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How to bid on an item in an auction

In an auction listing, sellers give a starting price for an item, and buyers bid against each other to win. You can watch the item to keep track of the bidding by clicking 'Watch This Item' on the listing page. When the listing ends, the highest bidder wins the item and completes the order. 


Please note that each bid made is a binding contract to buy the item if you win. Only place bids on items that you intend to buy. You are responsible for reading the full item listing before making a bid.



Placing a bid


Auctions are set for a specific amount of time, which is shown on the listing page. The winner of the lot is the person with the highest bid at the close of the lot.

When placing a bid on an auction listing, enter the maximum amount that you'd want to pay for that item. Your bid will show as the minimum needed to beat the next highest bidder, in other words, the lowest competitive price. If another buyer bids again, the Hip system will continue the successive bidding on your behalf as indicated, up to and including your maximum bid, but not beyond. If you are no longer the highest bidder, you will receive an email notification. 


For example: If the current bid is $0.05, and you enter a bid of $0.20, your bid will appear as $0.06. If another buyer bids $0.10, the system will increase your bid to $0.11 to stay ahead. It will continue to place your bids until the bid reaches $0.20. If another buyer were to bid $0.21, you'd need to increase your maximum bid to continue. 

You can track all of your bidding activity in the Bids section (Members Area > Buying > Bids). If you're the highest bidder, a green 'High Bid' icon will appear with the listing. Unless you change your preferences, you'll receive an email one hour before the auction closes with details on the current bid price.   


Once you've won the item, the order will be automatically created for you. To pay for the order, you'll go to your Members Area > Buying and select the 'Pay Now' button associated with this specific order. We'll also send you an email notifying that you've won the item - this email will include a 'Pay Now' button as well. 


 


 

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