eBay Tests Extended Bidding For Trading Card Auctions - Will Sniping Be A Thing Of The Past?
UPDATE 7-14-25
In addition to this extended bidding test, eBay has also introduced phone verification to the auction bidding process with explicit goal of "reducing sniping, shill bidding & unpaid items" according to eBay UK community staff.
Liz Morton
eBay is testing a new feature that will extend the time on trading card auctions when bids are received within the last 2 minutes - collectors say it could be the end of sniping on the platform.
The test was disclosed on eBay's help and policy page about auction bidding with a short note indicating it is currently only active for select items in the Trading Cards category and that users will need to update to the most recent version of the app to see this new feature.
We're currently testing extending auction durations by 2 minutes when a bid is placed in the last 2 minutes of an auction. This test will apply to select items in the Trading Cards category. Please make sure you're on the latest version of the app to see this feature.
It's not clear exactly when the test began, but a version of that page from the Internet Archive dated June 21st does not show the banner, so it would appear to be a very recent change.
The notice was spotted by Cllct reporter Ben Burrows, who says he thinks it may ultimately help sellers realize best results for their auctions, but will likely kill bid sniping in the process.
Working to get more info on eBay testing auction extensions if bids arrive in last 2 minutes.
— Ben Burrows (@BenMBurrows) July 7, 2025
First thoughts from me personally:
1. This could definitely kill bid sniping
2. Marketplaces have a responsibility to help sellers get the best results and this probably does that pic.twitter.com/imeNRZcBuX
Interestingly, an eBay announcement about changes to bidding on ad keywords in 2023 sparked confusion and concerns that eBay may be introducing this type of "dynamic ending" or "soft close" bidding for auctions - and while it ended up not being true, the idea garnered mixed reactions from sellers at that time.
Liz Morton
eBay already does something similar for auctions run through eBay Live, where sellers have the option to enable extended bidding which adds an extra 5 seconds if a bid is placed in the last 5 seconds of the auction.
Hopefully if eBay moves forward with expanding extended bidding to regular, non-live auctions, they'll also make it optional for the seller rather than mandating soft-close style for all auctions.
The move comes as eBay has been testing other changes to refresh their auction offerings, including autopay with payment method required before bidding, "shop more ship together" which gives additional time to make changes or add additional items before autopay is processed, and another recent test which toyed with the idea of increasing bid increments on lower priced items.
Liz Morton
And while eBay has not given explicit details on how they will determine which "select items" this test will apply to, the same banner message appears on the help and policy pages about bidding for eBay UK, eBay Canada, and eBay Australia as well, indicating this could be a global change.
eBay has not responded to request for additional information or comment about this soft-close trading card auction test as of time of publishing.
Would you like to see extended auctions expand into other categories as well or do you prefer the current way auctions work on eBay? Let us know in the comments below!
