eBay Is Testing ‘Significant’ Change This Summer

E-commerce giant eBay is making a change to its bidding process this summer that could have major effects down the road. 

Ben Burrows of cllct first noted eBay is experimenting with an "extended bidding feature" for trading cards. The change was announced on the company's guide to buying on its official website.

"We're currently testing extending auction durations by 2 minutes when a bid is placed in the last 2 minutes of an auction," the notice reads. "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 when this new format was introduced, or how long it will be in place, among other finer details. Right now, it's strictly for trading cards, but could expand into other areas.

The extended bidding policy is designed to help guard against "bid sniping," which is the practice of prospective buyers placing massive bids in the final minutes of an auction to avoid any response from other competing buyers and secure the item. 

“We’re constantly exploring new ways to make the buying and selling experience even better for our community.," Ron Jaiven, eBay's general manager for U.S. Collectibles told cllct. "We’re excited to be testing extended bidding on select trading cards — a feature we know many of our collectors have been asking for. This is a limited test for now, and we’ll share more details as we learn and expand."

According to Value Added Resource, eBay already has a similar system in place for its eBay Live auctions, which enables sellers to extend the bid time if a bid is placed in the final five seconds of an auction.