Detailed Bidding Instructions

Getting Started

In order to participate in our online sales you must first register or “Sign Up”. Click here to Sign Up now!

When signing up you will be asked to agree to our sale Terms and Conditions. These can be viewed during sign up or on the website here. A Sale page can be easily viewed by selecting “Sales” on the home page navigation bar and launching any Sale link. Once you’ve completed the Sign Up process you are now eligible to bid for “Items”. Future “Sign In” to our site can be accomplished using the email address and password used during sign up or by connecting your Facebook account. A bidder number will be assigned to you and can be found under “My Info” > “Account Info”. Should you forget your password, simply click the “Forgot your password?” link on the Sign In page and a password reset email will be sent to you.

Submitting a Bid

Prior to submitting a bid on an item it is important to make certain that you understand the “Fulfillment” options first. In the detailed view of an item, the item options can be found to the right of the photos. This details where and when you will be pickup will be available if it is an eligible item, and the quote for shipping. All Items are not eligible for pickup. Please understand that if you do not make pickup during published hours, you will be charged for the item and/or other fees will apply per the Terms and Conditions.

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with our shipping options you can proceed to enter your bids. Upon discovering an item you’re interested in, two methods exist for placing a bid:

1. Go to the detailed view of the Item. This can be done by clicking on the title or name of an Item. Once you see the detailed view which will include all pictures and a detailed description as well as dimensions and condition details, you will see the “Place Bid” box on the right of the pictures. The “Place Bid” box will open to a box where you will be prompted to choose your fulfillment before bidding. You will have the option to “Enter a Minimum Bid” and “Enter a Maximum Bid”. These two bid boxes work differently and should be understood before placing your first bid.

The “Enter a Minimum Bid” box will allow you to place any bid over the next required bid amount and will attempt to immediately advance the bid to the amount entered. If no other bidder has entered a higher maximum bid you will now be the high bidder at that point in the sale. A status box will appear letting you know if you are the high bidder or if you have been outbid. If another bidder has entered a higher than your maximum bid, they will be awarded the high bid at the most competitive increment at or over the amount you’ve entered. Bid increments can be found above the bid boxes by clicking the “specified increments” link.

The “Enter a Maximum Bid” box uses a system also known as proxy bidding. The amount entered in the Enter a Maximum Bid is not visible to other bidders. The system will use this amount to compare bids submitted by all bidders and will award the high bid to the bidder with the highest maximum bid at the most competitive bid amount. For instance, if bidder 1 enters a $50 maximum bid and bidder 2 enters a $100 maximum bid, the system will award the bid to bidder 2 for $55. Also note that you can raise your own maximum bid by using the “Edit Max” bid link.

2. “Follow” an Item also allows you to place bids. When viewing Items, you will notice a “Follow” button, or a Heart icon in the top right corner of the item’s picture. If you like the Item, you can click the button and the item will be added to your “Following” list. This list can be found at the top right navigation bar of any page. A count of the Items followed will also be displayed. By clicking on “Following”, you will see a convenient list of all Items you want to track or bid on. Similar to the bidding above, if you want to bid on an Item, click the “Place Bid” button. Bid boxes will appear and the same methodology applies. “Following” is a convenient view to keep track of all your discovered Items. The closing time and status for items will be displayed in the list and will refresh automatically.

Once you’ve decided to bid, a valid credit card is required in your “Payment Methods” profile. The system will prompt for updated information if necessary. Again, the Terms and Conditions are found here. Please take care when placing bids. Review your bid before submitting. The system will ask for additional confirmation based on certain bid parameters, but ultimately you are responsible for reviewing your bid.

Please note you will receive outbid notices via email, SMS and push notification if you have opted in to these options. By clicking the link in these notifications, an updated bid can be placed. It is always best to review your bids directly on the site during the final moments of sale closing. The “Following” list is a great place to do this. Please note that the “Categories” view does not refresh closing times automatically. Only sale detail, item detail and “Following” views auto refresh.

Staggered Item Closing and Last Minute Bidding Extension

If you’ll notice, our sales state that the “Sale Closes” at a specific time. All Items do not close simultaneously at that time. Items begin closing in the order displayed on the site and typically close at the rate of 3 Items per minute (i.e. Items 1-3 close at H:00, lots 4-6 close at H:01, etc.). This is an intentional design so that bidders can have time to evaluate their overall progress in a sale as Items close. Additionally, if an item receives a bid within the last 5 minutes, the close time will be extended 5 minutes from the time the bid is placed. The time will continue to be extended for 5 minutes with each newly placed bid and the item will not close until 5 minutes have elapsed with no additional bid activity. The item will say ”Ended” once bidding has ended. If you win an Item, please be aware that the post sale closing and invoicing process takes approximately an hour. Invoices will not show up in your “Won Items” for approximately an hour.

Payment

Once invoices are posted, you are able to checkout by clicking on the appropriate invoice in your “Won Items” list. Click the “Check Out Now” button and you will be able to determine your payment method and shipping address. As always, you can designate payment by cash or check and pay when you arrive if your item is eligible for pickup. Please see the FAQs for payment requirements.

Our Promise

Rest assured that EBTH takes every precaution to manage our site and sales in a transparent manner that allows for the fairest environment for both buyers and sellers.

Have fun discovering with EBTH!