How Auto-Bidding works on BidSpotter.com

 

An Auto-Bid is a bid placed on an item that is automatically managed by the BidSpotter.com system. The system continues to strategically bid for you up to your maximum bid during timed online auctions.

 

How to place an Auto-Bid

 

Auction Registration:

 

You will have to register to bid for each event / specific auction you wish to participate in.

Register for this auction

 

The registration requirements vary depending on bidder requirements of the auction house. You may need to enter a credit card number (without spaces or dashes), banking information and/or your driver's license number. Occasionally the auction house may even require that you send in a deposit or fax a bank letter of guarantee. Be sure to read the Terms and Conditions for any and all requirements. Once you have completed the registration process an email is automatically sent to you confirming your registration. In this email you will find the auction specific Paddle # (Bidder ID) which will identify you for this auction.

 

Now you will need to wait until you're approved before placing any bids. Usually auction houses approve bidders once a day, or you may call the auction house to expedite the approval process. Once you are approved you will receive an email indicating that you have been approved to bid. In that email there will be a link to the auction gallery page for this specific auction.

 

Bidding:

 

To view the auction you can either click the link from your approval email or from the Event Details page click the Preview Inventory link. On the Gallery page (where you will see up to 100 lots at a time) you will need to log in to the auction with your username and password. You will do this in the upper right hand area of the page.

 

To view more details or to place a bid on a lot, click on the lot from the gallery page and another window will open with the Item details page. On this page you can see more images if they are available, see how many bids have been placed and you can place bids.

 

Bidding will happen at the top of this page. You will see a Place Bid button and to the left of that is the bid amount. The next increment up from the current bid automatically fills in for you but you can place an Auto-Bid by typing in an amount higher than the current asking price. Your bid will need to be in the correct increment multiple.

Once you have your desired bid amount in the box, click the "Place Bid" button. You will be taken to a confirmation screen. On this page you will see your desired bid amount plus the Buyers Premium that would be charged for that amount. If this is correct, you will need to click "Confirm bid". The next page will tell you if you are the current high bidder or if someone else has previously left a bid that was higher. If someone before you has left an auto-bid higher than your bid, it will indicate that you have been outbid. Otherwise you will receive a message that indicates you are the high bidder.

 

But what is an "Auto-Bid"?

 

An Auto-Bid is the most you are willing to bid on a particular item, however it will not necessarily become the "current bid". For instance, if you bid $60 on an item with a current bid of $20, the bid will be increased to whatever the auction house has set the increment to (to "beat" the other bid), and then the new "current bid" will be less than your maximum bid (unless you bid just enough to beat the previous bid). So a $20 current bid with a $10 increment would become $30 ($20 + $10 = $30). If someone bids against you we will automatically continue to bid for you, up to your maximum bid ($60). So if someone bids $30, then you will immediately outbid them with $40, and so on, up to your Auto-Bid amount.

 

Bid Extension

 

Bid extension makes it possible to competitively bid on items in the final minutes of a timed auction without worrying about auction “sniping”. If a bid is placed within the last ten minutes of a timed auction, the time left for that lot, will be extended by 10 minutes. This can continue for an unlimited amount of time if bids continue to be placed with 10 minutes or less remaining on that lot.

With bid extension, every bidder who is interested in a specific item has the opportunity to bid and win their items of interest.

Bid extension is lot specific.