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Customer Service

 

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

 

Questions Cent Auctions

Lowest Unique Bid Questions

Scratch Auction Questions

BuyItNow Questions



Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

 

What is Bidster?
Bidster offers its customers entertaining online shopping. At our auctions, you can purchase premium products for ridiculously low prices. That is what we call eshoptainment! Bidster has offered its customers lowest-unique-bid auctions since November 2006. Today, you can also participate in our Cent Auctions or Scratch Auctions. Read more about Bidster under About Us.

How do I participate?
In order to participate in an auction you have to place a bid. This is done while the auctions are running. Click on the item you are interested in and follow the instructions. You place a bid via your Bidster bidding account.

Are the items second-hand?
No, everything is brand new!

What happens if my bid is the lowest unique bid at the end of the auction?
After the auction has ended, we will send an invoice to the email address you have provided in your member profile. You will receive the invoice 1-2 business days after the auction ended. The invoice is based on the amount you have placed + shipping costs. Please make sure that the address stated in the invoice is correct, and then proceed to pay the amount by clicking on the link provided in the email. The auction item will be delivered once you have provided payment (please find delivery estimates below). If you do not have a Bidster account, you will be contacted on the mobile phone number that you have used to place your bid with. We will then collect your contact details and subsequently send you an invoice based on the amount of the bid that you have placed.

What is the delivery estimate for the items on auction?
Items are normally delivered within 3 weeks after the payment for the invoice has been registered. In rare cases there may be delays from the product manufacturer that prevents Bidster from delivering the item to the winner within 3 weeks.

Can I personally collect my purchased item?
No, all items are sent directly from our suppliers.

Can I auction my own items at Bidster?
No.

Can I withdraw a bid?
A bid that has been submitted cannot be withdrawn.

Am I allowed to place multiple bids on the same auction?
Yes, it is allowed to place multiple bids on the same auction. For lowest unique bid auctions you can easily place interval bids, random ranged bids or an interval ending on a specific digit through your membership account (see below). On Cent Auctions you can place multiple bids through the Bid Robot (see below).

How much does it cost to place a bid?
The bidding fee varies depending on the auction between 0,5 € and 2 €, and is clearly stated on the page for each item.

If I place a non-winning bid, do I still have to pay the amount I have offered?
No, just as in a normal auction, only the winner of the bidding pays for the item. Note that the cost for the actual bids you placed remains.

What is the delivery cost for the item I have purchased?
The winner of an auction will receive an invoice of the amount which has been placed plus a delivery cost which is due to be paid within 30 days after the auction has ended. The delivery cost varies depending on product between 9 € to 29 €. In rare cases there may be a higher delivery cost because the item requires an extra delivery insurance or because of the size of the product. Please contact us should you have questions about a specific product.

What is Beginners Auctions?
Beginners auctions is only for beginner´s that have not won any auction at Bidster yet. The winner of the auction may only purchase the product if the winner has not previously won any auction at Bidster.com. You recognize this auction type in the auction listings through the “Beginners are Winners!” text over the thumbnail image.

What is Multiple Winners?
Multiple winners mean more winners in an auction. The participants that are closest to the winning bid receive a bonus. Visit the auction you are interested in to see how many participants that receive a bonus and how large it is. All winners will be notified through email.

How do the auctions work if the participants are using different currencies?
Some of the auctions on Bidster are international, meaning that people from different countries using different currencies are participating. The currencies are converted in a system in such a way that the bids from the varying countries are assigned the same value in the auction. In this system, 5 SEK, 5 DKK and 5 EUR cents are all worth the same. As such, it is possible to regard the winner as the one with the lowest unique “number”, since the currencies are converted to the same value. The country the winner comes from determines which currency the winner has to pay the product in. For example, if the winner bid is 12 a Swedish winner pays 12 Swedish kronor but a Finnish winner only 12 eurocents.

How does a member auction work?
Member Auctions are free to participate in. Every member receives 5 bids per week to place in Bidsters member auctions. It is not possible to save your bids and if you do not use your bids one week you will not receive any new ones. The winner of a member auction does not pay for the lowest-unique-bid or any shipping cost.

What does the flag alongside an auction mean?
The flag indicates if the auction is a national or international auction. By offering international auctions Bidster can offer more auctions and products that are otherwise not available or possible to have on auction in only one country.

How do I cancel my membership?
Send an email to our customer service support@bidster.com and we will erase your membership account.

