FAQ's
Question: Why doesn't everyone bid 1¢?
Answer: Lots of people do! So, 1¢ is very rarely a unique bid. The winning bid needs to be BOTH low AND unique - meaning only one person can bid that amount. See the graphic on the How It Works page for more information.
Question: How do I know if I am winning an auction?
Answer: After you bid on an item, be sure to look at your bid history. All bids are color coded to let you know the bids that are currently UNIQUE (yellow), LOWEST UNIQUE (green), or NOT UNIQUE (no color). By checking back often, you will know if your bids have been duplicated (a green or yellow bid that now is no-color) or if a unique bid (yellow) has become the lowest unique bid (green).
Question: What does it mean to be the "lowest unique bidder"?
Answer: The lowest unique bidder is the person who, at the end of the auction, has submitted the lowest bid amount that no other person has bid. See the graphic on the How It Works page for more information. Place the Lowest bid that no other member places and at the end of the auction, you win!
Question: How do Bid Credits work? Do I use them for every auction?
Answer: Bid credits are purchased for the ability to bid on our Premium Auction(s). They are registration/administrative fees we charge to defer costs associated with hosting, purchases, conducting the auction, etc. You purchase bid credits in packages and only use them on Premium Auctions. For each bid placed on a Premium Auction, AFTER you have placed your Daily Free Bids included with your membership, you use One (1) bid credit.
Remember, we also have several items available within our Free Auctions tab, that require NO bid credits to bid. In the Free Auctions, we simply ask you to limit the number of bids per item to a set number (usually 10) per day.
Question: Do I have to Pay what I bid whether I win or lose the auction?
Answer: You only pay your bid amount(s) IF you are the successful bidder (the member with the lowest unique bid at the end of the auction). The amount you owe is the actual $ amount of your bid that was successful. It's just like certain estate sales or exclusivity auctions. You pay to enter the venue, you bid on items, but you only pay for what you actually win.
Question: What happens in the remote chance there is no lowest unique bid?
Answer: Someone wins EVERY time. Should there be no lowest unique bidder, UturnBids.com determines the winning bid to be the lowest bid amount that was duplicated the least amount of times. For Example:
- 10 people bid $10.21
- 7 people bid $8.14
- 2 people bid $14.13
- 25 people bid $5.05
The winner is the FIRST member to bid $14.13, even though it is higher than other bids. UturnBids.com time stamps each bid, so they know who bid what and when.
Question: How do I Register?
Answer: Register by Simply clicking the Join Now button on www.uturnbids.com. It's completely FREE!
Question: How Will I Know if I won?
Answer: When the Auction ends, UturnBids.com will send an email to the winner - to let them know they have won so we can celebrate together! Soon after, the winner is announced on our web site. Please see the terms and conditions for more details.
Question: What about shipping costs for the prizes I win?
Answer: Normal Shipping and Handling costs are paid for by UturnBids.com. See our terms and conditions for more details.
Question: Do I have to pay taxes on the items I win?
Answer: No and Yes. No, you do not have to pay the Sales Tax on the item, UturnBids.com pays them for you. Yes, you may have to claim the value of the item as a prize won and claim it on your taxes. We are not tax attorneys and you should consult a professional regarding this matter.
Question: What Payment Types are Accepted?
Answer: UturnBids.com accepts just about any major credit card, debit card or bank account in the world. We are a TrustWave trusted commerce site for your added protection and security. UturnBids.com does not store any credit card information.
Question: How long do they run?
Answer: There are three types of auctions on UturnBids.com. Our Free auctions are time based and usually close every 4 days, with one item closing per day. Our Featured auctions also close on a similar schedule, BUT are only available for bidding by members. Lastly, our Premium Auctions typically close every other day with each item on the site for 8 days total. We allow members only to bid on these auctions, as well as allow additional bids to be purchased beyond the daily allotted bids included with our membership. We may, from time to time, also make some of our Premium Auctions close based on a Required Number of Bids. Required Number of Bid Based Auctions end once the Required number of bids has been reached. The winner is also the person with the lowest unique bid. The amount of bids placed is represented as a percentage. When the required number of bids has been reached (100%) the auction is over and a winner is declared.
Question: How does someone sell items on uturnbids.com?
Answer: Be patient with us. We plan to begin allowing members to auction their own items on UturnBids.com later in 2009. For now, if you are a Merchant and would like to feature retail items on UturnBids.com, please contact us with our Contact Us form.