Sportlots Auctions are unique because of their 1, 2, 3, SOLD format. Learn more below why Sportlots Auctions are the best way for auctions to be run.
Auction FormatSportlots auctions have a unique format in that unlike other popular auction formats, the end of the auction is not determined based on a pre-defined date, but instead based on the amount of time the auction goes without a bid. Unlike traditional auctions, Sportlots auctions are based on a 1, 2, 3, SOLD format. Basically, if an auction goes 3 days without being out bid, the auction is then sold. If there is a bid that causes an out bid of the original bidder, the status is reset to 1.
The auction status is updated once a day early in the morning and not when the bid is placed. As a result, 3 days is the minimum amount of time that the auction will go without a bid before being sold. Depending on the timing of the last bid, the auction can actually be active for close to 4 days before going to SOLD status.
Bidding is done in 25 cent increments up to $5.00 and 50 cent increments between $5.00 and up to $25.00 and $1.00 increments $25.00 and over. If a maximum bid is placed which is not in these increments, the next lowest price is used.
This format eliminates "SNIPE" bidding which is the practice of waiting until the last second of an auction to place the best bid. While legal, this practice doesn't give other bidders the chance to get their best bid in.
Sportlots allows for users to search through the currently running auctions in the same way one would search through fixed priced cards. Search auctions by simply entering the desired player, set or other card information that you would expect to be found in the title of the auction into the search bar. Be sure to select the "Auctions" option before seclting your sport and hitting "Go" to search for Sportlots auctions.
There are two ways to place a bid on Sportlots auctions:
When placing a bid through the detail page, the bidder can enter the maximum bid amount they are willing to bid the auction up to. When the bid is placed, Sportlots will bid the minimum allowed amount for the bidder. However, if someone else places a bid, Sportlots will automatically increase the first bidders bid amount until the maximum price is reached. In a tie, the original bidder will get the bid price.
Bidding is done in increments of 25 cents for the first $5.00 and then 50 cents when the bid price goes over $5.00. If a bidder placed a maximum bid amount that isn't in increments of 25 cents (or 50 cents when the bid price goes over $5.00), Sportlots will truncate their maximum bid to the next nearest valid bid amount. For example, a bid amount of $5.95 will be automatically reduced to $5.50.
Sportlots auction postage costs are based on the primary auction postage and multiple postage rates for the same seller. In an effort to reduce postage costs and encourage more bids, sellers can reduce the postage costs for the same winning bidder of multiple auctions. To do this, the seller will set a primary auction postage cost and a multiple auction postage cost.
Sportlots then determines the total postage costs by finding the auction with the most expensive postage rate and adding this to all subsequent auctions multiple postage rates in order to determine the total postage cost for the auctions won from that seller.
For example, if a winning bidder won the following 4 auction items from the same seller:
| Auction | Primary Postage | Multiple Postage |
|---|---|---|
| Auction #1 | $1.50 | $0.50 |
| Auction #2 | $4.00 | $1.50 |
| Auction #3 | $2.00 | $0.75 |
| Auction #4 | $0.50 | $0.50 |
Sellers set 3 different postage rate categories which include:
If a bidder has a question regarding an auction item, click on the auction lot number (or auction description) from the auction summary screen. Next to the Sellers ID is a question icon. Click on this icon to ask a seller a question regarding this auction.
Be sure to ask the question before placing a bid and especially before an auction ends. Once an auction ends the high bidder is obligated to purchase the auction item regardless of the outcome of the question.
The bidder's question along with the seller's response can be viewed on the Sportlots Message Center. For more information regarding the Sportlots Message Center, please see the top page of this Sportlots User's Guide.
Winning auctions from the same seller can help reduce overall postage costs due to reductions provided by seller. To aid in finding other auctions from the same seller, Sportlots provides a link from the detailed auction page.
After clicking this link (found by the seller ID), Sportlots provides a page of just that sellers auction items. On the Sportlots Navigation bar, a link to the sellers homepage will also show up.
Once an auction is in SOLD status, an auction order will be automatically created at that time and will show up as an order on the buyers "My Orders" page in the "Pending Payment" tab. All auctions won that day will be included in that order. The buyer does not have to pay for the order right away, instead will have up to 17 days (21 days when payment is coming from Canada) after the order has been created so that additional auctions can be combined together. If there are multiple Auction orders in the "Pending Payment" tab, the buyer will notice a "Combine Auctions" button which will allow them to combine the auction orders together so that only one payment is required and can possibly reduce shipping costs if there are multiple auctions from the same seller in multiple Auction orders.
Auction orders and Fixed Priced orders can not be combined together as shipping methodologies are completely different.