How do these auctions work?

Read through this Help page to gain a better understanding of the auction mechanics.

How do I buy bids?

You must first register and log in to your account before you can buy bids. Read through this Help page for more detailed instructions.

Do I get my bids back after the auction ends?

No, bids placed during the auction are not redistributed back to your account.

Can I get a refund for the bids I bought?

Our Terms & Conditions clearly state that we do not issue refunds for bids.

How many auctions can I win?

Users are allowed to win no more than 3 auctions in a 7 day period. The 7 day period begins the day of the first win (Example Scenario One: If a User wins three times on Tuesday, the user would not be eligible to participate again till the following Tuesday; Example Scenario Two: If a User wins one auction on Monday, a second win on Tuesday and a third win on Wednesday, the user would not be eligible to participate again till the following Monday).

A user keeps bidding right after I bid. Is he using an autobidder?

An aggressive bidding strategy that some users employ is to continually clicking the BID button in the last few moments of an auction while they are in the lead. This results in that user outbidding any other users virtually instantaneously. Use of third party autobidders is not allowed on this site and we do monitor this closely. There are several dead giveaways that a user is using an autobidder. However, bidding aggressively by using the bidding strategy described here is not enough evidence alone to suggest an autobidder is being used. If you believe someone is using an autobidder email us at support@bidfire.com and we will investigate closer.

Does BidFire use shill bidders or bots to bid up the auction price?

BidFire has never and will never use any sort of shill bidder or bot. Shill bidding is a fraudulent practice that is unsustainable for legitimate auction sites to use. Here is just a small sampling of the many auctions that BidFire has lost money on:

• $199 iPhone Gift Card for $0.85 (http://bidfire.com/auctions/177)
• Sony PSP 3000 for $0.45 (http://bidfire.com/auctions/159)
• Sony PS3 80 GB for $0.45 (http://bidfire.com/auctions/135)
• Compaq Presario Desktop PC for $0.50 (http://bidfire.com/auctions/127)
• $50 Walmart Gift Card for $0.05 (http://bidfire.com/auctions/117)
• Sirius Sportster 5 Satellite Radio for $0.10 (http://bidfire.com/auctions/109)
• Samsung 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV for $6.80 (http://bidfire.com/auctions/104)
• Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-Ray Player for $0.50 (http://bidfire.com/auctions/92)
• $100 Visa Gift Card for $0.25 (http://bidfire.com/auctions/66)

When the auction hits "Loading..." it seems like it stays there longer than 1 second. Why is this?

Not all users have the same internet connection speed. In order to level the playing field and allow for everyone to have an opportunity to bid, we must display "Loading..." to sync your computer with our server's internal clock. Our users have found that the clock is remarkably accurate and we are constantly improving the precision of BidFire.

With a clock reset time of 45 seconds it doesn't give me enough time to buy bids before the clock runs out. What should I do?

Some of our more experienced users use a few different tactics to get around this problem:

1. Don't wait until your account has 0 bids to buy more bids. Give yourself enough breathing room to get through the checkout process before the auction ends.
2. Open a different browser window to buy bids and toggle back and forth between the two open browsers to keep an eye on the action.
3. Buy $50 or $100 bid packages so that you don't have to go through the checkout process multiple times. Every time you buy more bids you are being distracted away from the auction action and risk losing out!

How long will it take for me to receive my shipment?

Shipping typically takes 5-9 days to reach its destination and on some rare occasions can take up to 14 days.

Where is my tracking shipment number?

Currently we do not automatically provide tracking information but if you open a help ticket then we will provide you with this information.

Are people allowed to use third-party autobidders?

At this time we do not have an autobidder feature. In order to make the site fair for everyone we strictly prohibit the use of any third-party autobidders. We monitor bidding activity on the site closely and will disable user accounts if found to be using autobidders.

How can I get FREE bids?

There are several ways to earn free bids on BidFire:

1. Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/bidfire and send your Twitter username and BidFire username to twitter@bidfire.com to get 3 Free Bids
2. Send a photo and video of you with your win to winner@bidfire.com. We'll post it in the Winner's Circle and add the 25 Free bids to your account
3. Send a photo of you with your win to winner@bidfire.com. We'll post it in the Winner's Circle and add the 10 Free bids to your account
4. Win our guess the end price game on Twitter and receive 25 Free bids

How can I stay up-to-date with BidFire auctions?

Follow us on Twitter or friend us on Facebook!