• How do I place a bid?
• Can I change/retract a bid?
• What if I can't pay my seller?
• Why am I being immediately outbid?

• Why didn't the auction close on time?
• What are the bidding increments?
• Why doesn't my bid show up?
• What do I do if I win?
• How do I find my Closed Auction page?

Go to the Vinylbid homepage and select from one of our many categories to view the listings in that specific category. Browse the listings, pick an item that interests you and click on it. Voila! You will see a description of the item, frequently a photo and/or audio clip along with the seller's terms. You will also see the current high bid, and if you wish, you can place a bid, which must be greater then the current bid value, and be equal to the most you are willing to pay for this item. The computer stores this information and will continue to bid for you, raising your bid by the minimum bid increment, up until your specified maximum. If no one else bids higher, or has a higher bid maximum, you will win the item at the lowest price.

Because VinylBid is a highly specialized auction site, we do not currently allow for bid retractions/changes if you make a bid and for some reason are unable/unwilling to buy the item from the seller. Remember, a bid is a binding legal contract, and signifies your promise to buy the item up to the maximum amount that you have stated you are willing to pay. If however, you make an obvious keyboard error, such as setting the maximum to $10000 if the item is only bidding at $5, then contact our Security Squad explaining what has occurred. It is your responsibility to make sure that your bid is accurate, and VinylBid shall deal with such instances on a case-by-case basis.

While this is a hobby for many of our visitors, some who participate on the Auction make their living by buying and selling items. If we were to begin tampering with the basic premise of the auction -- that you have the means and the intention of buying the item at the amount you bid -- we would lose credibility among these individuals. If due to some unforeseen event in your life you cannot meet the terms of the agreement, it is still better to advise the auctioneer than to become a "deadbeat" buyer.

If you're immediately outbid, that's because another bidder has set their maximum bid amount higher then the bid you have placed on the item. VinylBid uses a Proxy Bidding scheme whereby users set their maximum bid on an item, while VinylBid bids on their behalf by slowly raising their bid incrementally each time another buyer places a bid on that item.

Our Auction has a great feature called Auto-Extension. The function of this feature is to enable last minute bidders to gain a successful bid on an item, even if the time limit on an auction is close to expiration. If you are a last minute bidder, the auction system will automatically carry over the auction into an "overtime" period of 10 extra minutes, enabling you to place another bid just in case your bid did not break the maximum set by the current high bidder.

A bid increment is the minimum amount you have to bid over the current high bid (or the minimum if no other bid has been placed.) They are set according to the opening minimum:

If your bid is lower than the current bid or start value of the item, or if you did not place a bid equal to the current value+the required bid increment, your bid will not register on the system. As well, if you have been temporarily suspended from VinylBid or are no longer a member, you cannot place a bid on any of the items in the site.

You will receive an e-mail notifying you that you are the highest bidder. You are expected to get in touch with the seller within five days for settlement. It is up to you and the seller to work out mutually satisfactory details of payment and shipment, if not already specified in the seller's item description.

After the auction has ended, you will need to find the Closed Auction page in order to obtain your seller's e-mail as well as (once you have received your item) leave feedback on your seller. This can be done in one of three ways:

1. By entering your username into the "Search by Bidder" box on the Advanced Search page and choosing the "Show Closed Auctions for Bidder" option.
2. By entering the item number into the "Search by Item Number" box on the Advanced Search page.
3. By accessing it through the URL provided to you in the Closed Auction e-mail (VinylBid automatically sends this out to you once your auction closes.)