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PHP eBay Bidding Script: Automated Auction Bidding Solution

PHP eBay Bidding Script: The Ultimate Automated Solution

Looking for a PHP eBay bidding script that actually works? I’ve updated my automated eBay bidding code to make it more reliable and efficient. This PHP eBay bidding script can be used in a loop to monitor and bid on multiple items automatically.

Note: This code has been updated with improved return status checking. For testing purposes, I recommend using one-cent items with free shipping to avoid unnecessary expenses.

How This PHP eBay Bidding Script Works

The script uses cURL to interact with eBay’s website, simulating a normal user login and bidding process. It handles authentication, bid placement, and confirmation all in one function. The code includes detailed error checking and logging to help troubleshoot any issues.

For those interested in e-commerce automation, this PHP eBay bidding solution can save hours of manual monitoring and bidding.

Key Features of the PHP eBay Bidding Script

  • Automated login to eBay
  • Bid placement on specified items
  • Comprehensive error handling
  • Detailed logging system
  • Support for multiple bidding attempts

The Complete PHP eBay Bidding Code

// MAIN BIDDING FUNCTION
// this function performs no checking on the input variables
// $username  -  the eBay user name
// $password  -  the eBay user password
// $item      -  the eBay item number to bid on
// $bid       -  the bid amount in local currency i.e. 5.67
// $link      -  referral link, can leave empty i.e. '' or use 'http://ebay.com'
function place_bid($username, $password, $item, $bid, $link) {

	$cookies = dirname(__FILE__).'/cookies.txt';
	
	//set success as default false
	$success = false;
	$bid_success = false;

	$curl = curl_init();
	curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, false);
	curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_USERAGENT, 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:15.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/15.0.1');
	curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
	curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true);
	curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_REFERER, $link);
	curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_COOKIEFILE, $cookies);
	curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_COOKIEJAR, $cookies);
	
	//query the referal link page and grab tracking part
	curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $link);
	$ret = curl_exec ($curl);
	
	//IMPORTANT		
	//query the sign-in page to set the cookies
	curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, 'http://signin.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?SignIn&campid=5337161990&customid=7');
	curl_exec ($curl);
	
	//sign-in
	curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, "http://signin.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=SignInWelcome&siteid=0&co_partnerId=2&UsingSSL=0&ru=&pp=&pa1=&pa2=&pa3=&i1=-1&pageType=-1&userid={$username}&pass={$password}&campid=5337161990&customid=7");
	$ret = curl_exec ($curl);
	if(curl_errno($curl)){
		ebaylog('Curl error: ' . curl_error($curl));
	}
	if (!$ret) {
		$ret = curl_exec ($curl);
		if(curl_errno($curl)){
			ebaylog('Curl error: ' . curl_error($curl));
		}
		if (!$ret) {
			$ret = curl_exec ($curl);
			if(curl_errno($curl)){
				ebaylog('Curl error: ' . curl_error($curl));
			}
		}
	}
	
	if (strpos($ret, "Member id {$username}") === FALSE) {
		if (preg_match('%<b class="altTitle">(.*)</b>%', $ret, $regs)) {
			$err = $regs[1];
			ebaylog("\"{$err}\"");
			if (strpos($err, 'The alerts below') === 0) {
				ebaylog("{$item}: 'The alerts below' found, successful");
				//set it to succes
			}
		} else {
			ebaylog("{$item}: Failed signing in");
			if (preg_match('%<font face=".*?" size="3"><b>(.*?)</b></font>%', $ret, $regs)) {
				$err = $regs[1];
				ebaylog("\"{$err}\"");
			}
			
			test_write($ret);
			goto end;
		}
		
		
	} else {
		ebaylog("{$item}: Success signing in");
	}
	
	
	//place the inital bid
	curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, "http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MakeBid&item={$item}&maxbid={$bid}&campid=5337161990&customid=7");
	$ret = curl_exec ($curl);
	if(curl_errno($curl)){
		ebaylog('Curl error: ' . curl_error($curl));
	}
	if (!$ret) {
		$ret = curl_exec ($curl);
	}

	if (preg_match_all('/(?:value="([-0-9a-zA-Z]*)" *)?name="stok"(?: *value="([-0-9a-zA-Z]*)")?/', $ret, $regs)) {
		$stok = $regs[1][0];
	} else {
		//Failed to get 'stok' value
		//try and determine why
		if (preg_match('%
<div class="statusDiv">(.*?)</div>

%', $ret, $regs)) {
			$err = $regs[1];
			ebaylog("'{$err}'");
			//if string starts with "Enter US $0.41 or more"
			if (stripos($err, 'Enter') === 0) {
				ebaylog("{$item}: 'Enter' found, aborting");
				//set it to success
				$success = true;
			} else if (stripos($err, 'To enter a') === 0) {
				ebaylog("{$item}: 'To enter a' found, aborting");
				//set it to success
				$success = true;
			} else if (stripos($err, 'Transaction Blocked') === 0) {
				ebaylog("{$item}: 'Transaction Blocked' found, aborting");
				//set it to success
				$success = true;
			}
			
