This is why you should enter the maximum amount you are willing to bid, rather than the items minimum. Some auctions are run as reserve auctions . This means that the seller has set a second price which is kept hidden during the auction. When the auction is over, if this price has not been reached then the seller does not have to sell you the item. Conversely, you do not have to purchase the item.
All bidding is done through proxy bidding .
This means that you should enter the maximum amount you are willing to bid on this item and Collecting Nation will bid on your behalf should you be overbid. If this auction is a reserve auction and your maximum bid exceeds the hidden reserve price, then your initial bid will be at the reserve price. Sometimes you will place a bid on an item and you will either be instantly outbid, or your initial bid will be higher than the minimum bid listed on the auction page. This happens because other users have entered proxy bids and Collecting Nation is bidding on their behalf as well. A bid can never be retracted or lowered unless the seller has changed or misrepresented the auction.