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How to Bid on a Timed Auction
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Written by Day Tring
Updated over a week ago

Bids, offers or purchases can be placed on any item on any page where you see the Place Bid, Make Offer or Buy Now button.

Incremental Bidding

  • Incremental bids place the next incremental bid for the item/lot.

  • Bidding increment values will vary depending on the item. The increment is displayed below the current bid price.

  • Once you have placed your incremental bid, the box at the bottom of the item/lot listing will turn green to show that you are winning. If a red box is returned your bid is either not high enough to reach the reserve, or another user has placed an auto bid on the item/lot.

  • Here is what incremental bidding will look like:

  • Once you press the 'bid' button, you will be presented with a confirmation pop-up, which explains any additional charges:

  • You can tick the 'skip confirmation for this lot' box to skip this modal next time.

Autobid / Max Bid / Comission Bid

  • Autobidding allows you to place the maximum price you are willing to pay for the item.

  • Clicking 'Place Autobid' brings up a confirmation pop-up that allows you to enter your desired amount and review any additional charges:

Make Offer

  • On some items you have the option to offer an amount pre-purchase prior to the closing date. These items have a Make Offer button, as shown below:

  • Pressing this brings up a confirmation pop-up where you can enter your offer amount and review any additional charges


  • Should your offer be rejected you may have further attempts to pre-purchase the item if the auctioneer allows. Once your final offer is rejected you will be unable to submit any further offers for that item. However you will still be able to place incremental or Autobids on the item.

  • Note that you have a limited number of offer allowances. If you make an offer and it is the same or lower than your bid, you will receive an error message but it will still remove one of your offer allowances.

Buy Now

  • In some auctions, including The Marketplace, sellers have the option to list their item for sale at a set price.The listed price is displayed on the button, i.e. 'Buy Now £1,000'. To buy the item simply click the button once you are logged in and approved.

  • Doing so will bring up a confirmation pop-up, as follows:

  • After you have confirmed your purchase the item will be marked as sold on the site and you will be sent an email detailing the transaction.

Note that multi-item listings will also display whether the bid is per item or per lot:

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