So You Want to Be a Bidder?
Whether you’re looking for new goods to sell in your antique store or a good deal on used furniture for your new house, you’ve stumbled upon the wonderful world of online storage auctions. Where do you start? How do you bid? What in the world is a “proxy bid”? Learning the ins and outs of bidding can be quite a learning curve; however, with StorageAuctions.com, learning to bid is made easy. Although before you can bid on that awesome couch you just saw on the front page, you’ll need an account.
The sign up process on StorageAuctions.com is as easy as 1-2-3. All you need is a valid email address and a password. Once you’ve entered both, you’re in! Once logged in, our system will ask you a little about yourself, including your first and last name, zip code, and your phone number.
Before you can start bidding on units, however, you’ll need to confirm your email and set up a valid credit or debit card on your profile. After you set up your account, a welcome email containing a verification code will be sent to the email address you have on file. Be sure to confirm your email within 48 hours or the verification code in the welcome email will expire. Once you have this code, click the “Confirm Email” button found in your “My Auctions” tab and enter the verification code.
Once you have clicked “Verify Email” you will be prompted to enter in a valid credit or debit card. If you don’t have a permanent debit or credit card, you can also add a pre-paid card of some kind. After you’ve added a card to your profile, you are ready to go! But first, you’ll need to know some of the basics of bidding.
Bidding Made Easy
First things first, there are two types of bids you can place on StorageAuctions.com: direct bids and proxy bids. First we’ll start by explaining what a direct bid is. Direct bids are bids in their clearest definition. A direct bid is in the moment, and it is the amount of money you are willing to bid in that particular moment. Say for instance the price of the unit is at 200 – a direct bid would be bidding 10 dollars and having the price change from 200 to 210.
Proxy bids are a little different. These bids represent the highest amount you are willing to bid on the unit. It allows the system to bid for you in 10 dollar increments and will stop bidding for you once the units price has reach the final amount of your proxy bid.
Proxy bids are great for bidding in advance, it allows you to look at the unit and make a call on what the maximum you’re willing to spend on that unit. It also allows you to potentially win without necessarily being at your computer. Something to keep in mind about proxy bids, however, is that once you set a proxy, you cannot lower it. You can only raise a proxy bid.
Bidders Beware
Now that you know the types of bids you can make on StorageAuctions.com, you must know that a bid is a legally, binding agreement. When you bid on a unit, you are agreeing to pay for and pick up that unit in the case of winning. Once you enter in and confirm a bid, you cannot take it back. So before you place a bid, be sure to double check that you’re entering in the correct dollar amount, checking specifically for any extra zeros. Ten dollars isn’t too far from 1,000 if you aren’t paying close enough attention.
We also recommend double checking the city of the unit your bidding on. There is a city of Newton in North Carolina, Georgia, Massachusetts, Kansa, and Iowa. Unless a road trip is in your future, make sure you’re bidding in the right Newton for you.
StorageAuctions.com is here for our bidders. If you ever have any additional questions regarding bidding or just about anything else on your mind, we have customer service representatives on staff, ready to take your calls at 866-944-8530.
I am Central time zone, and the online auction I am watching is reflecting that the bidding ends in Mountain standard time. Is there a way to change this under my account to always reflect Central time Zone instead of another one? The auction is also in Central time zone even though ending time is in Mountain standard. Thanks for your assistance.