Can I bid with my own real money?
No, the only way to bid in Highest Bid Auctions is using EmailCash reward points which you have earned.
EmailCash also holds
Lowest Unique Bid Auctions, in which you must pay with real money if you are the winning bidder.
How do I bid?
EmailCash uses
proxy bidding. This means that you can bid up to your limit without having to constantly check the auction, and yet you will still pay the lowest possible winning bid.
When you place a bid, enter the maximum amount of points you are willing to pay for that item. This amount will always be kept secret. Whenever someone else places a bid, our auction software will automatically enter the lowest possible bid for you, up to your maximum bid, until you are the winning bidder.
- Make sure you are signed in;
- Before you place your bid, confirm that your Street Address is correct;
It is very important that your street address is correct. You would be surprised how many times an auction item is returned to us as "undeliverable", all because the winning bidder made a mistake entering their address.
Most EmailCash auction items are delivered by courier. Since couriers cannot deliver to a PO box, it is important that you enter a physical street address.
If your auction item is returned to EmailCash because the address is undeliverable, EmailCash will charge to your points account the total cost of postage to have the item re-sent.
- Visit the Highest Bid Auctions page, then click on the link to the item you want to bid on;
- Enter the maximum amount you would like to pay for the item in the Your Maximum Bid box. Your bid must be greater than the current highest bid, but less than your own points balance;
- Click on Place Bid;
- If your bid is successful, you will see your name listed as the High Bidder.
How does proxy bidding work?
Proxy bidding gives you a better chance of winning an auction if you are prepared to pay the most, as you don't have to be on the web site when the auction closes. All you do is enter the maximum amount you would like to pay, and the system will do your bidding for you. However, you will still pay the lowest possible price, depending on who else has bid, and how much they have bid.
Proxy bidding can sometimes mean that a bid you place is beaten by someone else, even though your bids are the same.
For example, a toaster is up for auction and the current bid is 2,600 points. Tom enters his maximum bid of 2,800 points, and the system places the lowest bid on his behalf, which would be 2,700 points.
Now Mary sees that the winning bid is 2,700 points, so she enters a bid of 2,800 points. However, since Tom has already bid at 2,800 points, he becomes the winning bidder. Tom and Mary bid the same amount, but Tom is the winning bidder because he placed his bid first.
What happens to my reward points when I bid on an auction?
When you place a bid, reward points equal to the maximum bid you enter will be 'locked' until the bidding exceeds your bid or, if you are the winning bidder, until your auction win is approved.
This means that the maximum bid amount (not the actual bid amount) will be locked away so that you cannot access those points for any other purpose.
If the bidding exceeds your maximum bid, the locked reward points will be unlocked.
If you are the highest bidder and win the auction, your maximum bid amount will be locked until EmailCash approves your auction win, at which time the winning bid amount will be deducted from the locked points, and any remaining locked points will be unlocked.
Because locked points are not deducted from your account (they are only 'locked') you will not see any transaction on your points statement showing locking or unlocking of points in the past. The only transaction you will see is the winning bid amount deducted if you win the auction, and that will only show once your win is approved.
As an example, on Thursday Mary sees an item she likes, and the current bid is 2,000 points. Mary places a bid of 5,000 points for the item. 5,000 points of Mary's EmailCash rewards is locked so that she cannot use it for any other purpose, but Mary's current bid is only 2,100 points. On Friday evening, bids from other members have pushed the current bid up, but Mary is the highest bidder and wins the auction for 3,000 points. Even though the auction has ended at 3,000 points, Mary's initial bid of 5,000 points is still locked in her points account for the entire weekend. EmailCash approves Mary's auction win on the Monday, and 3,000 points is deducted from Mary's account while the remaining 2,000 points is unlocked and returned to Mary's account.
When does a Highest Bid Auction end?
The auction ending time is shown in the Auction Info panel. If a bid is placed within 5 minutes of the end of an auction, the ending time will be extended to a time 5 minutes after the bid was placed.
For example, an auction is originally scheduled to end at 3:00pm. Mary places a bid for the item at 2:57pm, so the auction will be extended to 3:02pm (5 minutes). Bill places a bid at 3:01pm, so the auction is again extended 5 minutes, now making the ending time 3:06pm. This will continue if competing bids are made within 5 minutes of each other. As soon as 5 minutes pass without a bid, the auction ends.
Can I cancel my bid?
No, you cannot cancel your bid. The reward points you used to bid will be returned to you after another member outbids you on that auction.
When will my item be delivered?
If you win an auction, you can expect delivery of the item within 8 weeks. Most auction deliveries from EmailCash are made by courier, and a signature will be required on delivery. You should make sure that the
address we have on file for you is correct.
You can help to ensure fast delivery by checking that your street address is correct before bidding. You would be surprised how many times an auction item is returned to us as "undeliverable", all because the winning bidder made a mistake entering their address.
Most EmailCash auction items are delivered by courier. Since couriers cannot deliver to a PO box, it is important that you enter a physical street address.
Can I put my own items up for auction?
No, the items are provided by sponsoring companies.
What is 'My Auctions'?
My Auctions is a list of
current auctions that you have placed a bid on. If you are the current winning bidder on an item, this will be indicated below the item name.
The My Auctions list does not show any auctions that have ended, regardless of whether you were the winning bidder or not.