| In this article |
 | |
Bid increments are part of our automatic bidding system.
How bid increments work
As an auction-style listing proceeds, we’ll automatically increase your bid on your behalf, up to your maximum bid, to maintain your position as the high bidder or to meet the item’s reserve price. The bid increment is the minimum amount by which your bid will be raised.
What determines the amount of the bid increment?
The incremental amount is predetermined based on the current high bid on the item. The following table shows the amount of bid increments.
Current Price |
Bid Increment |
$ 0.01 - $ 0.99 |
$ 0.05 |
$ 1.00 - $ 4.99 |
$ 0.25 |
$ 5.00 - $ 24.99 |
$ 0.50 |
$ 25.00 - $ 99.99 |
$ 1.00 |
$ 100.00 - $ 249.99 |
$ 2.50 |
$ 250.00 - $ 499.99 |
$ 5.00 |
$ 500.00 - $ 999.99 |
$ 10.00 |
$ 1000.00 - $ 2499.99 |
$ 25.00 |
$ 2500.00 - $ 4999.99 |
$ 50.00 |
$ 5000.00 and up |
$ 100.00 |
Can my bid be increased by more than the standard increment?
A bid can be increased by more than the standard increment if more than a standard increment is required to:
Meet the reserve amount. In reserve price auctions, we’ll automatically increase the bid to meet the reserve, and bidding will continue from there. We won’t exceed your current maximum bid, however.
Beat a competing bidder's high bid. We’ll increase your bid to more than the incremental amount to beat another bid up to the amount of your maximum bid.
Can I be outbid by less than a full increment?
You can be outbid by less than a full increment. A winning bidder's maximum bid needs only to exceed the next highest maximum bid by one cent.
For example:You're the first bidder and you place a maximum bid of $20.00. We’ll automatically bid on your behalf up to $20.00 against other bidders.
When a second bidder places a maximum bid of $9.00, your bid is automatically raised to $9.50.
When a third bidder bids $20.01, this bidder becomes the high bidder at $20.01. The third bidder needs only to exceed your next automatic bid amount of $10.00 ($9.50 plus $0.50). Since $20.01 is more than $10.00, and is also more than your maximum bid, the third bidder becomes the winning bidder, unless you raise your bid.
Must use Buy It Now and PayPal.
