You slide to bid. That is deliberate — a button you can tap by accident would be a problem on something binding.
Do the practice first
The first time, the control offers Slide to try: Practice here — this one doesn’t place a bid. Afterwards, That’s it — practice bids don’t count.
Take it. Your first real bid should not also be the first time you have used the control, because the moments that matter are the last ten seconds of an item you want.
1. Read what it says before you slide
Bidding starts at {price}if nobody has bid, orTop bidif someone has.Minimum bid {price}. Your bid is binding if you win.Every bid is binding— the confirmation most people slide past. There is no "I changed my mind" after.
2. Slide
Slide to bid places the next valid amount. The button is always a valid bid, which is why using it never fails.
Bid {amount} and Bid more do the same from the detail view.
3. Or jump, with Custom bid
Custom lets you name a higher figure than the next step — going to ₹2,000 when the step would take you to ₹1,050.
It is a real tactic: a jump signals you are not leaving, and it sometimes ends the contest. It also costs you more than you needed to pay if nobody was going to follow you.
A custom bid below the next valid step is not a low bid — it is not a bid. That is the commonest confusion in a live room. Is there a minimum bid?
4. Read the result
You’re the top bidderorYou’re winning!— you are ahead.You’ve been outbid, orYou’ve been outbid — bid again to win— somebody went higher. Your bid counted and was passed.
Being outbid is not a failed bid. Did my bid count?
Hide higher bids tidies the list if the scroll is distracting.
The ten-second rule, which changes how you bid
On a standard auction, a bid in the final ten seconds pushes the clock back to ten seconds.
So you cannot be sniped at the buzzer, and there is no advantage in waiting to pounce. You will see the countdown jump back up when it happens — that is the rule working, not a glitch.
What this means practically: decide your maximum before the item opens, and bid when you mean it. The ending is decided by when bidding stops, not by the clock. The last ten seconds.
Bidding without watching
Two ways, and both are better than staying up:
A maximum bid — the most you will pay. Metzee then bids the smallest step that keeps you on top, never past your number, and nobody ever sees it. What a maximum bid is.
A Pre-bid, where the seller has enabled it — a bid left before the item opens. Sealed: you see whether yours is on top, never anyone's amount. Pre-bids are closed for this item. means that window has shut. What a pre-bid is.
Questions people ask
Can I take a bid back?
No. Every bid is binding is the whole point of the warning.
What if I bid by accident?
The slide exists to make that very hard. If it happens, tell the seller immediately — they cannot remove the bid, but it matters to how the rest is handled.
Why did someone outbid me instantly?
Usually a maximum bid answering for them automatically. I bid but someone else is showing as highest
Does bidding cost anything?
No. You pay only if you win.
More: how bidding works, if your bid is not going through, how auctions find a price.