What is it?
Using the Autobid for online auctions is just like having someone watch over your online
auctions when you're not there to make sure you always have a winning
bid. You tell your Autobid the maximum price you are willing to
pay for an item, and it will make sure you get the best deal by
submitting the smallest incremental bid possible to keep you a winner!
Autobid will try and get you the best deal - it won't bid your
maximum price straight away if it doesn't need to. So with Autobid,
you get to manage the more important things on your agenda like
family and work.
Your Autobid will never bid higher than you ask it to. If the bidding in
an online auction goes over your maximum bid, your Autobid will send
an e-mail to let you know. All you have to do to get back in the
game is return to the product page and give your Autobid new instructions
or submit a regular bid.
How do I use it?
Any GraysOnline member may use the Autobid.
When an online auction lot allows use of the Autobid, a text field
will appear on the bid form asking for a "Maximum Autobid Price."
If you enter any value into that text field you are submitting an Autobid bid. For
it to be accepted it must be a multiple of the bidding increment over
the starting bid. For example, if the starting bid is $9 and the
bidding increment is
$10, you could enter a Maximum Autobid Price of $99 or $109
but not $100.
Autobid will always start at the bid increment above the starting or current bid. If you want to match a current
or starting bid you must submit a normal bid.
If you leave the field blank, the Bid Price that appears when
you submit a normal bid is used instead.
Other Facts
Only you and your Autobid know your maximum bid price. It is
kept secret from all other bidders.
The bid price shown by an Autobid bid is not the Maximum Autobid
Bid. The Maximum Autobid Price is kept secret for all Autobid
bidders.
The price shown next to an Autobid bid is the price that the
Autobid most recently bid to stay successful.
If there is enough quantity to satisfy all bidders, then Autobids only
bid the opening price (there are no "losers" so the Autobids
don't need to outbid anyone and there is no shortage of items).
If you use the Autobid to bid on multiple quantities, you will
pay the same price for each item you win in that lot.
Bid precedence does not apply when a bidder has placed an Autobid.
You cannot increase your Autobid when you are the current highest bidder. You must wait until someone else outbids
you before you can place another normal bid or Autobid.
Please take care when placing an Autobid, as once your bid is placed it cannot be altered or withdrawn.
What happens if another Autobid immediately outbids my bid?
As soon as you bid, an Autobid can immediately counter with a higher
bid to keep their place as a successful bidder by outbidding the
regular bid or Autobid bid you just placed. If this happens you
will receive a message stating that your bid was accepted but
was unsuccessful. You should click on the link to return to the
online auction. You can now counter with a new bid or Autobid bid. Eventually, if you keep raising
your bid price, one of the Autobids will "throw in the towel"
because you will have exceeded the Maximum Autobid Price for
that Autobid. At this point, your Autobid bid will be successful
at a price just high enough to outbid the Autobid that was pushed
off the list by your bid.
Click here to read the complete Bidders Agreement.
