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| How do I place
a bid? |
Placing a bid on an item is
actually pretty quick and easy. At the bottom of every auction listing
will be a "bidding" section. There will be three boxes to fill
out, the amount you want to bid, your Username, and your password.
You must bid at least the minimum bid price, which will be shown next to the bid
field. With the Videogon Proxy Bidding system, you can actually bid your
maximum price, and let the Proxy do the bidding for you. To see an example
of how Proxy Bidding works, click
here.
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| How much
should I bid? |
Deciding on your bid amount is an important part of the buying
process at auctions. One benefit of the auction format is that you can see
what other people are willing to pay for an item. The best strategy at the
Videogon Auction is to bid the price you are willing to pay, and let your Proxy
enter bids as necessary. Proxy bidding is described
below, and you can find more information in the Buyer's FAQ.
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| What is Overtime? |
| Normally, an auction closes at the scheduled time as displayed
within the listing. However, if there are bids entered within the last 5
minutes of the closing time, then the auction will go into overtime. The
auction is extended until there are no further bids for a continuous 5
minutes. This is similar to an auctioneer continuing to take bids until
there is no further interest. For example, if a bid comes in with 4
minutes left in the auction, then there will be 1 minute of overtime, unless
more bids are submitted. Thus, it is possible for an auction to be
extended continuously, although the record so far is 20 minutes.
Overtime helps dissuade "snipers", or last second bidders.
For example, you may have spent considerable time and research to achieve your
high bid status at an auction. Without overtime, someone could time their
bid entry to within a few seconds of closing, leaving you without enough time to
notice the bid and enter one in response. This is a common practice at
online auctions, and somewhat unfair because if you have a slow internet
connection, you could be at a disadvantage. At a live physical auction,
you can see your competition, and the auctioneer continues the auction until no
one else bids. The Overtime feature allows Videogon auctions to more
closely resemble a live auction. We have found that 5 minutes is enough
time to receive an outbid email from our system, log in to our site, and place
another bid.
So what's the best strategy? If you have the time and enjoy hanging out
at online auctions, then wait until the last few minutes of an auction to
bid. Your competition will have 5 minutes to respond, but maybe they are
not available. But if you are not able to attend the closing of an
auction, then use the Proxy Bidding method, described next. Together,
these two features save you considerable time online, while still protecting
your chances of winning auctions.
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| The
Proxy Bidding System: |
| The Proxy Bidding System is designed to save you the time of
having to watch every bid at the auction, and is used by all reputable internet
auction systems. Essentially, you bid the Maximum price you are
willing to pay, right off the bat. But your bid is actually kept
confidential, and not posted. The system is now bidding for you, as a
"Proxy".
When you enter your maximum bid, one of three things might happen:
1. If there is no reserve, or the reserve has been met, then your Proxy will
try to bid as little as possible to get you the high bid. Then it will
wait to see if anyone tries to outbid you. Your Proxy will only bid one
increment more than your competition, and will never bid more than your
maximum. If someone bids more than your top price, you will be notified.
2. If the seller has a reserve price on his auction, then your Proxy will see if
it can meet the reserve. If your maximum is more than the seller's
reserve, it will submit your bid at the reserve price exactly, and then see if
anyone tries to outbid you.
3. If the previous bidder had a Proxy in place (hidden maximum bid), then
your proxy will try to beat the previous bidder's if possible.
