Ebay Bidding Question

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Posted By: Jay Miller

I thought I understood how bidding works but I guess I don't understand completely. I was bidding on an item with a $20 opening bid and I threw in an up to bid of $37. I was the only bid. Someone came in later and bid several times with his/her last bid being exactly $37. Since I was the first bidder I was obviously still high on the item. He/she did not bid beyond this level (not a shill--he/she had bought similar items). I them placed a bid above $37. Even though I was high bidder on the lot at the time I placed this second bid, Ebay bumped my $37 bid to $38. I thought if you were high bidder on an item and bid again it would not increase the current high bid, just increase your up to amount. Obviously I was wrong. Any thoughts?