What are max bids and how do they work?

We created our maximum bid (max bid) functionality to save you the hassle of incrementally bidding in a live or timed auction. You set the ceiling for the price you're willing to pay for the lot and we do the work for you.

Here's how it works:

• You must be registered and approved to bid with the auctioneer for your max bid to be valid.
• You tell us your absolute maximum price by entering the figure in the 'Your max bid' box on the lot page, and click 'place bid'.
• Be sure to read the terms and click the 'Confirm' button when it appears to ensure your bid is placed. 
• Our technology will place your bids at the next available increment to keep you in the lead, but only up to your max price and never any further.
• Sometimes where an auctioneer has set a reserve on a lot, you'll see the bidding jump up to the reserve to ensure the lot is on the market to sell.
• If another bidder has a max bid higher than yours, this would also cause the bidding to jump up to your max bid.
• If the bidding passes your maximum amount, then you may miss out on winning the item. However, if part of a competitive bidding or timed auction, we'll email you to let you know so you can increase your max bid if you wish.

You can check and keep track of all your max bids by heading to ‘My Bidspotter’ at the top of the page and clicking ‘Current bids’.

Max bids vary depending on whether the auction is a live or timed auction. Here are the differences explained:

In a live auction:

Max bids are referred to as competitive autobids, or autobids, in a live auction. Autobids left will be implemented manually by the operator of the auction on the behalf of the bidder.

Leaving a competitive autobid before a live auction gives you an indication of the whether you're in the best position to potentially win the lot when the auction takes place. 

To learn more about competitive autobids, click HERE

In a timed auction:

Leaving a max bid in a timed auction means that our system will do the work for you all the way until the auction of the lot ends.

You can reduce your max bid, but only as low as the next available increment. That’s because placing a bid in a timed auction is a contractual commitment to buy an item if you’re the highest bidder and have met the reserve for the lot.