Online Auction Instructions & Help
To participate in bidding in a Softfoot Online Alpaca Auction you must first be
registered and approved as a bidder.
Once registered you will be able to log in to the auction page and participate
by pacing bids on the alpacas presented in n auction.
All animals available for auction are listed individually below the auction details section.
Selecting an Auction
Current auctions are listed in an index list on the auction page with
an auction number, an opening and closing date as well as a countdown timer to
the auction close time.
By default the first available auction is displayed on the page below the
auction index showing the auction details and the animals available in that
auction.
If there are multiple auctions listed then click on the link in the auction
index to display the required auction details.
Within 1 hour of the auction closing time a bid summary of the animals and bid
facilities is displayed at the top of the auction details to facilitate quicker
bidding during the closing moments.
To Place a Bid on an Animal
Placing a bid on an animal requires entering a bid amount which is a
minimum of $50 above the most recent or opening bid into the bid box displayed
in the selected animal details. Click the 'Submit Bid' button to
forward your bid. You will be asked to confirm the bid first.
Within 1 hour of auction close you can use the auction summary displayed at the
top of the auction details to enter and monitor your bids.
If you would like to be notified by email when your bid is surpassed then tick
the 'Notify me...' checkbox. Be aware that when the auction
comes close to the closing time there may not be sufficient time to receive and
read the notification emails.
If you are the current highest bidder on a particular animal then this will be
displayed, however this is not automatically updated after your bid has been
placed an if your bid is surpassed in the meantime then you will need to
refresh the page to display the most recent results.
A history of the bids made is available by clicking on the bid count link for
any particular animal. Bidder details are not given in the bid history.
How an Auctions Closes
Once an auction has reached it's designated closing time it will enter
a 5 minute extension period for each animal lot. If any lot is in an
extension period the timer displayed in the auction summary will be shown as
red in colour.
If no further bids are entered by bidders within the extension period then the
bidding will close and the auction will be finalised.
If a bid is placed on any animal during extended bidding then the extension
period for that animal only will be reset to 5 minutes and will continue to
count down again. The extension period on any individual lot will continue
to be extended by 5 minutes from the most recent bid as long as bids are being
placed before the current extension period ends. Timers will be displayed
in the auction summary area to show each lot's status. Be aware that you
may need to refresh the auction page to display the latest information.
Auctioning Tips
When a red coloured timer for any auction lot reaches the final zero
in the extended bidding period it will disable the bid button however if
another bidder has placed a subsequent bid in the meantime they may have
reactivated the time extension. In this case you will need to refresh the
page to check, and if so the bidding button will again be active and the timer reset.
'Highest Bidder' is displayed immediately after you have placed a bid
however if another bidder places a subsequent bid it will surpass this
notification. In the auction summary section this is designated with
a green tick. You can refresh the auction page at any time to check if you are
still the highest bidder on any lot.
After an auction is completely closed and all extended bidding periods are over
you will need to refresh the auction page to view the final results.
NOTE: Due to the nature of technology and online internet interaction there is a slight
delay between submitting a bid and it actually being recorded. It is
possible that a conflict may occur when 2 or more bids are placed
simultaneously or very closely together. In this case you may not
actually be recorded as the highest bidder and your bid may fail. Because
of the delay in internet transmission place your bids with this possibility in
mind and check the final result later by refreshing the auction page in case
you may need to place another bid. The delay experienced may be longer
depending on the speed and status of your internet connection.
Refreshing the Auction Page
Use the refresh link on the page and not your browser buttons to
refresh the auction page. Using browser buttons may cause re-bidding of a
previous amount and/or wrong information.