How do I enable Prebidding?

Prebids refer to bids placed before competitive bidding on an auction begins. Bidders will not be able to see if they are the high bidder until competitive bidding begins. In our system, these function as max bids, where you are permitting the system to bid on your behalf up to a certain amount.

Max Bids

By default, auctions are set to accept prebids before an auction opens and the competitive bidding is enabled. In this scenario, a bidder can place a "prebid" on any item before the auction begins. This prebid is simply a max bid that will automatically be applied to an item when the auction starts. It is in essence no different than creating a max bid on any item once the bidding has started. HOWEVER, this scenario does not allow for competitive bidding. One person cannot outbid another. They can simply enter max bids, and the highest max bid received on an item will remain active when the item opens for bidding. No additional configuration is needed to enable this feature. If you wish to turn this method of prebidding OFF, you can follow the steps in this article:

https://support.bidwrangler.com/article/281-how-do-i-disable-prebidding

For simulcast auctions with simultaneous online and live bidding, auction company may refer to prebidding as traditional online-only bidding that precedes the simulcast portion. In our system, this would be the "timed" portion of a Timed-to-Live Auction.

Timed-to-Live Auction

Timed-to-live auctions offer a different type of prebidding. It differs from max bids in that the bidding is COMPETITIVE. While bidders can still enter max bids, they can also engage with competitive bidding against one another, just as they would in a timed auction. However, when the time expires on a timed-to-live auction, the auction converts into a live auction. The auction company may take start at the latest high bidder from the timed portion of the auction, or they may start the ask at a higher amount. The online bidder will have an opportunity during the live portion of their sale to increase their bid above and beyond what they bid in the timed portion of the sale, and the live bidders will also have the opportunity to outbid the timed bid.

Please note that a timed-to-live auction will still allow for max bid prebidding if published prior to the start time of the online portion of the sale.

For more information on setting up a timed-to-live auction, please follow the steps in this article:

https://support.bidwrangler.com/article/54-how-do-i-switch-an-auction-from-timed-to-live

Let us know at helpdesk@bidwrangler.com if you have any questions.