QuiBids 101
Buy Now Explained
You can read an overview of our 'Buy Now' feature at our Help page. If you are still unsure about 'Buy Now,' then please allow us to familiarize you.
We built the 'Buy Now' feature to guarantee that nobody ever loses any money on QuiBids, so long as they commit to buying the item at our value price. Of course, there are people who will spend up to almost the item's value price, not win the auction, and subsequently fail to exercise this feature. At that point, why wouldn’t you just ‘Buy Now’? We strongly encourage our users to use this feature if you’re not the lucky auction winner.
Here’s how it works.
Let's say you want to bid on a $100 gift card. In this auction, you place 60 real bids (at $0.60 a bid multiplied by 60 bids, that’s $36). Assuming you didn't win the auction, you may exercise the 'Buy Now' feature, and in so doing, make up the difference of $64 to purchase the gift card. You haven’t wasted any money doing this, so long as you committed to buying the card at the value price. BUT, if you didn’t use this feature, the $36 you spent on bids goes to waste.
Working with the same example, let’s say you spent that $36 on the auction and won. You then won your $100 gift card at a 64% discount. Risk vs. reward equals awesome.
Once you purchase the item, we’ll process your order as soon as humanly possible, with the assistance of computers, that is. So even faster than humanly possible, really.
Keep in mind that only real bids may be applied toward a 'Buy Now' purchase and you must place at least one bid in an auction to use 'Buy Now' feature. Voucher bids don’t count toward your discounted purchase price. These bids include Voucher Bid auctions you win or use the 'Buy Now' on, free bids we give out for a certain number of days, and/or other promotions we offer. Voucher Bids are also credited for claiming badges, playing games, and referring friends.
Periodically we hold promotions where we give out real bids and when we do, we’ll be sure to inform you. Also, you’re able to see where you can choose the 'Buy Now' feature below an auction's opened page. You can view this whether you’re logged in or not.
We hope this clarifies the 'Buy Now' feature more thoroughly. Don't hesitate to contact support if you’d like further explanation. We're always glad to help you understand our site any way we can!
Happy Bidding!
Comments (17)
normanbhc Says:
when someone uses the the option buy now and you do not win the auction , do you have to buy the item?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
No, you do not ever have to use the Buy Now feature. It's just a smart way of shopping on our site, that way you won't be out any money. It's totally up to the user.
servo Says:
OK, so let's say I'm bidding on an item with a "buy now" option. Let's also assume that I have 50 bids, half of which are voucher bids. If I lose the auction and use up all of my 50 bids in the process, I can still exercise the "but it now" option, right? The only difference being that only 25 of my bids would be deducted from the cost of the item?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
That's right servo, any real bids used can still be discounted, it just will not discount the voucher bids from the purchase.
shocker1 Says:
If I use the Bid-o-matic option on an item and end up losing but still want to exercise the "Buy-it-now" option, how long is this option offered after the auction has ended?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
2 hours
praying2win Says:
May I stop bidding at anytime during the auction and still be able to utilize the buy now feature?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
Buy Now offers you the chance to purchase any product at any time during the auction and up to 2 hours after the auction ends. To use the Buy Now feature, you must have placed at least one bid in the auction. Thanks!
kpowell908 Says:
does "buy now" impact the # of items you can win?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
Buy Now purchases do not count toward your daily or 28 day win limit.
SenSey60 Says:
If a person opts to BUY NOW during an auction say when the winning bid is $3.10 does that declare the auction over?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
If a user decides to use the Buy Now feature, it does not end the auction. The auction only ends when the timer runs out.
gobehppy Says:
If I use the buy now, after the bidding is closed, Does the winner of the bidding process lose his item? So in other words, if I'm the winner.....could someone else then buy now, and I lose it?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
Nope, you each will get the item!
Mlony Says:
Do I need to select the Buy Now feature before I start bidding ? Kind regards.
