserve is $99, starting price is $50, item market value is $200. Instead of bidding in $5 increments to get to $100 from $50, enter your "max" bid as an autobid, and in a single bid it will take you to your max auto-bid ($120, if the reserve was not met/is higher) or to the exact reserve price ($99).

 

True... but your autobid will continue bidding if someone else bids. Which would be OK, assuming you set your autobid maximum to whatever you were prepared to pay. Although I can't imagine why you would want to know the vendor's reserve without wanting to bid up to what you thought it was worth.

frankv:

 

Although I can't imagine why you would want to know the vendor's reserve without wanting to bid up to what you thought it was worth.

 

There definitely are a few situations...

It might be of interest if it's below a certain price, then you're willing to go do your homework, read reviews etc.

Or there might be multiple similar auctions, so again might be of interest if the reserve is low enough.

I personally hate it when people don't set start = reserve. I understand it's ever so slightly useful for price discovery as a seller (though unreliable as people will bid to find the reserve). I just find it a waste of everyone's time. Set the minimum you're willing to let it go for and be done with it. The alternative is to just list it higher and bring the price down when relisting (like a dutch auction).
Or I suppose start = reserve and you could say you're open to offers.