		} else if (preg_match('%"\d*" - Invalid Item</div>

%', $subject)) {
			ebaylog("{$item}: 'Invalid Item' found, aborting");
			test_write($ret);
			//set it to success
			$success = true;
		} else if (preg_match('%
<div class="subTlt">
<ul class="errList">
<li>(.*?)</li>
</ul>
</div>

%', $subject)) {
			ebaylog("{$item}: 'no longer available' found, aborting");
			test_write($ret);
			//set it to success
			$success = true;
		} else if (preg_match('%id="w\d-\d-_msg".*?>(.*?)</span>%', $ret, $regs)) {
			ebaylog("'{$regs[1]}'");
		} else if (preg_match('%<div\s+class\s*=\s*"(?:errRed|errBlk|errTitle|statusDiv)"\s*>(.*?)</div>

%i', $ret, $regs)) {
			ebaylog("'{$regs[1]}'");
		} else {
			//don't know why so log the page
			ebaylog("{$item}: Failed to get 'stok' value");
			test_write($ret);
		}
		goto end;
	}
	
	if (preg_match_all('/(?:value="([-0-9a-zA-Z]*)" *)?name="uiid"(?: *value="([-0-9a-zA-Z]*)")?/', $ret, $regs)) {
		$uiid = $regs[1][0];
	} else {
		ebaylog("{$item}: Failed to get 'uiid' value");
		goto end;
	}
	

	if ($stok && $uiid) {
		ebaylog("{$item}: Success placing initial bid");
	} else {
		ebaylog("{$item}: Failed placing initial bid");
		goto end;
		
	}
	
	//confirm the bid
	curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, "http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=MakeBid&maxbid={$bid}&quant=1&mode=1&stok={$stok}&uiid={$uiid}&co_partnerid=2&user={$username}&fb=0&item={$item}&campid=5337161990&customid=7");
	$ret = curl_exec ($curl);
	if(curl_errno($curl)){
		ebaylog('Curl error: ' . curl_error($curl));
	}
	if (!$ret) {
		$ret = curl_exec ($curl);
	}
	
	//perform a number of tests to determine if the bid was a success
	$bid_success = true;
	if (stripos($ret, "you're the first bidder") === FALSE) {
		if (stripos($ret, "you're the high bidder and currently in the lead") === FALSE) {
			if (stripos($ret, "you're currently the highest bidder") === FALSE) {
				$bid_success  = false;
				ebaylog("{$item}: Failed placing final bid");
				//try and determine why
				if (preg_match('%<div\s+class\s*=\s*"(?:errRed|errBlk|errTitle|statusDiv)"\s*>(.*?)</div>

%i', $ret, $regs)) {
					$err = $regs[1];
					ebaylog("'{$err}'");
					if (stripos($err, 'Enter') === 0) {
						ebaylog("{$item}: 'Enter' found, aborting");
						//set it to success
						$bid_success = true;
					} else if (stripos($err, "You've just been outbid") === 0) {
						ebaylog("{$item}: 'You've just been outbid' found, aborting");
						//set it to success
						$bid_success  = true;
					} else if (stripos($err, "You're currently the high bidder,") === 0) {
						ebaylog("{$item}: 'You're currently the high bidder, but the reserve hasn't been met.' found, aborting");
						//set it to success
						$bid_success  = true;
					}
				} else {
					//we don't know why it failed so write the data
					test_write($ret);
				}
			}
		}
	}
	
	if ($bid_success) {
		ebaylog("{$item}: Success placing final bid");
		$success = true;
	}
	
	end:
	
	//close the curl session
	curl_close ($curl);
	
	if ($success) {
		ebaylog("{$item}: Success: {$username}");
	} else {
		ebaylog("{$item}: Failure: {$username}");
	}
	
	return $success;
}

//for testing
function test_write($out) {
	$fh = fopen(dirname(__FILE__).'/'.date('Y-m-d H-i-s').'.html', 'w');
	fwrite($fh, $out);
	fclose($fh);
}

//simple logging function
function ebaylog($msg) {
	$msg = "{$msg}\r\n";
	echo $msg;
	$fh = fopen(dirname(__FILE__).'/ebay-log.txt', 'a');
	fwrite($fh, date('Y-m-d H-i-s')." {$msg}");
	fclose($fh);
}

Implementation Tips for Your PHP eBay Bidding Script

When implementing this PHP eBay bidding script, keep these points in mind:

  1. Always test with inexpensive items first
  2. The script creates a cookies.txt file in the same directory – make sure to manage it properly
  3. Consider adding additional error handling for edge cases
  4. Review eBay’s API documentation for any updates or changes
  5. Use a secure method to store your eBay credentials

For more information on eBay’s API, check out the official eBay Developer Program.

Related posts:

  1. Longest Common Subsequence in VBA: A Comprehensive Guide

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