Somebody bid more than you. The screen says You’ve been outbid, or You’ve been outbid — bid again to win.
What it does not mean
It does not mean your bid failed. Your bid was placed, recorded and counted. It was then passed. Those are different things, and the difference matters because a failed bid needs fixing while being outbid needs only a decision.
It does not mean you owe anything. You pay only if you win.
It does not mean you are out. You can bid again as many times as you like, until the item closes.
What to do in the next few seconds
One question: is it still worth it at the new price?
If yes, bid. If no, stop. That is the entire decision, and the reason people get it wrong is that the room makes stopping feel like losing.
What helps: decide your number before the item opens. Then "outbid" is just information — either you are still under your number or you are not.
Why it happened instantly
If you were outbid the moment you bid, you are probably bidding against a maximum bid rather than a person. Somebody set a ceiling and Metzee is bidding for them automatically — the smallest step that keeps them on top, every time, instantly, until their number runs out.
Nobody can see that number, including you. The only way to find out where it ends is to pass it. I bid but someone else is showing as highest
The better way to handle it
Set your own maximum. Then you are not reacting in the last ten seconds — your ceiling answers for you, it never bids more than one step above the competition, and it stops exactly where you told it to.
That turns being outbid from an emotional event into an arithmetic one. What a maximum bid is
The ten seconds that stop the panic
On a standard auction, a bid in the final ten seconds pushes the clock back to ten seconds. So there is no buzzer to beat and no advantage in waiting — being outbid at 0:03 does not mean you have three seconds to decide. The last ten seconds
If it closes with you outbid
Nothing happens. No charge, no obligation, no mark against you. The item sold to someone else and you are free.
Unsold or relisted items often come back, and following the store is how you hear. How to follow a seller
More: how bidding works, how to place a bid, did my bid count.