How to Bid

Bidding on ReefnBid is simple, but understanding how it works can help you win more auctions confidently. Here’s everything you need to know:

1. Placing Your First Bid

• Start with the minimum bid — this is the current bid plus the minimum increment.
• If you’re the first bidder, you can also bid the starting bid listed in the auction.

Example: If the current bid is $20 and the minimum increment is $2, your next minimum bid is $22.

2. Understanding the Current Bid

The current bid is the purchase price of the auction if it ended right now, with no further bids.

3. Reserve Price

• Some auctions have a reserve price — the minimum amount the seller is willing to accept.
• If the highest bid does not meet or exceed the reserve price, the auction will end without a winner.
• The reserve price is not shown to the public, and not all auctions have one.

4. Sniping Protection

• If sniping protection is enabled, any bid placed in the last 1 minute of an auction will extend the auction end time by 1 more minute.
• This feature is optional and can be turned on or off by the seller to prevent last-second “snipe” bids.

5. Proxy Bidding

• Any bid higher than the minimum bid is considered a proxy bid.
• With proxy bidding, the system will automatically bid on your behalf in the smallest increments needed to keep you in the lead — until your maximum bid is exceeded.
• If you want the system to bid for you up to a certain limit, use Proxy Bidding.

For full details on how winners are chosen in every scenario, see How Winners Are Determined.

Important:

If your payment on file fails, you won’t be able to bid again until the issue is fixed. Sellers are not required to hold winning auctions for buyers with failed payments. See Payment Issues & How to Fix Them.