| Example with NO reserve (or met) |
| Current high bid is: |
$100.00 |
|
| Bid Increment is: |
$2.50 |
|
| Minimum Bid : |
$102.50 |
(the least it will accept) |
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|
|
| You bid maximum: |
$160.00 |
(the most you would pay) |
| Your Proxy bids: |
$102.50 |
(the least required) |
| Joe comes along with: |
$105.00 |
|
| Your Proxy bids: |
$107.50 |
(just enough to beat Joe) |
| Joe bids again: |
$125.00 |
|
| Your Proxy bids: |
$127.50 |
|
| Mark comes along with: |
$175.00 |
|
| Mark's Proxy bids: |
$162.50 |
(just enough to beat you) |
| Your Proxy does NOT bid: |
It emails you. |
|
| Example WITH Reserve price |
| Current high bid is: |
$100.00 |
|
| Bid Increment is: |
$2.50 |
|
| Next required Bid : |
$102.50 |
(auction says Reserve NOT met) |
| |
|
| You enter your max.: |
$160.00 |
|
| Seller's reserve was |
$125.00 |
|
| Your Proxy bids: |
$125.00 |
(just enough to meet reserve) |
| Next required bid |
$127.50 |
(auction now says reserve MET) |
| |
|
| Mark later bids: |
$127.00 |
|
| Your Proxy bids: |
$130.00 |
(just enough to beat Mark) |
| Example with dueling Proxies |
| Current high bid is: |
$100.00 |
|
| Bid Increment is: |
$2.50 |
|
| Next required Bid : |
$102.50 |
(assume no reserve) |
| |
| You enter your max.: |
$160.00 |
|
| But John's Proxy had: |
$130.00 |
(his secret maximum) |
| Your Proxy bids: |
$132.50 |
(just enough to beat John's Proxy) |
| |
| Mark later bids: |
$135.00 |
|
| Your Proxy bids: |
$137.50 |
(just enough to beat Mark) |
Your proxy (the computer), will never bid more than your maximum, and will
always try to help you win for as little as possible. By bidding your maximum
right away, you are sure not to pay too much at the end of an exciting
auction. If the bidding goes higher than your maximum, then you probably
would not have paid that much anyway.
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| What is a Reserve
Price auction? |
Sellers have the option of setting a hidden Reserve Price that
is above the minimum starting bid. If a reserve price is in effect, then
the seller does not have sell the item unless the high bid meets or exceeds his
reserve. Auctions with a reserve price will be noted in their listing,
describing whether the reserve has been met or not. The actual amount of
the reserve price is not revealed to bidders, until it has been met.
When you submit a bid on a reserve price auction, one of three things might
happen:
(1) If the reserve has already been met, then your bid will be submitted at one
increment above the next highest competitor, in the same manner as an auction
without a reserve price.
(2) If the reserve has not been met, and your maximum bid is also less than the
reserve, then your bid will be entered at one increment above the next highest
competitor.
(3) If the reserve has not been met, but your maximum bid is enough to meet the
reserve, then your bid will be entered at exactly the seller's reserve
price. If your maximum was above the seller's reserve, then your proxy
will defend your bid, up to your maximum.
If you are the highest bidder at auction close but the reserve was not met,
then neither you nor the seller are obligated to the transaction. However,
you may wish to negotiate further via email, to see if a mutually satisfactory
price can be reached. You can check your closed bids in MyPage, and email
the seller at any time.
EXAMPLES:
No sale:
Item #9999 had a minimum starting bid of $100.00
The seller set a reserve price in his listing of
$200.00.
At the end of the auction, the highest bid is $175.00.
In this case, the seller is not obligated to sell for $175.00,
but may choose to do so anyway.
Sale:
Item #8888 had a minimum starting bid of $900.00.
The seller set a reserve price in his listing of
$1,200.00.
At the end of the auction, the highest bid is
$1,225.00.
In this case, the seller is obligated to sell for $1,225.00 to
the highest bidder.
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| Will
I be notified of my bid status? |
| If you are outbid by another bidder, you will receive an email
informing you of this. If you are the high bidder at the end of the
auction, you will receive an email with the good news. The email is sent
immediately after either of the above events, but it is hard to predict how long
it will take to traverse cyberspace and hit your in-box. So, if you are
keen on acquiring a particular item, sign in to the Videogon near the end of the
auction and watch the bidding. You can quickly check the status of your
bids in My Page.
