AutoBid - a smart way to bid

Autobid is a function, which means that even if you are unable to bid directly during auction closing time, your bids have an equal chance of winning. The auction system will bid on your behalf until your autobid level has been met.

This is also useful in case you may have technical problems during the auction closing time or if you need to monitor a lot of simultaneous auctions.

This is how it works

All bids are now considered autobids. From now on, if you submit a bid, the auction system will check if there is a higher, hidden autobid from another bidder. This is possible if there is a higher, hidden autobid. If so, your bid will then become the new high bid, but it will immediately be outbid by the highest autobidder and you will be prompted if you wish to raise your bid.

If you have the highest autobid then the system will automatically place a bid one upbid above the current high bid, so that you will always be the high bidder. The auction system will automatically continue to do so until your maximum price has been met. That is why the system is sometimes referred to as "Maxbid".

Reserves

All winning bids must be equal to or above reserve! Sellers may have set a reserve for the lot and will only sell if the reserve is met. All lower bids will be accepted, but the lot will remain unsold.

Example: 

Suppose you want to buy lot 99 of a particular auction. The current bid is now 5000. Next upbid is 500. You submit a bid of 10,000. Now there are 3 possibilities: 

1) There is an even higher, hidden autobid.

2) There is a previously submitted autobid of 10.000 from another bidder.

3) Your autobid is higher.

If there is a higher autobid than 10,000 (next upbid is 1000) then your bid of 10,000 will be accepted, and the next current bid will be 11,000. This will be the bid of the highest autobidder. You will then be prompted to raise your bid.

If there is an autobid of 10,000 then your bid will not be accepted, but the autobid of 10,000 will become the new current bid. You will then be prompted to raise your bid. You should then bid at least 10,000 plus the upbid (1,000) = 11,000.

If you are the highest bidder, the next current bid will now be yours (5,500). If another buyer bids 6000 the system will automatically raise the high bid to 6,500 (your bid). If no other bids then you will be come the winning bidder with a bid of 6,500.