Extended Bidding Option

Extended bidding ensures that your online and/or mobile items receive the highest bid available by automatically extending the closing times on items receiving additional bids in the final moments.  

In online/mobile auctions, the most active bidding often occurs in the final moments before closing. It can be frustrating for bidders to get beat out by someone with faster fingers or internet service, or simply better luck. And it's frustrating to hear that bidders were willing to pay more, but couldn't get their bid placed in time. . .

Enabling the Extended Bidding option allows you to create triggers to automatically extend the closing time on items with active bidding and capture all last minute bids.

Note:  Extended Bidding can also be used in conjunction with Max Bidding. Max bidding is primarily a convenience for bidders and designed to capture potential bids from supporters that may not be actively monitoring the bidding process - it does not necessarily maximize bidding.

To Enable Extended Bidding:

To Enable Extended Bidding:

1. Go to Site Settings > Events > Online Auction/Mobile Bidding.
2. Click on Bidding Settings.
3. Check the box next to Enable Automatic Bid Closing Time Extension.
4. Enter the number of minutes in the Bid Extend Time field — this sets both the trigger window and the extension duration. (For example, if set to 3 minutes, any bid placed within 3 minutes of the closing time will extend bidding by an additional 3 minutes.)
5. Enter the number of minutes in the Maximum Bid Extend Time field to set the maximum amount of time bidding can be extended.

Here's an how it works using the following settings: Bid Extend Time = 3 minutes, Maximum Bid Extend Time = 30 minutes, and a Bidding Group closing time of 10:00 PM:

• If any bid is placed at 9:57 PM or later, within the final 3 minutes, the system will automatically push that item's closing time out by 3 minutes.
• Bidding can continue to extend in 3-minute increments as long as there is active bidding, up to a maximum of 10:30 PM.
• If no bids are placed after 9:57 PM, the item closes at 10:00 PM as scheduled.
• If bidding activity stops at any point (say, 10:03 PM with no further bids), the item closes at that time.

2.  Public Display of Extended Bidding:

When Extended Bidding is enabled, a message will appear below the closing time on a Catalog item's detail form:

"Time will extend by "X" minutes if a bid is received within "X" minutes of closing."

Tip: Click on the embedded Help icon (?) for more details about each setting.