Buy

How to Buy?

Buying an item on BidMotors is easy! Let's walk you through the basic buying or bidding process.

Step 1: Register yourself
Step 2: Find your item
Step 3: Read the item listing & terms
Step 4: Check the seller's ratings
Step 5: Bid or Buy your item
Step 6: Pay for your purchase
Step 7: Leave feedback

Buying Tips
Buying FAQs

An auction is a public sale in which the seller specifies the minimum price of an item. Multiple buyers "Bid" for that item and the highest bidder wins the auction. That's how the buyers get a good deal.

Step 1: Register yourself

You need to become a registered BidMotors user to bid or buy items listed on BidMotors. Registering is secure, free, and only takes a minute. 

Please visit the BidMotors Registration Page to register.

Step 2: Find your item

To find an item on BidMotors you can either Search for it or Browse the site for it. To search for an item you can use the Keyword Search Box which is located at the top of the homepage or in the listing search results page. Simply enter what you are looking for and click on the 'Search' button.

Step 3: Read the item listing & terms

Once you have found the item that you wish to buy, click on the listing to display the Item Listing Page.

A. Read the item listing, seller terms and other transaction details.

Read the auction thoroughly before you bid for the item. To clarify any doubts that you may have, always ask the seller enough questions until you are confident in bidding or buying the item.
Before bidding or buying always check for the following:
- Listing type
- Starting/Current bid price
- If the auction has a reserve price or not
- Closing time/date of the auction
- Item Description
- Location of the seller
- Payment and delivery options
- Listing terms and conditions

B. Know the Payment Methods & Delivery Charges

Make sure to review and accept the payment methods, shipping cost, and shipping method a seller specifies in their listing.  Most sellers charge extra for the delivery of their items.  Read the Delivery Charges carefully since you will pay this amount in addition to the item price.

Step 4: Check the seller's ratings
Always check a seller's feedback ratings.  Ratings give you an idea of the seller's history on BidMotors. You can view a user’s rating page by clicking on the user’s ID in the Seller's Information section located in the upper right corner of the listing.

Step 5: Bid or Buy your item

Once you have read the listing, based on the listing type, you can either bid or buy the item. Click on the "Place bid" or “Buy Now” button and enter your price and confirm your bid.  When you place a bid on an auction listing, pay special attention to place a bid that is at least as the bid increment.

A. Auction Bidding

The best strategy for bidding on an auction listing is to place the maximum bid amount you are willing to pay for that item. Even though you have placed your maximum, the current bid price will initially only increase to the current bid increment.  This will allow you to place automatic bids on the listing as other bidders place bids against you. 

Example:
If you placed a maximum bid amount of $400 while the current bid is $200 and the bid increment is $10, a bid of $210 will be entered on your behalf, and your maximum bid price is retained to allow you to place automatic bids against others who try to out bid you.

The idea behind automatic bidding is to provide assistance to the buyer by bidding on their behalf, maintaining you as the highest bidder.  So in our example, your maximum bid price is $400.  So if another bidder places a bid of $220, the auto bidding feature automatically generates a bid of $230 for you (assuming a $10 bid increment). The automatic bid feature will bid on your behalf maintaining you as the highest bidder. 

This process will continue until a bid is placed on the item that is sufficient enough to overcome your maximum bid price.  If this occurs, this new higher bid becomes the highest bid price for this item, and you will be notified by email.

If another bidder outbids your maximum bid, the bidder who has the highest bid will be declared the winning bidder.

Note: Sometimes sellers set a reserve price for an item, therefore if your bid does not meet the seller’s reserve price; the seller is not obliged to sell the item to you if their reserve price is not met.

Extended Auction
BidMotors has a unique feature that allows for an auction listing to extend past its expiration time, which we call Extended Auction.  An Extended auction is an auction listing that receives a bid any time during the last 60 seconds of the listing’s remaining time, which will extended the expiration time of the listing by an additional 60 seconds. This will allow for other potential bidder to place a bid on the item.  An auction listing can be extended continuously for 60 second extensions as long as the listing receives a bid in the final 60 seconds of the auction.

Example: 
An auction listing receives a bid with 30 seconds remaining. Since the bid was placed with under 60 seconds remaining, the listing is extended by 60 seconds from the time in which the bid was placed.  So for this example, the auction’s time would be extended 60 seconds to 1 minute and 30 seconds remaining.  If this auction listing were to receive another bid with less than 60 seconds remaining the auction would be extended for another 60 seconds.  This process would repeat until the auction does not receive a bid in the final 60 seconds and the auction’s time expires.

