Unable to bid on some listings

Bugs in the Trade Me system?

Hello Celeste. It would depend on the listing. Often Trade Me flag suspect listings so you can't bid / buy or otherwise interact with them until the seller has satisfied something that Trade Me have asked them about.

If you can give an example auction number we could check it out. 

Hi callum this is it i had to ask a family member to bid on theres for me Listing #5456731376

I had a similar situation - the buyer got in touch with me and told me she was unable to bid. I reported it to Trade Me who said they would look into it. Maybe it's more widespread than we know?

Kia Ora Celeste,

1. Are you using the Desktop site or an App? - Have you tried through both?
2. Are you on the latest up to date version of the Browser or App? - App updates are rolled out quite frequently so it pays to check.
3. Try clearing your Cookies & Cache then reconnect to TM with a fresh start.
4. If you are using the App try exiting the App altogether rather than just closing it down.
5. If you're using the App try uninstalling it then reinstalling it.

Hi, I just had the same issue on Listing #5461996543. 5 minutes left on auction and it finished. Dissapeared from my watchlist into my lost list. In the lost list it was still counting down the auction as normal, however I could not bid on it. Suspect a scam trader to be honest. They have a lot of "high value" listings that end prematurely at really low $ values. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Cheers.

 Listing #5464354151 is a currrent listing from this trader, be interesting to see if it ends the same way. I have asked them for comment on this listing.

HI Donald. You reference a different listing within the Q&A of that one. All looks normal to me? 34 bids and closed normally with a winning bidder of $205 at 7:43:11pm

Kia Ora Donald,

It sounds like your Device timing may be out...

1. Ensure you're running the latest up to date Browser / App version.
2. Ensure your Device has the date and time set to automatic.
3. Clear your cookies & cache. 

Take screenshots of the auction ending time where you can't place a bid, include your Device time in the screenshot also enabling TradeMe staff to investigate what may be happening there if this happens again for you. - Cheers.

Thanks for the advice/replies. Callum, that's what I find strange, the closing time was listed as 7:45 however it ended early? Cheers.

Hello again Donald. Last bid was placed at 7:43. As no further bids were made it closed 2 mins later at 7:45. From what I am seeing all looks normal there. But yes, there have been issues around closing time reported before. Good idea to keep an eye on the sellers other items to see if there are any anomalies. 

Just confirming they are not a scam trader for you Donald. They are a respected local Christchurch company. They have a physical presence in Christchurch, website, and have all the usual social media accounts. They are a registered NZ business on the companies register.  Contact details check out. Good reviews and ratings. 100% good feedback on Trade Me. 

I had an issue with hitting the make a bid bar just before the auction finished but the system must have been working slow and I missed out on the purchase. Is there any way to contact the seller to make an offer?

Kia ora Ian, sorry to hear you missed out on bidding. There isn't a way to contact the seller directly, however you can check to see if they have any other listings and pop a question on one of their live listings to see if the item is still available and request a relist. If the seller doesn't have any live listings you could save them as a favourite so that you get notified when they list something. 

Hi there, 

the place bid option is currently unavailable to me for an item I wish to purchase, Listing #6208467965. If I could have some assistance that'd be great. Thanks.

Thats weird, its working ok for me. Maybe the seller blacklisted you??

What would the potential reasons for that be? I'm authenticated and all my feedback is positive, I've also never made a purchase or had contact with them. Is there a specific bidding restriction they have in place?

Can you ask a question on the sellers auction? 

I don't currently have the 'Place a bid' tab showing but it's available for any listings not made by this seller, and my device and Google Chrome is shown as up to date. I did also clear my cookies- are there any further steps I can take?

If you are using the App, try instead on Desktop. (And the other way around) 

Adblockers can also sometimes mess with clickables, so turn off any adblockers or other extensions. 

But it does seem odd that it is only affecting this item for you, unless as AJ says it's a blacklist. But I don't think that causes the place bid tab to disappear. 

Kia Ora anusht,

If you're still missing the 'Place a bid' tab there's a possibility the Seller may have set their listing to accept bids from Authenticated members only - check the help file below to ensure you've authenticated your account...

Authenticate your account – Help - Trade Me

My comment is pending, if you type the highlighted word in the search bar at the top of Help pages, including this Post you'll find the file - Cheers.

I'm authenticated - according to the support request I made I was blacklisted. I have no idea why since I've literally never interacted with this seller before but I guess that's that? 

People blacklist for a whole range of reasons, some only understandable to them. Did you ask them a question at some point? If you did, maybe they didnt like your question? Who knows, only they will

Maybe also you kept watching their auctions and not buying or accepting FPO?

Those are common reasons given

I mean when I added the listing to my watchlist, bidding still wasn’t available for me but I didn’t think much of it. I also wasn’t trying to bid too early given how fast the price can shoot up. I suppose that’s that, I’m bummed but I can get over it.

I have asked the seller why you are blacklisted. But given the short time before the auction closes, I'm not sure if there will be time for a reply.