Your bid went through and someone else is on top. Three things cause this, and you can tell them apart in a few seconds.
1. Someone bid at the same moment
The commonest cause. Two bids land within the same second, one is processed first, and the second one becomes the new top bid — so your bid counted and was immediately passed.
You will have seen You’ve been outbid for a moment. The room shows {name} is winning.
2. Someone has a maximum bid running
A buyer can set the most they are willing to pay, and Metzee then bids for them automatically — the smallest step that keeps them on top, never more.
So you are not bidding against a person watching the screen. You are bidding against a number that answers instantly, every time, until it runs out. That is why some items feel like they bid back the moment you touch them.
Nobody is told what that number is, including you and the seller. The only way to find out is to pass it. What a maximum bid is.
3. Your bid was below the next step
Bids go up in steps, not by any amount you like. If the top bid is ₹1,000 and the step is ₹50, the next valid bid is ₹1,050 — a bid of ₹1,010 is not a lower-ranked bid, it is not a bid at all.
The screen shows the next valid amount, which is why using Bid rather than Custom bid never has this problem. Is there a minimum bid?
How to check which it was
Look at the bid list. If your amount is there and a higher one sits above it, your bid counted and you were outbid — cases 1 or 2. If your amount is not there at all, it did not register — case 3, or a connection problem. Did my bid count?
What to do
Bid again, using the button rather than a custom amount. If it bounces back repeatedly against an invisible ceiling, that is a maximum bid, and the question becomes whether the item is worth going past it — which only you can answer.
More: how bidding works, if your bid is not going through, the last ten seconds.