Bidding Overview
When the auction is open, you can place bids in line with the pre-determined bid increment levels using the bid increase (+) and bid decrease (–) buttons provided.
Every time you place a bid you will be asked to confirm your bid before submitting it, and once submitted you will immediately become the highest bidder at the amount you specify.
A full list of all bids placed is displayed in the bid history table.
Reserve Prices
Virtually every lot is sold subject to a reserve price (the minimum price that the auctioneer is authorised to sell for). Regardless of whether your bid is above or below the reserve, the current bid will always jump to the amount that you've bid.
Caution: If you are the current highest bidder at or above reserve then you will not be able to increase your bid until another bidder has outbid you.
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Bidding Example
- The current bid on a lot is £90,000. The reserve price has been set at £100,000 (not disclosed).
- Tom wants to bid. The minimum bid amount is £91,000 but Tom decides to place a bid of £97,000. The system places a bid for Tom at this amount and he becomes the highest bidder at £97,000.
- Jane logs on to bid. The minimum bid amount is £98,000 but Jane places a bid of £105,000, which is above the reserve price of £100,000. The system increases Jane's bid to this amount and she is now the highest bidder at £105,000. She will not be able to place another bid until she has been outbid.
- Tom is notified that he has been outbid. If no further bids are placed Jane would win the lot for £105,000.
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Timing and Bid Extensions
The online auction will close as per the advertised 'End Date'. However, if a bid is placed within the final 30 seconds of the auction's scheduled end time, the auction will be extended by an additional 30 seconds – known as the 'bidding extension window'.
If a bid is placed in the 'bidding extension window', the countdown clock will immediately reset to 30 seconds again, and the auction will only finish when an entire 30 second bidding extension window passes without any further bids being placed, i.e. 30 seconds of 'bidding silence'.")
NB: Do not leave placing your bid to the last few seconds. It gives you no advantage, you risk your bid not being received by the server in time and you could lose the lot to another bidder.
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NB: Please note that the way the bidding works may vary slightly from auctioneer to auctioneer. We strongly advise you to read the bidding guide for any auction you plan to bid on.
