QuiBids 101

Bid-O-Matic: Revealed Even More

We’ve received a bunch of questions about the Bid-O-Matic these last few weeks, so we thought we’d devote more time to explaining the feature. We want Bid-O-Matic to work as simply as possible, so that you can utilize it to its full potential, and to your benefit!

So what do you do when you’re locked in a tense auction and then suddenly hunger attacks your stomach like a rabble of angry badgers? The answer is simple: let Bid-O-Matic do your work for you! It’ll keep bidding in the auction so you can fend off those badgers.

Moreover, this feature may also prove helpful to users who reside in other time zones. One customer complained about having to wake up in the middle of the night to participate in an auction she was interested in. We built Bid-O-Matic for such occasions.

You can activate the feature at any time (assuming it’s available on that particular auction), so set your Bid-O-Matic the night before the auction and sleep soundly. Yay for not staying up all night on the Internet! And much-improved chances of winning prizes!

Because the Bid-O-Matic places bids for you, you’re guaranteed to bid in the last twenty seconds of the auction. There isn’t any need to worry about losing your Internet connection or getting distracted at a crucial moment. You can rely on our Bid-O-Matic to bid when (and how much) you tell it to.

Bid-O-Matic basics (the ones you probably already know):

• You may bid between 3 and 150 bids at a time on our Bid-O-Matic System.
• One Bid-O-Matic bid will be used each time the timer drops below 20 seconds. The bid will be used somewhere between 0 and 20 seconds.
• You may only set one Bid-O-Matic at a time, per auction.
• You may set your next Bid-O-Matic when all of the bids you placed on your previous Bid-O-Matic are exhausted.
• Unused Bid-O-Matic bids may be deleted at any point during the auction.
• All unused Bid-O-Matic bids will be returned to your account at the end of an auction.
• Bid-O-Matic must be activated with at least 2 seconds left on the auction clock.
• Bid-O-Matic only works within the parameters you set. This means that it will only start to bid once the auction price reaches the minimum amount that you set.

The Bid-O-Matic feature is located in the box under the Bid History section of the auction. You can activate the Bid-O-Matic by setting the parameters and selecting “activate” (see what we did there?). You can also turn this feature off with the “deactivate” button (subtle, we know). 

Simply input the price to start bidding, as well as the number of bids you're prepared to place. Remember that Bid-O-Matic won’t bid until the auction price hits your minimum amount.

* Please note that the Bid-O-Matic is not available for use on every auction.

What about when two or more Bid-O-Matics are set to bid in the same price range?

If there are two or more Bid-O-Matics bidding in the same auction, a bid will be placed within the last 20 seconds just like if there was only one such bidder. The exact time that it bids varies– it can be anywhere between 0 and 20 seconds. We mix it up to prevent other bidders from determining if a Bid-O-Matic is active or not. Once the Bid-O-Matic bid places, the timer jumps up to 20 seconds, just like any other bid. As we’ve mentioned before, this is similar to the “Going Once... Twice... SOLD” approach of auctions— it gives other users the chance to decide if they want the item bad enough to bid again.

Can you still use the Buy Now option if you use Bid-O-Matic?

Let’s say someone activates their Bid-O-Matic with 50 real bids, but doesn't win. Can he, she, it or they still use Buy Now? Absolutely! The only thing preventing them from using Buy Now would be if the bids used by the Bid-O-Matic were voucher bids (bids won in an auction).

So, what if someone set their bid amount higher than the final auction price— why didn’t he or she win the product?

The Bid-O-Matic cannot place bids before the auction price reaches its price point set. That in mind, the only reason the Bid-O-Matic would stop bidding with bids remaining would be if the auction price hasn’t yet reached that price point.

You set Bid-O-Matic to place 25 bids on a auction starting at $75.05. Here are a few possible outcomes that represent all the potential ones:

1. The auction ends at $75.01. Your Bid-O-Matic never places any bids because the auction price never got up to the minimum parameter you set for it. All 25 bids remain, and will be returned to your account.
2. You may also deactivate your Bid-O-Matic mid-auction (you may do this at any time), thus preventing any further bids from being placed.

Hopefully this helps to clarify how Bid-O-Matic works. It’s a useful tool, one we hope you’ll find helpful during your QuiBids shopping experience!