How bidding works

What a bid commits you to, the hold placed on your card, and what happens when you win.

  1. 1.A bid is a commitment to buy

    Bids here are binding. If you win, you have bought the animal. Nobody can retract a bid because they changed their mind, which is what makes the numbers on a listing worth reading.

  2. 2.Bidding places a hold on your credit card

    A hold is not a charge. Your bank sets the money aside and it shows as pending, the way a hotel or a fuel pump does. It covers our closing fee, never the price of the animal, and starts at $250.

  3. 3.One hold, on your first bid

    We place it the first time you bid on a listing. Raising your bid does not place another one, and it does not change the amount held.

  4. 4.Lose, and it is released

    When the auction ends, we release the holds of everyone who did not win. Banks usually clear a released hold within a few days.

  5. 5.Win, and the hold becomes the fee

    The hold is charged as our closing fee. The fee comes out of the sale price rather than on top of it, so the winning bid is your whole outlay to us and the seller. It is capped at $2,500 however high the bidding goes.

  6. 6.You pay the seller directly

    We never hold the price of the animal. Once the fee is settled you and the seller arrange payment, collection and transport between you.

If you win and don’t pay

You have 72 hours to settle any balance after the auction ends. Miss it and all of the following happen.

  • The order is cancelled and the animal goes back to the seller to relist.
  • The amount already held is retained.
  • Your account is suspended for 30 days.
  • A second unpaid order suspends the account permanently.

An unpaid win costs the seller a week off the market and the underbidder the animal, which is why it carries a consequence rather than a reminder.

Every fee we charge is listed in the fee schedule.