Welcome to Aquatic Auction! On this page we have provided the following list of the most Frequently Asked Questions we receive from new Aquatic Auction buyers, and the answers to those questions. If you are unable to find an answer to your question here, please e-mail us at Support@AquaticAuction.com
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How do I search for things on Aquatic Auction? |
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Searching on Aquatic Auction is fast and simple! With our advanced search program, you can look for specific items by title description, listing number, seller name, listing format, category and more!
You will be able to sort listings within a category by listing number, item title, current price, bid count and time remaining. When you have located an item you are interested in, click on the item's title link to see its listing page. |
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How do I bid on an item I am interested in? |
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On each item listing page there is a Bid button which you must click on to place your bid.
If you do not see a Bid button on the listing page, then the listing is not yet open for bidding. The "Time Left" field will say: Listing Not Yet Open. Please refer to the "Starting On" field to see when the listing will open to accept bids.
To place a bid, you must first enter your Login information, if you haven't done so already. An opening bid should be either your MaxBid (the maximum amount you would be willing to pay for the item), or the "Highest Bid" amount plus the bid increment (the "Next Bid" amount) as shown on the item page. You will be notified by e-mail if another bidder has surpassed your maximum bid.
Refresh your Browser often
When reviewing an item's Bid History after having placed a bid, you should reload, or refresh, your browser so that it displays the most current bid status information. This is especially important during the final minutes of an auction when you should refresh your browser frequently (every 3 - 5 secs).
Remember, you must be registered before you can begin bidding on items. Don't worry! Registration is free and easy! |
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Is there a charge to place bids? |
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No. Browsing and Bidding for merchandise on Aquatic Auction is free. As a buyer, you are not obligated to buy anything on Aquatic Auction after you have registered. You are welcome to drop by any time and look around. If you see something you would like to bid on you can do so quickly as a registered member. |
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Do I need to use a credit card to bid? |
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Yes. To ensure fair bidding, a valid Visa or MasterCard credit card will be required to bid on any item. Your credit card information is required only for the first time you place a bid on Aquatic Auction. All additional bids will not require credit card verification.
Your credit card is required for personal identity validation only. Credit card verification may pre-authorize charges to your card, where indicated in the item description, to pay for an auction item if you are a successful auction winner. All authorized, or pre-authorized, credit card payments for winning bids will be processed through our secure payment servers.
By providing your valid credit card information, you authorize Aquatic Auction to make a temporary $3.50 USD ($5.00 CDN) charge to your credit card account to verify that the credit card information you provide is valid. This charge will be refunded to your account within 30 days upon verification. This credit verification will occur each time you provide a different credit card in the bidding process.
If you need to update your credit card information, you can do so anytime from your Control Center (Manage Bids) within the section called Manage My Account > Update Credit Card Info. |
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I am new to bidding: can you give me some tips? |
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Before placing your bid, we suggest you review our Bidder's Tips information. You should understand as much about the item(s) as possible.
You can also review some tips on tactical on-line bidding by visiting our Placing Bids Help page.
Remember, you must be registered before you can begin bidding on items. Don't worry! Registration is free and easy! |
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Can I ask Aquatic Auction a question before I place a bid? |
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Yes. You may contact Aquatic Auction before placing a bid from the listing page by clicking on the Ask A Question link if you require additional information about the item, the payment terms, or would like to determine shipping and handling costs. |
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What is an Open Auction? |
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In an Open Auction, buyers bid until the auction ends. The item is then sold to the highest bidder at the end of the auction period. There is no reserve price for this auction type. The seller must sell the item to the highest bidder. Bidding can start as low as the Opening Value (minimum price or starting amount) of the auction.
Once the auction closes, e-mail notification providing contact information is sent to the buyer and seller automatically so that arrangements for payment and shipment of the item can be determined. |
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What is a Proxy Bidding? |
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Proxy bidding is a convenient way to automatically bid on your items without having to continually return to your computer to check on your auctions. A Proxy Bid is a bid automatically placed by the auction system on your behalf based on the Maximum Bid Amount that you set for the particular listing. Each time you place a bid by entering your maximum bid amount (which is the most you're willing to pay for an item), you will be using our Proxy bidding system. If another bidder places a bid on your item Proxy bidding will then bid automatically, on your behalf and at the lowest possible bid increments, but not more than the maximum you specified.
The goal is to win an item at the lowest successful price. To do so, you must be the bidder who placed the highest maximum bid at auction close. You will be notified by e-mail if another bidder has surpassed your maximum bid. In case of a tie for high bidder, earlier bids will take precedence. |
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What is a "maximum bid amount"? |
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Your maximum bid amount is the highest price you are willing to pay for an item.
You should determine beforehand the most you are really willing to pay for an item and then enter a single bid at that amount in the Bid Amount field. An early bid supported by a high maximum bid amount can make you a winner! With Open Auctions, your maximum bid amount (if you are a current high bidder) will not be shown to other bidders until after the auction closes.
