eBay bid history cheat sheet
Six things to look at before you bid, on one image. Save it, pin it in your Discord, or post it in a thread. It’s free to share; a link back to this page is appreciated.
Updated
The six points
- Masked bidders. a***b (12) is the first and last letter of a username, then their feedback score. Same mask and score: likely, not certainly, the same person.
- “auto” bids. Placed by eBay from a bidder’s hidden maximum, not typed by them.
- Read it bottom-up. The list is sorted by amount, highest first, so the bottom is the earliest bid.
- The staircase. One bidder nudging up in small steps, each answered by an automatic bid. Often a cautious buyer; also how a shill finds your maximum.
- Retractions, at the very bottom. A retraction by a bidder who was leading is a strong sign. A typo is the common innocent reason.
- Tap a bidder. Their 30-day summary shows bids, items, retractions and the share of their bidding with this seller. Almost all of it with one seller is a strong sign.
Signs, not verdicts. Every sign has innocent explanations.
For a full walk-through with a worked example, see how to read an eBay bid history.
Watching an auction?
Capture its bid history and see which signs are present, with the evidence for each.