How does the auction limits work?
All members can maximum win 10 auctions every 30 days and 1 of each product type. The auction restrictions bar keeps track on how many auctions you participate in and how many you have won. If you have won an auction one circle will turn green in 30 days. If you hold your mouse over the circle you see which product you have won. You can only win one product of each type every 30 days. With product type we mean each specific product. For example you can win a Playstation 3 and a Nintendo Wii every 30 days but not two Playstation 3.

When you participate in an auction one circle will turn grey. You can participate in up to 10 auctions and 1 auction of each product type at the same time. If you are outbid (in a cent auction) or just have no unique bids (in a lowest unique bid auction) the system does not count it as you participate in the auction anymore. Then you can choose to place bids in the auction again or try a new auction.

Scratch auctions or campaign products such as cars are not included by the auction limits. If a product is excluded it stands in the product description.

What is limited auctions?
To participate in a limited auction you have to pay an entrance fee (specified on the auction). Then you receive a fixed amount of bids that you can place in the auction. Every participant gets the same amount of bids.

The auction only starts if enough members pay the entrance fee. If too few members pay the fee the auction will never start and the fee refunded to each member's account.

If the auction starts it works as an usual auction with the exception every participant has the same amount of bids. The auction is also closed for new participants.

This is a new challenging form of Bidster's auctions where your strategy is the main key to success. You find limited auctions for lowest unique bid, cent and scratch auctions.

Other questions
If you have any more questions, you are welcome to contact us.

 

Questions Cent Auctions


What is a Cent Auction?
In a Cent Auction the highest bid at the auction's end wins the auction. Every time you place a bid the price of the product increase by 10 cents and the countdown is reset to the start time. A Cent Auction does not end a specific time, but when the countdown has reached 0 and no one placed a new bid.

When does Cent Auctions start and end?
When a Cent Auction starts at Bidster the auction first appears as a “coming auction". This means that you can bid on the product even though the countdown has not started yet. When the countdown starts all bids are placed in the order they were received. It is specified on each coming Cent Auction when it goes from the "coming" to "ongoing auction". The same time the countdown will also start.

What does the counter count down from?
The standard time is 1 or 2 minutes. Some auctions may have a longer or shorter countdown time.

The count down time for a cent auction will become smaller the longer the auction is active. The reason for this is to increase excitement and quicker end auctions that have been running for a while.
The count down time for a cent auction will become smaller the longer the auction is active. The reason for this is to increase excitement and quicker end auctions that have been running for a while.

How do the opening hours of Cent Auctions work?
You can bid on Cent Auctions any time you want. However the countdown stops during the night and meaning no Cent Auctions can end during the night. On each auction the opening hours are clearly stated, but standard opening hours are between 10.00 and 23.00. The bids that are placed when the countdown has stopped will be registered in the order they were placed when the countdown starts again.

What is a Bid Robot?
Through the Bid Robot you can place multiple bids at the same time. This is useful if you want to participate in an auction but are unable to sit at the computer all the time. If you do not have the leading bid the Bid Robot will automatically place a bid just before the auction is about to end.

How does a Bid Robot work?
When you set up a Bid Robot you select how many bids you want to place and from what amount you want the Bid Robot to start placing the bids. This means that you can choose to start a Bid Robot later in an auction, for example around an amount you think is close to the sum that the product will be sold for. But this poses a risk! If the auction ends before your Bid Robot starts to place your bids, all your bids are still lost, since you pay immediately for all bids when you set up your Bid Robot. It is possible to have multiple Bid Robots activated for each auction. If the Bid Robots overlap each other, the first Bid Robot you did set up will place its bids first and thereafter the second one and so on.

You can always pause or cancel your bid robot during the auction is running. If you cancel the bid robot when the auction still is active you will receive the remaining unplaced bids back.

What happens if several participants have Bid Robots activated at the same auction? Then the Bid Robots take it in turns.

What is a Bid Guard?
A Bid Guard helps you keep track of upcoming auctions. If you have an interest in a specific auction you can activate the Bid Guard and you will receive a reminder via SMS 10 minutes before the auction starts.

 

Lowest Unique Bid Questions

What is a lowest-bid auction?
The winner in a lowest-bid auction is the one who has placed the lowest unique bid. The lowest unique bid refers to the lowest bid which no other participant has placed. (See illustration under How it works). This means that you can acquire products at a very low price.