Lowest Successful Price
The goal when using MaxBid is to win an item at the lowest successful price. To do so, you must be the bidder who placed the highest maximum bid at auction close. The lowest successful price may not necessarily be the maximum bid amount you submitted to win the auction, unless there was a tie. Typically, the lowest successful price is the next highest bidder's maximum bid amount plus the stated bid increment. |
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Can I increase my maximum bid after I've placed a bid? |
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Yes. If your maximum bid amount has been outbid, you can either place another maximum amount or enter each subsequent bid one at a time. Please note that you can only increase a subsequent maximum or incremental bid.
To increase your current bid amount, simply return to the listing and enter and submit a new, higher maximum bid amount (this amount is the most you're willing to pay for the item).
Because the system will recognize your Login ID when you place the additional bid, you won't be bidding against yourself when you want to increase your maximum bid amount even though you're the current high bidder. MaxBid will still work to win the item for you up to your maximum bid amount, at the lowest successful price, if you are the high bidder at auction close. |
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What is Auto Bid Extend? |
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Aquatic Auction's Auto Bid Extend feature works to ensure that bidders will always have a chance to challenge bids placed in the final seconds of an auction. When indicated on a listing page, if a bid is placed during the last 5 minutes of an Open Auction, the auction will be automatically extended for an additional 5 minutes from the time of the latest bid. The auction will close once all bidding activity has stopped for a period of 5 minutes.
Note: If you have placed a bid when Auto Bid Extend is engaged, you should refresh, or reload, your browser frequently (every 3 - 5 secs) so that it displays the most current bid status information. |
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I placed a bid. Why isn't it showing up? |
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There are 4 steps to placing a bid on an auction. You must complete all 4 steps in order for our system to record and display your bid in a listing's Bid History.
- Click on the Bid button on the listing page of the item you are viewing. You will be asked to Login, if you haven't done so already. Then, scroll to the bottom of the page where you can enter your MaxBid (maximum bid amount per unit).
- Click on the button that says Submit Bid for Listing #...
- Scroll down the Bid Confirmation page, review your bid information, and check it for accuracy. At this point, you will have the opportunity either to go back and modify or correct the desired quantity and bid amount or submit your bid.
- To place your confirmed bid simply click on the Submit Bid button again.
Once submitted, you will see review information about your bid indicating the bid amount placed, and if your bid is currently the winning bid. To place additional bids, click on the Submit Another Bid for Listing #... button, which is located beneath the Bid History on the Summary page. You can then re-enter a new bid amount according to the "Next Bid" amount as currently shown on the listing page.
When reviewing an item's Bid History after having placed a bid, you should reload, or refresh, your browser so that it displays the most current information. |
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I keep bidding on an item and then it says I have been outbid. Why? |
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When this happens, it means that an earlier bidder has placed a maximum bid amount which is higher than the amount of your maximum bid.
When you placed your bid, the MaxBid system immediately placed another bid on the earlier bidder's behalf, for an amount just high enough (i.e., plus the bid increment) to outbid your maximum bid amount, insuring his position as high bidder.
If the maximum bid that you place is high enough to outbid any other bidders, then MaxBid will do the same for you and maintain your position as the current winning bidder. |
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I have confirmed my bid, but it tells me it is invalid: why? |
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There are two reasons why a confirmed bid can be considered invalid:
1) You have entered an invalid value in the "Bid Amount" field. Make sure that your bid amount contains only numbers and decimal points, i.e., 45.00 . Do not enter any dollar signs ($) or commas (,) into the bid amount field.
2) Your bid amount is less than the "Next Bid" value. Make sure that your bid is equal to or greater than the current "Next Bid" value shown on the listing page. |
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Can I retract a confirmed bid? |
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Unfortunately, No.
If you bid an erroneous amount (ie. $20,000.00 instead of $200.00), please contact customer support immediately at suppot@aquaticauction.com. |
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Where can I monitor my bidding activity? |
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You can monitor all of your bidding activity from within the Manage My Bids > View My Bid Status section of your Control Center. |
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How do I find out if an auction has ended? |
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You can locate an auction you have bid on from within the Manage My Bids > View My Bid Status section of the Control Center, or by using the auction's listing number into the Search field/page. |
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What do I do if I win an auction? |
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If you are the winning bidder when an auction closes, Aquatic Auction will send you an e-mail notifying you that you have won the item(s).
The seller is also notified via e-mail that you are the winner and is given contact information so that he or she can e-mail you regarding arrangements for payment and shipping of the item.
You are responsible for returning to the Aquatic Auction website to verify that you have won the auction. If you do not receive notice and believe you are the successful bidder, you must verify the auction status from the Manage My Bids > View My Bid Status section of your Control Center. |
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How do I save on shipping costs with bundled shipping? |
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If you've won multiple items in the same shipping period, your items will automatically be bundled to save on shipping fees.
The shipping period lasts one week and goes from Tuesday - Monday, with all items shipping on Tuesday and arriving on Wednesday.
Example: If I win an item on Friday, I have three more days to bid and win in order to get free shipping on additional items.
Shipping cost for the first item approximates actual charges plus an additional box fee. Cost for each additional item in the bundle is FREE.
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