FanVault

How Bidding Works

Understanding our auction process

1Open Bidding

You place your bid against other buyers. This phase usually lasts for a few days or weeks.

Important Note:

The "Current Bid" does not always exactly equal the highest bid. Instead, it's an incremental increase from the second highest bid. For instance, if the highest bid for an auction is $500, but the second highest bid is $100, the current bid will be shown as $100 + an incremental increase*. That way the highest bid is never exposed.

How it works:

The current bidder has set a maximum bid that they are willing to go up to. Once your bid surpasses their maximum, you will become the top bidder. If you are the second highest bidder and you place a bid that's higher than your current one but lower than the top bidder's, the "Current Bid" value may increase, while you still wouldn't overtake the top bidding position.

Example:

  • Top bid is $500
  • Your bid is $225
  • Current Bid shown as $225 + incremental increase (could be $0)
  • If you bid $300, Current Bid updates to $300 + increment
  • You're still not the top bidder since max is $500
  • Once you bid above $500, you become the top bidder

2Bid Extension (Anti-Snipe)

To prevent last-second sniping, any bid placed within the final 2 minutes of an auction automatically extends the end time by 2 minutes from that moment. This keeps the auction fair and open to all bidders.

How it works:

  • Applies to every bid placed in the last 2 minutes
  • The end time resets to 2 minutes from the new bid
  • Open to all eligible bidders — not restricted to prior bidders
  • Continues as long as bids keep coming in near the deadline
  • Winner is determined when 2 full minutes pass with no new bids

Timing Example:

  • Auction scheduled to end at 6:00 PM
  • Bid placed at 5:59 PM → new end time is 6:01 PM
  • Another bid at 6:00 PM → new end time is 6:02 PM
  • No more bids → auction ends at 6:02 PM

Incremental Increase

* The incremental increase is not a set/static number, but is calculated based on the second highest bid. Depending on the current value, the incremental increase is occasionally $0, meaning that the current bid may exactly equal the second highest bid.

Start Bidding