Bid Increment & Proxy Bid Table
Find the minimum next bid at any price and map the whole proxy-bid ladder up to your maximum, so you know exactly how the price will climb.
Increment & next bid
| # | Bid | Increment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20.5 | +0.5 |
| 2 | 21 | +0.5 |
| 3 | 21.5 | +0.5 |
| 4 | 22 | +0.5 |
| 5 | 22.5 | +0.5 |
| 6 | 23 | +0.5 |
| 7 | 23.5 | +0.5 |
| 8 | 24 | +0.5 |
| 9 | 24.5 | +0.5 |
| 10 | 25 | +0.5 |
| 11 | 26 | +1 |
| 12 | 27 | +1 |
| 13 | 28 | +1 |
| 14 | 29 | +1 |
| 15 | 30 | +1 |
| 16 | 31 | +1 |
| 17 | 32 | +1 |
| 18 | 33 | +1 |
| 19 | 34 | +1 |
| 20 | 35 | +1 |
How the price really climbs
Online auctions don’t let you nudge a bid up by a cent. They enforce a minimum increment that grows in bands with the price — small steps on inexpensive lots, then larger fixed jumps as the numbers get serious. Knowing the increment at your price tells you what the next legal bid is and how much headroom sits between you and the next bidder.
The ladder makes proxy bidding concrete. Enter the current price and your maximum, and you can see every step the site could take on your behalf — a useful reality check before you set a ceiling, because it shows how quickly a busy lot can march up to your limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a bid increment?
A bid increment is the smallest amount by which the next bid must exceed the current one. Auction sites raise it in bands as the price climbs: pennies on a cheap lot, but $25, $50, or $100 once you're into the thousands. The table here uses a standard general-purpose schedule; the exact steps depend on the marketplace.
How does proxy (automatic) bidding use the increments?
When you enter a maximum, the site bids on your behalf one increment at a time, only as high as it needs to keep you in front, and never above your ceiling. If no one outbids you, you often win for less than your maximum — the price only climbs the next increment above the runner-up. The ladder below shows every step your proxy could take up to your limit.
Why did the price jump by an odd amount?
Two things cause it. First, the increment changes as the price crosses a band boundary. Second, when someone else also has a proxy bid in, the site settles at just one increment above the lower maximum, which can look like a jump rather than a single step.
Uses a standard general-purpose increment schedule. The exact steps and rules vary by marketplace — check the site’s bidding help.