Domain Names Auction Rules

Policy for Sellers :: Policy for Buyers :: Domains List

Auction End

Thursday 02:00 PM EST (14:00 EST)

Last minute bidding will add extra 3 minutes to the deadline for the domain that has the last minute bid.

How bidding works

• To place a bid, you enter the maximum amount you'd be willing to pay for the domain name. Your maximum amount is kept confidential from other bidders and the seller.
• The system compares your bid to those of the other bidders.
• The system places bids on your behalf, using only as much of your bid as is necessary to maintain your high bid position (or to meet the reserve price). The system will bid up to your maximum amount.
• If another bidder has a higher maximum, you'll be outbid. BUT, if no other bidder has a higher maximum, you win the item. And you could pay significantly less than your maximum price! This means that you don't have to keep coming back to re-bid every time another bid is placed.

Bid Increments

The bid increment is the amount by which a bid will be raised each time the current bid is outdone. It is predetermined, by the current high bid.

Here's how the increments are determined:

Current High Bid	Bid Increment
less than $500	$ 10
$ 500 - $5000	$ 50
$ 5000 and up	$ 100

Note: A bidder may be outbid by less than a full increment. This would happen if the winning bidder's maximum bid beats the second highest maximum by an amount less than the full increment.

"Reserve Price" Auction

• A reserve price is the minimum price a seller is willing to accept for the domain name.
• As a buyer, you are not shown the reserve price, only whether or not the reserve has been met.
• The seller is not obligated to sell the domain name if the reserve price is not met.
• The winning bidder must both meet or exceed the reserve price and have the highest bid.
• When there is a reserve price, you bid as usual by entering the maximum amount you're willing to pay for the domain name.
• Watch the label next to the current price to see whether the reserve price has been met. Until you see that the reserve price has been met, there have been no successful bids in the auction. Note: If still want the domain name, this is the time to go back and raise your maximum,either repeating until you meet the reserve and win, or decide not to raise again if someone else gets in on the bidding and pushes the price past its value to you.
• Once the reserve has been met, the domain name will sell to the highest bidder when the auction closes.
• If your maximum bid is the first to meet or exceed the reserve price, the effective bid displayed will automatically be raised to the reserve price.

Getting Outbid

You have been outbid when another buyer has placed a higher maximum bid than yours, and you are not the current high bidder.

Sometimes you'll be outbid as soon as you enter your bid, even though the bid you entered was higher than the current bid shown on the domain listing. When this happens, you will usually be notified immediately and given a chance to make another bid.

This happens because another buyer had a higher maximum bid than yours. Your bid prompted the automatic bidding system to raise the other buyer's bid above yours. The other bidder may have placed their bid hours or days before.

To help avoid disappointment, make sure that the maximum bid you enter on the item page is the actually the highest price that you're willing to pay. If you're outbid on a domain name, you'll receive an email notification.