Nibble bidding

[bombbloke]

A silly little question which has been asked before - I might've even known the answer once, but I don't now and can't find a thread with the answer - and it's going to be stuck in my head until I can get some sort of plausible explanation for it.

Usually I seagull auctions (or snipe them, choose your term). Yesterday, feeling lazy from too many BINs recently, I decided to place a bid on an item about 24 hours before it ended.

Anyway, the auction finishes up and I lose. No big deal. But the bidding history confuses me; there were only two other bidders, and they were both nibblers, submitting nearly thirty bids between them. Over twenty of these came from one of the pair over the course of about an hour and a half - he never passed my maximum, the other nibbler achieved that.

Now, I don't for a moment suspect shilling, as the seller's account isn't suspicious in any way. Normally I'd assume that the bidders don't understand autobidding, but... the guy who put in the bulk of the bids had a feedback score of 888 (more than double my own).

So on to my question - is there any possible benefit from bidding a buck at a time, as opposed to just dropping in the max figure you're willing to pay? Even if it's just to mess with people's heads?!

[wilk1149 · Accepted solution]

I often snipe but sometimes I will end up just nibbling away because either I'm bored and it's keeping my entertained or after each unsuccessful bid I figure that I'll try again. I do use the android app and you can just tap on place bid while the app does all the work though

[bombbloke]

Ah, so you're saying mobile apps offer a quick way to increase your bid by about a dollar a time?

[kopenhagen5]

That was what I was thinking, some don't bother to put amounts, just pressing bid continuously until they are the winner.

(It will just increase in bid increments)

I use Gixen when I can't be at a computer or snipe so shilling can't occur as easily.

[imastawka]

Some people get a rush when nibble bidding.  I think it also does people's

heads in when others do it to them.

I have a cousin that get's overexcited when bidding.  She actually creates

her own 'high'

I just put in my max and come back when it's all over.

[wilk1149]

Yep, it automatically increases the amount and you just tap place bid. They were probably on their phone and were doing that

[bombbloke]

Gotcha. That all makes sense, my mind's at rest. Thanks guys!  🙂

[bakeandfry]

I think bidding a dollar (or whatever) at a time mite make other people bidding stress out, seeing there bid ever so slowly getting run over, i love snipe bidding on auctions that are easy to read, you know the bidder before you has most certainly got there bid at 50 cents higher than what is displayed....the app is fantastic for timing the bid, but total cod wallop for just about everything else

[wilk1149]

I have never and will never own a p.c. It probably stems from doing computer studies when I was in high school and you had to learn basic to work with one. I wasn't very good at it maybe because the teachers breath was worse than a toilet so I never wanted him near me to help with any problems

[bakeandfry]

I agree with you wilk, phone users can almost do anything on phone (note: i wrote almost)