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
Nope, you can select the Buy Now feature at any time while the auction is live and up to two hours after it has ended.
rabiddawg Says:
I noticed that the ipad with the same specs on quibids is 70$ more with the buy now option than if I were to go to the Apple Store. I understand its possibly cheaper here if I win the auction, but if you yourself order directly from the Apple company why the price markup?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
We do not directly order from Apple. All our items are purchased from third party vendors. The price of the iPad is directly based on what we are able to purchase it for.
nnorvell Says:
Does anyone ever get caught up in bidding and say make 100 bids for an item with a retail value of $50 and still lose? And as a follow up say the loser that made 100 bids exercises the buy it now option do they get a refund for the amount of bids placed over the retail value?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
If someone places 100 bids in an auction the monetary value that they would have spent is $60 (1 bid= $.60 * 100= $60). On our site we do not allow or users to bid over the retail value price of an item so in this scenario this user would have been stopped once they spent $50 of bids. Lets say that a user spends $40 worth of bids in an auction with a retail value price of $50 and still loses. The BuyNow price for this user would be $10 (plus shipping).
shortpockets Says:
Okay, I've been reading 101 etc. As to the "Buy It Now" you never indicate where or how to get this option ... is there a button I don't see? Also, is the "Buy It Now" price indicated anywhere or is it a secret?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
To access our Buy Now option on our website you can click on the blue Buy Now button that is located on the lower right hand side of the auction page. If you cannot see this button you will be notified via email with an offer to utilize the Buy Now option on the item that you were bidding on. The Buy Now price will be stated in the email or on the auction page by the Buy Now button. Also, this price will be stated before you confirm your purcahse in your account.
andyarie1 Says:
So if I exercise Buy Now, then any Real Bids I used on the auction are not actually used?
JJordan@QuiBids Says:
No, they are still used and will be deducted from the amount of bids you have remaining on your account. The Buy Now feature allows you to use the amount of money you spent on bids for that particular auction to put toward purchasing that item at the auction value price. So, if an item you are bidding on is valued at $10 and you place 10 real bids in that auction and end up losing you are able to use $6 (10 real bids x $0.60) to put toward the purchase of that item. In this case, you would pay $4 plus shipping and handling.
Csoulman80 Says:
So what's the point of having the buy now feature on gift cards when you have to pay $1.99 for shipping? If, for instance, I use the buy now feature on a $25 Wal-Mart gift card I will have spent a total of $26.99 in cash and bids for a gift card that's worth $25. Shouldn't you list the actual value of the card as only $23.01, unless it's an e-card? Otherwise anyone who bids on a gift card and doesn't win the auction is guaranteed to lose money. A gift card is basically no different than cash. Am I missing something here?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
All of our items have a shipping or transaction fee. Even if you win an auction, or utilize the Buy Now feature you will still have to pay the shipping or transaction fee for that item.
rfrawley Says:
If I use the buy now option, am I still charged the shipping fees associated with the item ?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
Yes, regardless if you use the Buy Now option or win the item you will still need to pay the shipping or transaction price for that item.
spam213 Says:
After bidding on an auction that has a product and a 1xGP and I lose the auction, if I use the BUY NOW feature and purchase it do I not get the GP with the purchase also?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
No,Game plays can only be won. You cannot purcahse a game play.
luliya Says:
Some auctions are really difficult to win. So, shouldn't we just 'buy now' instead of wasting time and bids by bidding?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
Well, you can do the Buy Now at any point during the auction and up to two hours after the auction has ended. I would recommend that you participate till the end of the auction because you always have a chance of winning, and even if you don't you can apply all the bids you placed in that auction in the Buy Now price of that item.
Alpha535 Says:
when you use the buy now feature you still lose money because of the shipping right? if i use 5 dollars worth of bids and i use the buy now feature i would have to pay another 5 dollars to match the 10 dollar price of the giftcard WITH an additional shipping price so arent i actually losing money?
katiehern@QuiBids Says:
No, You would have to pay the shipping price for your item even if you win the auction. For example, if you wanted to win a $10 gift card and you invested $5 worth of bids into the auction and still loose. You can choose to do the Buy Now feature and pay an additional $5 for the gift card and $1.99 for shipping.