B. Buy Now

Sellers have the option to create a “Buy Now” listing that creates a set price for an item in which the first person who wishes to buy the item can do so without undergoing a bidding process.   These listing are simple in that all you need to do is click on the “Buy Now” button in the listing and process payment for the item in order to secure its purchase

Step 6: Pay for your purchase
As soon as you win an auction, you will receive an email informing you about it.  This email contains a link to the listing page of your won item and instructions to assist you in processing payment for the item.

Paypal or Google Checkout Payment
For items that require payment via Paypal or Google Checkout, please visit the item’s BidMotors listing page as specified in the item won notification email. In the Buyer’s View section at the top of the listing page, there are direct links to your Paypal and/or Google Checkout invoice to allow you to login and pay for the item. 

Check or Money Orders

For items that require payment via check or money order the seller’s payment address is listed in the Buyer’s View section at the top of the listing page.

Step 7: Leave feedback

The feedback is a very important part of the transaction. Once a deal is completed and you have received the item it is imperative that a feedback is left for the seller. The feedback should be as honest as possible and should reflect what kind of an experience you had with the seller. A feedback should be left immediately after you have received your item.

Buying Tips

Shopping on BidMotors is as easy as 1-2-3;

1. Locate the item you want either by using the search bar that’s available on all pages of BidMotors or by browsing through the category or categories of interest.

2. Shop around and compare similar items offered by different sellers and ask all the relevant questions you need to ask to take an informed decision. Also check the seller's feedback so that you are familiar with his previous sales history.

3. Place your bid on the auction, or in the case of Buy Now items; place your order and proceed to complete the transaction as per the instructions you will receive through email when the order is placed or the auction closes successfully.

Tips for Buyers

Tip #1
Be sure that you are familiar with both the features and the market value of the product before you make your decision to place a bid or buy an item. Ask all questions about the item prior to bidding or buying that way all questions are answered and all dealings are transparent and documented in case there is any dispute over the item description later.

Tip #2
Place your bid (always bid your highest) or place your order for buy now, and when you receive the email from BidMotors giving you the available options to complete the transaction and the contact details of the seller.

Tip #3
Don’t bid to get answers to your questions. Bid only if seller replies to you queries. Once you’re satisfied and your questions are answered; then go ahead and bid on the item.

Tip #4
Paypal and Google Checkout provide a form of buyer protection or mediation for sales items.  Thus if you are concerned with protecting your purchase to receive the item as described, we would recommend you use Paypal or Google Checkout to pay for your purchases if the seller offers these as a payment method.  This will protect you for the safe delivery of your item to your doorstep and in the condition as described.

Our recommendation to you as a buyer is to keep all the communications on the site so that all the questions and answers about an item become documented – and by all means do your due diligence; shop around and compare the different seller’s items and ask all the questions you need to ask before placing your bid or committing to a purchase – and that way you’ll be sure to avoid any surprises.

Buying FAQs

I had placed a bid and I am the highest bidder now but I can't see my maximum bid?

When you enter your maximum bid, your bid will be hidden which means no one will see it, you will notice that you have increased the current bid with an amount that is equal to the next bid increment amount.

What is bid increment?

The bid increment is the amount by which a bid will be raised each time the current bid is surpassed. It is predetermined value based on the current high bid.

If you were bidding against another bidder's maximum bid, your bid has to meet the other bidder's maximum bid plus the bid increment to become the current high bidder for the item.

Sometimes the item page shows that there are two bids, yet there is only one bidder.
This happens when a buyer places more than one bid to increase their maximum bid amount.

Who determines the minimum or starting bid?

The seller (the person who posted the item) decides what he or she wants the bidding to begin at. Usually this is (and should be) just below the lowest price acceptable for that item. If you bid, the system will ask you to bid the starting price PLUS the Bid Increment. Sellers are encouraged to start items at a reasonable amount and not absurdly high. Buyers like the auction process because it allows bargain shopping. If an item is priced right, people recognize the bargain and bid on it.

What is a reserve price?

Sometimes a seller enters a Reserve Price. For example: A set of customs rims sell for $1800 new.  The seller starts the bidding at $500 but wishes to get at least $1300 for the set so they place a reserve of $1300 for the auction.  In such a case even if you are the high bidder at say $1000, you will not win the item unless your bid is equal to or greater than $1300.

How do I know I am getting a good deal?

When buying something from someone whether on the Internet, or anywhere else, the age-old warning of Buyer Beware applies. We do police listing to the best of our abilities and make our best efforts to keep it clean and pleasant, but we can give no blanket guarantee. You might want to read our Terms and Conditions page for more information. However, we also go to great lengths here to make sure you have plenty of great stuff at bargain prices to bid on.