etzee

Can I set my own bid increments?

Yes, per auction. What the default is, and the thing to get right instead.

The Metzee team15 Oct 20262 min read

Yes. Each auction carries its own minimum increment, and you can set it when you create the listing.

The default, if you set nothing

5% of the starting price, with a floor of ₹10.

Of the starting price, not the current one — so the step is fixed for the whole auction and does not grow as the bidding rises. An item opening at ₹500 steps in ₹25 whether the price reaches ₹600 or ₹6,000. Why is the price jumping in big steps?

That default is sensible for most things, which is why most sellers never touch it.

When to change it

Larger, for a high-value item opened low. A ₹40,000 piece opened at ₹1,000 steps in ₹50 by default, which is two hundred bids to get there. Setting a bigger step keeps the auction moving.

Smaller, for something inexpensive where you want lots of small bids. A ₹200 item with a ₹10 step gives more bidding moments than one with a ₹25 step, and bidding moments are what a live room runs on.

The thing to get right instead

The starting price, by a wide margin.

The increment is derived from it, so the start price sets both at once. And the start price is the thing that decides whether anybody bids at all — the commonest reason an auction gets no bids is an opening that asks the room to take the first risk.

So: choose the start price for the bidding you want, and let the increment follow. If the resulting step feels wrong, then adjust it. How to price for auction

What is not configurable

The ten-second rule. On a standard auction, a bid in the final ten seconds pushes the clock back to ten seconds. You cannot change it, and you should not want to — it is what stops sniping and makes the ending a function of bidding rather than of reflexes. The last ten seconds

Maximum bids. Buyers can set a ceiling and have Metzee bid for them, and nothing a seller sets switches that off. It is also invisible to you, which is why an item sometimes bids back instantly. What a maximum bid is

The formats. Three exist: standard with the ten-second rule, reset-timer, and sudden death where the clock never moves.

Once it is running

Settings lock at the first bid, and at the moment the auction goes live. So the increment is a decision made before the item goes up. How to edit or relist an item

What buyers see

The next valid amount, always. The Bid button is that amount, which is why a buyer using the button can never be rejected — and why a bid below the step is not a low bid, it is not a bid. Is there a minimum bid?

More: how auctions find a price, how to set a reserve price, how to create a listing.

← All posts

There is a show on right now.

Nothing to install — it runs in this browser.

Find a showCreate an account