How to Bid in the [Ranch Name] Online Sale
Registering
Register with a working email address. You will get an email with a link to confirm your account, and your account stays inactive until you click it.
Credit Card on File
This sale requires a credit card before you can bid. Your card is handled securely by Stripe and can be used for payment if you win.
Favorites
Click Add to Favorites on any lot you want to follow. Click Favorites at the top of the page to see only those lots, and View All to see the whole catalog again.
Maximum Bidding
You can enter a maximum bid at any time. The system bids for you, one increment at a time, only when someone bids against you, up to your maximum. You get an email whenever it bids for you, and your maximum shows on the lot so you always know where you stand.
How Winning Works
To take the lead, your bid has to beat the other bidder's maximum by at least the bid increment.
Example: the bid increment is $100 and another bidder's maximum is $2,000. To take the lead, you need to bid at least $2,100.
If your bid is the same as another bidder's maximum, they stay in the lead because their bid came in first. Your bid is accepted, but you are still outbid.
Extended Bidding
If a bid comes in during the last 5 minutes on a lot, that lot gets 5 more minutes. It keeps extending as long as bids keep coming, so nobody wins with a last-second bid. Extended lots show their own countdown clock.
Reserve Prices
Some lots in this sale may carry a reserve price. The lot shows Reserve Not Met until bidding reaches it, then Reserve Met. A lot with a reserve sells only if bidding reaches the reserve. If it falls short, it moves to buy-it-now after the sale, along with any other lot that did not sell. Lots marked No Reserve sell to the highest bidder.
Bid Notifications
After you bid, the lot gets a colored border that shows whether you are winning or have been outbid, and you get an email with your bid. Do not count on email alone. Emails can be delayed for all kinds of reasons, so keep the lot page open and refresh it near the close.
After the Sale
Winning buyers are notified by email when the sale closes. Payment is due within [number] [hours/days]. See the sale terms for payment, delivery and health papers.
Buy-It-Now
Lots that do not sell during the sale may be offered at a buy-it-now price until [date]. Click Buy It Now on the lot to purchase.
Questions?
Contact [Ranch Name] at [phone] or [email].