Handling Bidding Concerns in Timed Auctions

Handling Bidding Concerns in Timed Auctions Admin Client Zone Web

This process helps when a Client/Bidder raises concerns about a bidding sequence or says they ought to be the winner. This article is specific to Timed Auctions but the process can be partially applied to Live Auctions as well. Following the steps below helps you understand what’s happened and allows you to communicate clearly with the Client.

Acquire the Necessary Information

• Who is the bidder?
• Which Auction, & Lot is the query for?
• Does Client/Bidder think they should have won, or is it something else?
• Is the Client/Bidder confused about the sequence of Bids?
• Has the Client/Bidder any time based or other information?

Analyse the Bidding History

Lot Detail & Bidding History within Snoofa Admin

Bid IDs are auto-incremented, meaning that even if two bids are placed in the exact same second, the bid placed later will have a higher ID. Sort lots by the ID to see the sequence.

 In Timed Auctions, there are the following bid types:

• Proxy: Bid placed more than one increment above the current highest bid. The system then automatically applies (regular) Bids on behalf of the client up to this amount.

NOTE: When a Proxy bid is maxed out, meaning matched in value, by another bidder, the original bidder will be the winner. In this situation, both bidders are willing to pay the same amount for the lot, & the priority is given to the person who placed the (proxy) bid first. To win the lot, an opponent needs to increase their bid.

• Bid: Regular bid placed. Either placed by the client when they increase the bid by only one increment or by the system automatically on behalf of the client’s proxy bid.

• Offer: Only applies during an Aftersale.

You might also encounter the following symbols representing Place Modes:

	Place by the Client manually.
	Placed automatically by the system, acting on the Client's Proxy Bid.
	Placed by an Admin on behalf of the Client.

Look at Sent Messages

The system sends a confirmation message after every Bid. The system will also inform other Bidders that they were outbid. These messages are sent almost immediately after a Bid gets placed – within seconds.

Finally, when a Lot closes, the system will send a set of result messages to all participating Bidders. The winner (the person with the highest bid when the countdown strikes 0) will get a confirmation that they won. All other Bidders will receive a message informing them that they lost.

Open the profile of the concerned Client & open the Messages section. Filter out messages that relate to the Lot in question. You can sort these messages by the time they are sent. Click on the message to find out information about when the message was delivered or even opened.

The when Opened information can be blocked by the recipient’s inbox. Thus the absence of the Opened timestamp doesn’t mean the Client hasn’t opened the email. Find out more about this in Tracking Opens within Mailgun documentation.

Detail of a Client Message within Snoofa Admin

Bid confirmation & outbid messages are sent only if the value of the Lot increases. When Alice places a Bid that is lower than an existing Proxy Bid of someone else, Alice will be shown a notification letting her know that she’s been unsuccessful & that she needs to Bid higher. In this case the system won’t be sending any emails. 

Escalating the Concern

If the above process does not solve the Client's concern, please file a ticket with our Support.

See the rest of our Knowledge Base, to understand & learn more about Snoofa.