Modern Day Bids Bidding Information

Anyone who registers on our site as a bidder can place bids on items. When you place your first bid with a Seller, they will request your credit card information. This information is securely stored by the Seller's payment processor and will only be charged if you win the auction.

Every item has a starting price. In most auctions this is $1. To bid on an item click on the Place Bid button on the item. You will be shown a window which displays the current bid and the minimum amount you can bid on the item.

The minimum bid is the current bid plus a bid increment. The bid increment starts at $1 when the last bid is $20 or less. For higher last bids, see below for complete list of bid increments.

When you click "Place Bid," the minimum amount you can bid will be displayed. This minimum is calculated as the current bid plus the next bid increment.

You also have the option to set a higher maximum bid. By doing so, we will automatically place bids on your behalf if you are outbid, up to your maximum bid. Your maximum bid remains private and is not visible to other bidders.

For example:

• If the minimum bid is $10 and you set a maximum bid of $14, your initial bid will be $10.
• If another bidder places a bid of $11, we will automatically raise your bid to $12 (the next increment above theirs).
• If someone then bids $13, your bid will increase to $14.
• Once your maximum bid of $14 is reached, we will stop bidding unless you set a new, higher maximum bid.

If somebody bids higher than you, you will receive a notification via text or email. You can set this up in your dashboard. In addition, the lot that you bid on will show Outbid.

If you are outbid you are free to bid again if you choose. Or you can set a maximum bid and we will automatically bid for you up to your maximum bid.

This occurs when another bidder has set a maximum bid that exceeds your bid. When you placed your bid, it was recorded, but the other bidder's automatic bidding system immediately raised their bid to outbid yours.

If you see a message that says, "Another bidder already had the same maximum bid," it means your bid matches another bidder's maximum bid. However, because the other bidder set their maximum bid before you, their bid takes precedence, and your bid won’t be recorded.

In either situation, you always have the option to place a higher bid if you wish.

If you have the highest bid on a lot, you can see your maximum bid by going to your Dashboard and clicking on Active Bids. Also if you click Place Bid on a lot, you'll see your maximum bid. Your maximum bid is private and cannot be seen by other bidders.

Yes! If you have the highest bid on a lot you can click Place Bid to change your maximum bid. You can set it to any number as long as it's at least the current bid.

For example if the current bid is $40 and you've set your maximum bid to $45, you can change your maximum bid down to $40 or to any number higher than that.

Each auction has a set time when the auction starts to close. Each individual item in the auction has its own close time. Generally the close times are spaced out in 20 second increments (although sellers can choose different spacing).

That means that if an auction starts to close at 8:00PM, the first item will close at 8:00:00PM, the next item at 8:00:20PM, then 8:00:40PM, 8:01:00PM and so on.

We utilize a system called soft close or dynamic bidding, a standard practice in both online and live auctions.

Here's how it works: If a bid is placed within the final five minutes of an auction for a specific lot, the closing time for that lot is automatically extended. This extension continues until no additional bids are made within a five-minute window, ensuring fair competition and preventing "sniping"—where someone places a bid in the final seconds to win unfairly. Once no further bids are received within the extended time, that lot is officially closed.

Some auctions operate with a shorter timer, extending by three minutes instead of five.

When you're looking at an individual auction page under the catalog tab, there's a filter dropdown. Normally it shows "Show all" to show every item in the auction. You can change this to "Show my bids" and it will show you lots that you have bid on.

You can also view your active bids through your bidding dashboard. Click on the "Dashboard" button in the upper right corner to see your bidding dashboard. Then click on "Active Bids". This will show you all of your active bids in all auctions.

Favorites are items that you want to keep track of or watch but maybe aren't ready to bid on. You can make any item a favorite by clicking on the gray heart next to the name of an item. Clicking on that will turn the heart red. If you don't want an item to be a favorite, click on the heart again to turn it gray.

You can change the auction filter to "Show favorites" to only show items you've favorited.

You can also click on the Dashboard button at the top of the page and then click Favorites to see all of your favorites across all auctions.

Sometimes you might have a question about an item that isn't clear from its description or photos. To ask a question, click on an item to view it. Then scroll down the page to "Questions & Answers" and click on the button "Ask a Question".

Once you ask a question, our the seller's staff will be notified. When they answer your question, you'll receive an email that lets you see their answer. If the question and answer might be useful to other bidders they will make the question public (your name will be anonymous) and display the question and answer under "Questions & Answers"

Here are the standard bidding increments we use for most auctions (based on the last bid):

• Last bid ≤ $20: $1
• Last bid ≤ $50: $2
• Last bid ≤ $100: $5
• Last bid ≤ $250: $10
• Last bid ≤ $500: $15
• Last bid ≤ $1000: $25
• Last bid ≤ $2500: $50
• Last bid ≤ $5000: $100
• Last bid > $5000: $200

The minimum bid is always the current bid plus the bid increment. For example if the current bid is $100, by the above chart the bid increment is $5, so the minimum bid is $105.

Please note that some auctions use different bidding increments. These number may be changed without notice and we do not guarantee this list for accuracy. The bid increment may be other than this list due to special circumstances determined by Modern Day Bids or the Seller.