QuiBids 101
Bid-O-Matic: Revealed Even More
We have received several questions on the Bid-O-Matic in the last few weeks, and therefore, we wanted to devote some time to explaining this feature. It is our desire for the way that the Bid-o-Matic works to be as simple and transparent as possible so that it can be utilized to its full potential and to your benefit!
As our site originally stated, “What happens if you are bidding on an auction and you need to run to the restroom? Or grab a snack?” Even if you’re just feeling especially lazy, you can use our Bid-O-Matic to automatically place bids for you in a more efficient way than other leading auction sites. Bid-O-Matic lets you bid, even if you’re not sitting at your computer. Even if you are not logged on!
Moreover, this feature can also be very helpful to those in other time zones. One of our users commented on how she had to get up one time in the wee hours of the morning for an auction she was interested in. Well, this is yet another great use for the Bid-O-Matic. You can use/activate your Bid-O-Matic at any time (for those auctions that have it). So to help her out in instances like this in the future, all she has to do is schedule her Bid-O-Matic for the night before and not lose any beauty sleep over it. Yay for beauty rest! And a better chance of winning an auction!
What’s pretty cool is that getting a Bid-O-Matic to place your bids, guarantees it will get placed in the last fifteen seconds. There is no need to worry about losing your Internet connection, or getting distracted in the final moments. You can rely on our Bid-O-Matic to bid when you set it to.
Basic Key Facts (ones you probably already know)
• You may only bid between 3 and 25 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 seconds and 20 seconds.
• The Bid-O-Matic only works within the parameters that you set for it. This means that it
Will start to bid for you when the auction price reaches your minimum amount that you
have set, and it will stop bidding for you when it reaches your maximum amount.
• Your maximum price has to be at least $1.00 higher than the current auction end price.
• You can only set one Bid-O-Matic at a time per auction.
• When your Bid-O-Matic uses all of the bids you placed, you may set your next
Bid-O-Matic.
• Unused Bid-O-Matic bids can be deleted at any point during the auction.
• All unused Bid-O-Matic bids at the time the auction ends will be returned to your account.
How to Use, Start and Stop the Bid-O-Matic
The Bid-O-Matic is located in the box under the Bid History section of the auction. You start the Bid-O-Matic by setting the parameters and selecting “activate.” You can also turn this feature off using the “deactivate” button. Simply input the minimum and maximum auction price that you wish for the Bid-o-Matic to place bids within, as well as the number of bids you're prepared for it to use. Remember that the Bid-o-Matic can only bid within the parameters that you set for it. It cannot, and will not, bid until the auction price hits your minimum amount, nor will it bid past the maximum price you have set for it.
* Please note that the Bid-O-Matic is not offered on every auction. This is just to keep variety throughout the site.
What about when two or more Bid-o-Matics (BOMs) are set to bid in the same price range?
If there are two or more BOMs bidding in the same auction, a bid will be placed within the last 20 seconds just like if there was one BOM bidder. Only one bid from a BOM bidder will be placed at a time. The exact time that it bids varies – it can be anywhere between 0 and 20 seconds. We mix it up so that other bidders are unsure if a BOM will for sure hit or not. Once the BOM bid has been placed the timer jumps up to 20 seconds. As mentioned before, this is similar to the “Going Once... Twice... SOLD” approach of auctions.
Can you still use the Buy it Now option if you use the Bid-o-Matic?
Now, let’s say someone uses the BOM, places 50 bids on it, and doesn't win and then decides to use the Buy it Now. Can they apply those BOM bids towards Buy it Now? Yes, absolutely! The only reason they would not be used towards Buy It Now would be if the bids used by BOM were voucher bids (bids that are won in an auction).
So, what if someone set their bid amount higher than what the auction item ended at – why didn’t he/she win the product?
Very good question! To answer that: The BOM cannot place bids before the auction price reaches your minimum or after the auction price exceeds your maximum parameter. Knowing this… the only two reasons the BOM would end with bids remaining would be if the auction price has not yet reached the minimum parameter or the auction price has exceeded your max. Let’s do an example.
Example: Your BOM is set to place 25 bids on a MacBook Pro starting at $75.05 and will stop when the auction reaches $81.03…a few things can happen
a. The auction ends at $75.01 resulting in your BOM not placing any bids. All 25 bids are still remaining and will be returned to your account.
b. The auction ends at $95, and there are 5 bids left…this means that the BOM placed 20 of your bids, but stopped once the auction passed $81.03.
c. You can also ‘deactivate’ your BOM and the remaining bids will not be placed.
Hopefully this gives you a better understanding of the Bid-o-Matic. It’s a rather neat and functional tool and we hope that you will find this helpful during your QuiBids shipping experience!
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