The Videogon Auction has a small built in feature to safeguard against
"snipers". Snipers are bidders that wait until the last
minutes of an auction, and place bids just above the high bid. The "Overtime"
feature of the Videogon Auction works by continuing a particular auction until
five (5) minutes after the last bid is placed.
For example:
Auction #1234567 is due to close at 8:00 PM, and Joe Sniper outbids you at 7:59
PM. Even if you were actively watching this, you may not have enough time
to submit a new bid. With Overtime, however, the auction is extended until
8:04 PM, unless you or someone else bids again. If your bid is recorded at
8:03 PM, the auction will be extended until 8:08 PM.
The reason auctions are exciting is the bidding process. Most bidders
wait until the last few hours of an auction to get serious, so pay attention to
your interests near the closing time of an auction. Better yet, bid
your maximum price right away and let your Proxy watch your interests - this
works even into Overtime.
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| How
do I list an item for auction? |
Go the link titled "Start
an auction". The Form is self explanatory, but you may want to
read the Sellers FAQ as well. Once you have
filled out the form, you will be shown a Preview of your listing. If the
preview looks good, then go ahead and finish the process, or make changes and
preview again. Your auction will start immediately, and run for the number
of days that you specify.
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| What price should I
start the auction at? |
You must enter a minimum bid amount to start the auction.
You should give some thought to this amount before listing. Most sellers
like to start the bidding a little lower than what they hope to get for the
item. Keep in mind that you are required to sell the item for the highest
bid, with the only exception of a Reserve Price - details in
the next question and answer.
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| Should I set
a Reserve Price? |
| You may set a hidden Reserve Price higher than the minimum bid,
which means you are not required to sell unless
the high bid meets or exceeds your reserve price amount. Your reserve
price is not revealed to bidders - only that you have set a
reserve. The listing will also indicate whether the current bid
has met the reserve or not. If the the high bid does meet or
exceed your reserve,
then you are obligated to sell at the high bid amount.
Deciding whether to
set a reserve price requires some thought. You want to protect your
investment, but you also
want bidders to participate. Some bidders do not like reserve price
auctions, and will not bid on them. Most bidders will be annoyed if the
reserve price was un-realistically high. Some sellers will reveal
their reserve price to bidders, either via private email or by adding a
comment to the auction (through MyPage). Disclosing your reserve price often sparks more interest
as bidders can tell how close they are.
Our recommendations:
- If you have a bottom line price that you absolutely
will not sell below, then enter your bottom line price as the minimum bid amount
to start, and do not set a reserve price. This way, bidders know you're
not wasting their time.
- If you're not sure what you can expect to get for an
item, then set a low opening bid, and a reserve price at what you think it might be worth.
- If you really want to move an item and generate some
excitement, then start the auction at a opening bid ($1), and do not set a reserve
price. This is a little risky but most often gets market value or more, and always
gets a lot of bidders interested.
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| What should be
the Duration? |
| You can choose from three (3) to fourteen (14) days for the
duration of your auction. Select a short duration if your item is of very
common interest, or you absolutely must sell quick. Select a longer
duration if your item is more exotic, much more than $2500 new, or not well
known.
Seven (7) days is the most common auction duration, and that is what we
recommend for most items. This gives buyers a solid week to see your
listing, research your item, place bids, and watch the action. It is a
good idea to cover at least one week's cycle, so that bidders that only sign in
on Sundays for example, can bid on your item. You should also consider
what day the auction will be ending. Sundays and Mondays seem to be good
days for an auction to end, whereas national holidays are not.
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| Got a question we missed? |
| If you would like clarification on any of the above answers, or
have a question that we have missed, please contact
us, and we would be happy to email promptly. If you have a specific
auction you are asking about, please include at least the title of the auction
or the item number in your email.
Have a suggestion? Please contact
us. We would greatly appreciate any comments or suggestions you
might have.
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