How do I participate?
Bidster is based on a computer program which automatically monitors all of the bids that are placed - this enables the program to identify the lowest unique bid. First, the system scans all of the unique bids, and then a second scan is done where the lowest of these bids is found. The challenge to the bidder, which is a challenge that requires skill, is to place a bid on a unique number, but a number that is still very low.

When do the auctions start and when do they finish?
New items are continuously listed at Bidster.com. The auctions close at specific dates which are stated on the website.

What happens if there are no unique bids?
This situation is highly unlikely. Should it happen, our system will automatically calculate the lowest bid using exactly two bids. The first person to have placed the bid will then win the auction. If no lowest bid using two identical bids can be found, the lowest bid will be calculated using exactly three bids according to the same procedure and so on.

What is an interval bid?
An interval bid is an easy way of placing bids on every amount within a specific interval, for instance between 15 pence and 25 pence (11 bids). All bids from 15 to 25 are then placed in one go. The result of your interval bids are easily monitored under current bids on “my pages”.

What is a random range bid?
The function place randomly bids in an interval of your choice. For example 10 random numbers between 35 and 750. It is a smart way to start the bidding on, since it quickly gives an overview in different areas how the bid placement looks like.

What is a last digit bid?
The function place all bids in an interval that ends on a specific digit. For example all numbers that end with the 5 between 1 and 100 (5, 15, 25, 35 etc). It is a quick way to spread bids on a favorite digit and numbers.

hat is lowest unique bid auctions that end after a specific amount of bids?
The regular lowest unique bid auctions end on a specific time. Bidster also runs some lowest unique bid auctions that instead end after a specific amount of bids. If it an auction restricted by bids it is displayed clearly on the auction.

If I place a non-winning bid, do I still have to pay the amount I have offered?
No, just as in a normal auction, only the winner of the bidding pays for the item. Note that the cost for the actual bids you placed remains.

If I place bid which is too high, can it still be the lowest unique bid at the end of the auction? Yes, the lowest unique bid changes during the course of the auction, which means that the amount which is currently the lowest unique bid, is not necessarily so at the end of the auction.

Can I place a bid in “$” or only in “cent”?
We only allow bids in cent.

What is "Show Current Leader"?
This feature shows the participant at the particular time that has the lowest unique bid. This feature does not show when the participant placed the bid.

Is a lowest-bid auction in fact a form of lottery?
No, a lottery operates on pure chance. In a lowest-bid auction, the participant can affect the course of events and thereby also the result.

Is a lowest bid auction in fact a form of competition?
No. We see it as an entertaining way to shop online for ridiculously low prices!

 

Questions Scratch Auctions

What is a Scratch Auction?
On a scratch auction, you must scratch the auction to see the current price. Each time a participant scratch the auction the product´s price is lowered. Once you scratched, you have a certain period of time, usually 10 seconds,  to decide whether you want to buy the product for that price or not. The auction ends when a participant buys the product. You may have the courage to wait for a really good and low price - but do not wait too long because then maybe someone else purchase the product before you!

When does a Scratch auction start and end?
A scratch auction begins a specific time and ends when a participant chooses to purchase the product for the current price.

What happens if a participant has started to purchase the product and someone else tries to buy it?
If anyone has started the purchase of the product can no other participants scratch the auction. If you just scratched and another participant starts the purchase right thereafter, you cannot buy the product. Only one participant can buy the product and stand as the winner of the auction.

What happens if a participant cancels a purchase?
Then will the auction continue.

What is the maximum time limit to finish a purchase before the auction continue?
If the purchase of the product has not finished 5 minutes before the purchase started the auction will continue and the participant must scratch again if she wants to buy the product.

Can I scratch an auction by SMS?
No.

Questions BuyItNow

What is BuyItNow?
With BuyItNow, you do not have to go empty-handed from an auction. If you are interested in a product but does not win the auction you still have the opportunity to purchase the product for a good price. You also get all of your bids in the auction paid back to your member account - as a discount in bonus bids. So what you actual pay will be lower than the market price!

What is so good with BuyItNow?
You can try to buy the product for a really good price (if you win the auction) and if you cannot do that, you can still buy the product for a good price and get your bids reimbursed as a discount in bonus bids.

How does BuyItNow works?
At any time the auction is active and within 24 hours thereafter you can purchase the product and get your bids back. If you buy a product with BuyItNow, you will not be able to participate any more in the auction and if you have a leader bid at that time, the bid will be invalid.

How can I see if BuyItNow is activated on an auction?
All auctions that have the functionality activated is marked with the BuyItNow-symbol.

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