The Psychology of Bidding.......

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by Stonepony

I disagree with this. On a current $3000 lot , if my top is $3200... I can't bid it. I lose and Consignor loses if no one bids the required $3300. Your statement that it's "easier" for lower increment bids to be topped is obvious... But irrelevant. The bottom line is I believe people are missing out in desired lots, and money is being left on table with large increment jumps.

But all the auction houses have software which is preset at 10%, or some other standard increment. So the next one after $3000 is usually $3300. What if you only wanted to bid $3165 on top of a $3000? How could the software accept it? Some actually use increments other than 10%. For example, from $1000 to $2400, the limit might be $100. So from $2200 to $2300, the increase is more like 5%. But at $2500, a $250 increment kicks in. Again, everything is preset, I don't know how the software designer can anticipate every increment that bidders may want to place.

Ebay allows you to type in any bid you want, including pennies if you so desire. But auction house increments are predetermined.