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Bidding rules

How a sealed bid works

These are the standard rules for every sale Sealed Bid Livestock runs. Read them once and you'll know how bids are counted, what you pay, and how lots are awarded.

Each sale's bid form repeats these rules with that sale's closing time, starting bids and bid increment, and adds the seller's terms of sale. The examples below use a $100 increment. If a sale's form differs from this page, the form governs.

  1. 1

    Who may bid

    To bid, register on the sale page. Registration is open until bidding closes, and your bid link is emailed to the address you register with. Some sellers also invite buyers directly, and those buyers receive the bid link by email.

    The seller may decline or revoke a registration at any time before bidding closes. Bids from unregistered or revoked email addresses are not counted. No registration is revoked after bidding closes.

  2. 2

    Sealed bids

    No bidder sees anyone else's bid. Every bid is recorded and timestamped by Google when it is submitted. Bidding closes automatically at the time shown on the sale's bid form, and any bid timestamped after that time is void.

  3. 3

    One submission per bidder

    Your first submission is final and can't be edited. Later submissions from the same email address are ignored. You'll receive an emailed copy of your bid as your receipt.

  4. 4

    How to bid

    For each lot you want, enter your maximum bid: the most you're willing to pay for that animal. Bids are in whole dollars, at or above the lot's starting bid, in the sale's bid increment. Leave a lot blank to skip it.

    Bid the price for the animal as offered on the bid form. Any discounts in the seller's terms of sale, such as volume, commercial or delivery discounts, are taken off at settlement.

  5. 5

    What you pay (proxy bidding)

    The high bidder on a lot doesn't pay their maximum bid. They pay one increment more than the next-highest bid from an eligible bidder, but never more than their own maximum. If no other eligible bidder bid on the lot, the price is the starting bid.

    An eligible bidder is one who hasn't already filled their maximum head with higher bids on other lots, and whose bid wasn't skipped for their spending limit (rules 6 to 8). A bidder who can't buy the lot doesn't set its price.

    Example

    A lot starting at $6,000 gets maximum bids of $9,000, $7,500 and $6,500. The $9,000 bidder wins it at $7,600. If the top two maximum bids are equal, the earlier bid wins at that amount.

  6. 6

    Maximum head

    Tell us the most head you'll buy. You'll never be awarded more than that number, even if you bid on more lots.

  7. 7

    Spending limit (optional)

    You may also set the most you'll spend in total on all lots combined, before discounts. This lets you put strong maximum bids on several animals without risking more than your budget if they all sell near your maximums. Leave it blank for no limit.

    Example

    Your maximum head is 3 and your spending limit is $18,000, with maximum bids of $7,000, $6,500, $6,000 and $5,500. If your first two lots sell at $7,000 and $6,500 ($13,500), the next would put you over $18,000, so it's skipped and goes to the next eligible bidder. If they sell lower, say $5,000 each, you get three head for $15,000 and your maximum head stops you there.

  8. 8

    How lots are awarded

    Every maximum bid on every lot, from every bidder, goes into one list from highest to lowest. Working down that list, a bid wins its lot if the lot is still available and that bidder hasn't reached their maximum head.

    Each bidder's wins are then checked against their spending limit, from their highest maximum bid down. A lot whose price would put them over their limit is skipped and goes to the next eligible bidder, and the awards are worked out again so the bidder's next-best bids can still win if they fit. Once you reach your maximum head, your remaining lower bids are skipped and those lots go to the next-highest bidders.

    What this means for you: your highest maximum bids are filled first, so bid the most on the animal you want most. Being outbid on one lot doesn't count against your maximum head, and your next-best bids can still win.

    Example

    Your maximum head is 2 and your maximum bids are $7,000 on Lot A, $6,500 on Lot B and $5,500 on Lot C. If no one outbids you, you get A and B, and your bid on C is skipped. If someone outbids you on A, you get B and C.

    Ties: if two maximum bids on the same lot are equal, the earlier bid wins. If you bid the same amount on two lots and can only get one, you get the lower lot number.

  9. 9

    Backup bidders

    If a winner doesn't complete the purchase under the seller's terms of sale, the lot is offered to its backup bidders in order. Backup bidders are eligible bidders who were outbid on that lot. A backup bidder's price is figured the same way: one increment more than the next eligible bid below theirs, never more than their maximum and never less than the starting bid.

  10. 10

    Results

    After the close, each bidder is emailed their own results: the lots they won and the price of each, plus any lots on which they're a backup bidder.

  11. 11

    Unsold lots

    Any lot with no bids may then be offered to others by the seller.

A winning bid is a commitment to buy

If you win, you're agreeing to buy at the price figured under these rules, which is never more than your maximum bid.

Terms of sale

Each seller sets their own terms of sale, covering payment, health, guarantees, delivery and discounts. They're shown on the sale's bid form. The sale is between the buyer and the seller, and payment goes directly to the seller.