How to Bid on a Dutch Auction on eBay

A Dutch auction is a kind of multiple item auction on eBay. In a Dutch auction, the seller is selling multiple items to bidders without using the fixed price method. Each item is bid on separately. To bid in a Dutch auction on eBay, you have to bid a little differently than in a regular auction.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Internet access
• Computer

1. Log into your eBay account. You can do this by visiting eBay.com and entering your username and password.
2. Search for the items you want in the search box. Include the term 'multiple item'. You can also browse categories to find multiple item listings.
3. Look on the item page for the minimum bid. You must bid at or above this amount.
4. Find the quantity of the item that is available. This can be found near the top of the item page.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page. Under “Ready to Bid”, fill in your maximum bid as well as the number of items you want to bid on.
6. Click on the “Bidder’s List” which can be found under quantity available. This page will list the bids that are not winning and those prices. The current winning bids will list the price those bidders would pay if the auction ended. The winning bids will be the price of the lowest winning bid. This is how you will know if you need to bid more.
7. Beat the lowest winning bid in the bidder’s list.
8. Watch the auction closely until it closes. Continue to check the bidder's list. When you are not winning, keep bidding more than the winning bid.

Tips & Warnings

• If there are a large quantity of items available and very few bidders, bid the minimum.
• Remember that Dutch auctions do not use eBay’s automatic bidding system.