Say Goodbye To Sniping? eBay Australia Expands Extended Bidding To All Auctions
eBay is expanding Extended Bidding to all auctions in Australia after a limited pilot, marking a significant shakeup to the platform’s legacy auction format.
Under the new format, a bid placed during the final minute resets the clock to 60 seconds, with additional extensions continuing until bidding stops.
The company began testing this style of auction last year in trading card categories, adding vehicles to the pilot program earlier this year.
Liz Morton
Help pages for the US, UK, Canada, Germany and Australia continue to describe Extended Bidding as a limited test.
But an announcement posted in the eBay Australia community forums today indicates Extended Bidding will be expanding to all auctions starting August 17.
au_news_team
From 17 August, we’re rolling out Extended Bidding to help create fairer auctions and better outcomes for buyers and sellers. Extended bidding keeps the final moments of an auction open while bidding is active, creating a clear and confident close for both buyers and sellers.
What is Extended Bidding?
If someone places a bid in the final minute of an auction, we'll automatically extend the auction by a short period. This gives other interested buyers time to respond, instead of relying on who can place the fastest last-second bid. The result is a fairer auction where the winning bid better reflects what an item is worth.How It Works
When a bid is placed during the final minute of an auction, the remaining time will reset to 60 seconds until all bidding stops. The auction continues until no more bids are placed during the final minute, giving everyone who's actively bidding the opportunity to respond.
eBay says it is making the changes to "level the playing field" and keep competition alive.
Why are we making this change?
We are creating a level playing field that gives committed buyers a fair chance to place their best bid.
- Keep competition alive: Auctions end based on bidding activity, not a rigid clock, so competition can finish naturally.
- Stay in the action: When bidding heats up, buyers can respond instead of being outbid at the last second.
- Confidence at the close: The final moments of an auction are clear, visible, and decisive, so buyers and sellers understand exactly what’s happening as the auction ends.
For buyers, eBay says Extended Bidding gives more time to place their best bids and avoid missing out.
eBay also sought to assuage seller concerns, stating during the pilot they saw stronger bidding activity and, in many cases, higher final sale prices on high-demand listings.
Confusion over an update to advertising terms in 2023 led to much discussion in the eBay community regarding the idea of this kind of "soft close" auction, with many expressing concerns that if eBay went this route, it would be the end of auction sniping on the platform.
Those concerns were echoed when eBay announced the Extended Bidding test last year and continue with this latest announcement, but reactions remain divided between buyers who prefer sniping and sellers hoping the change will produce higher final prices.
alternaterealitees
If ebay wants me to NEVER bid on an item then this extended bidding should continue, however if they want bids this feature must go away! The entire concept to winning bids relies on your ability to put in your bid last min and win.
Yes. It hopefully will drive up prices. That is the whole purpose of ebay for sellers. Get the most you can from your listings.
Correct if I am wrong, but ebay is the last place that still uses the fixed ending for auctions.
k1ooo-slr-sales
Not sure what rock you have all been hiding under as no other auctions I am aware of have a set end time with no extension for last minute bids. They all are extended from 30 seconds to 10 minutes depending on the auction company.
Ebay is likely the last to have continued using their outdated system. I feel it will help both buyers and sellers as many buyers can tend to over bid then end up not paying anyway.
Ironically, Poshmark, whose Posh Shows historically had extended bidding, went the opposite direction last year by introducing a Sudden Death option allowing sellers to let the timer run down with no extension to drive a sense of urgency for livestream shoppers.
Liz Morton
Ideally, it would be up to the seller to decide which format they want to use for their eBay auctions, but this announcement does not appear to leave any room for that.
Official announcements have not yet appeared in the US, UK, Canada or Germany, though the existing multinational pilot suggests Australia may be the first market in a broader rollout. Other markets may follow soon, possibly as part of an August seller update released later this week or next.
Stay tuned for updates and let us know in the comments below what you think of eBay Extended Auctions!
