What is SmartBid?

SmartBid is a new fun exciting auction game where you can win big by playing smart.

SmartBid© members win brand new factory sealed products at typically 90-95% off the retail price through our unique auctions. Unlike regular auction where the highest bidder wins, items get bid here typically within a range of a penny to a dollar and the lowest bid within that range which no one else has placed wins. We charge a small fee(for most of the auctions $0.75) per bid to offer these awesome bargains to our members.

Take a look at how much our auction winners are saving. Come and join the fun and win big!

What is a unique lowest bid?

Your bid will be deemed the "lowest and unique" at the close of an auction if you are the first and only member to bid a price as close to zero as possible without guessing a price that someone else has already bid.

How can I start playing?

Excited to win the next big deal? First you need to register. Once you´ve successfully registered, We will give you free bids to get you started in our reward auctions. Then you can buy our convenient bid packages to start bidding for the next big deal!

What if I don't win?

We know it's so much fun bidding and play multiple strategies to win the products you always wanted. But, no one likes to lose! So if you haven't won - we hear you. We will give back every dollar you put in a regular auction to your reward account. You can use them in reward auctions to win gift cards, regular bid packages etc.

So, put your game hats on - you got nothing to lose!

How do I select my bid?

We provide a bid board with all possible bid values for a particular auction. Just select your bid price and place bid by clicking on the bid button. Once your first bid is registered, SmartBid will provide you with hints to help you locate the current lowest, unique bid in an auction (unless of course the lowest, unique bid is yours!)

Can I place more than one bid on an item?

Yes! You may place as many bids as you would like in any given auction! You are encouraged to place multiple bids strategically to increase your chances of winning.

How does multiple bid work?

The option of multiple bid allows you to place a whole range of bids between two set prices at one time. For example, if you wish to place bids from 1¢-5¢, you can use our multiple bid feature and enter price range as 1¢-5¢, allowing you to effectively cover every amount between them. Please note that you will be charged a fee-per-bid for each amount within your selected range.

Why does it cost money to place a bid?

Bidding fees are necessary to cover the cost of the featured product/service. However, We have tried to limit the bid cost to the minimum at 50 cents.

Can you advise on how to bid?

There are different kind of strategies you can employ to win big! Please check our hints & strategy section and our blog on more about this.

I've just won an auction! What now?

Congratulations - well done champ!

Once the auction has ended, please go to your account's Won Auction section where you can confirm and pay for the item. Please make sure that you pay within 7 days of the end of the auction. We’ll confirm your payment via e-mail and arrange for the item to be shipped to you. If you still haven’t paid within 21 days, we’ll assume that you’ve changed your mind and no longer want to buy the item.

What types of auctions are there?

There are currently three types of auctions.

Regular auctions
These are the unique lowest bid regular auctions where you can participate by buying bids from our different bid packages. They are open to all new and existing users of our site.

There are two types of regular auctions -
Max Bid Auction - These auctions have a maximum number of bids that can be placed before the auction can close.
Time Auction- These auctions close when the timer runs out and there is no reserve price.

Beginner auctions
These auctions are exclusive to our new bidders. You can play for FREE with your sign-up bonus here and have fun learning the game. These are open only to those members who haven't won any auctions yet.

Reward Auctions
For every dollar that you spend for regular auctions, we give you back a dollar in your reward account. With these reward credits, you can participate in our exclusive reward auctions and play for free!

When does the auction close?

An auction closes as soon as the maximum number of bids allocated for the auction is reached.

Auction can also close if it reaches the specified latest end time and has received the minimum number of bids required to close. If the minimum number of bids (this is required to cover our minimum cost of the product) has not been reached, the auction will be extended until the minimum number of bids has been reached. At that time, a closing date of one day will be set and a count-down timer would be shown in auction page. As soon as the counter hits zero, the item will be sold regardless whether the maximum bids is reached or not.

How the winner is decided?

After the auction closes, the bidder who has placed the "lowest and unique" bid (which is unduplicated and closest to zero) will be declared winner.

What happens if there is no lowest unique bid?

If a single Lowest Unique Bid has not been received by the close of an auction then the winner is determined by the lowest bid amount that has been placed by exactly two members. The member that placed this bid amount first will be deemed the winner. If an auction does not have a bid amount that exactly two members have placed then SmartBid will find the bid amount that three users have bid and apply the same rules.

Are the auctioned items used?

No, all of our auctions feature brand new factory sealed products with manufacturer's warranty!

Can I auction my own things?

No, SmartBid members are not allowed to auction their own things at this point.

What payment methods can I use?

We do our transactions with PayPal to ensure security of our members. If you don't have a PayPal account - don't worry. You can stil safely pay through your Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover card from the secure buy bids page without having to sign in to paypal.

How much does it cost for shipping?

We give our users complete control and total transparency in the shipping process. As soon as you pay the winning bid price, you will receive an automated Amazon gift code equivalent to the product price in your email address along with instructions how to redeem your product in Amazon. Most of the items ship for free from Amazon for ground shipping!

When will I receive the products?

We will try to send you Amazon gift code equivalent to product price as soon as the payment is made. If you have not recevied your gift code within 7 business days after you have paid for the item - please contact us.

What countries does Smartbid deliver to?

Currently SmartBid only ships items to US and Canada. If you are outside North America - send us your feedback. We'll consider expanding based on interest.

We use Amazon for most of our shipping to ensure timely and reliable delivery of the items. Please check Amazon's restrictions about shipping to outside of continental United states.

Can I get a refund on my bids?

Once bids are placed in an auction, they are non-refundable unless an auction is cancelled for any reason.

Can I refund an item I have won?

We want our members to enjoy the items they have won. But if for any reasons, you want to refund an item within 30 days of delivery- you can get a refund, no questions asked according to Amazon's return policy.

How old do I have to be to bid?

You must be at least 18 years old.

I’m not from the US, can I still bid?

Currently SmartBid.com only ships items to US and Canada. If you are outside North America - send us your feedback. We'll consider expanding based on interest.

Is SmartBid a lottery?

No, SmartBid is not a lottery. SmartBid members may affect the result and outcome of an auction by waging bids against one another and by acquiring skill for our auctions.

Didn't find an answer to your question?

Please submit a support request and we will try our best to answer your question.

Why do I see "Closing Soon" and not the bids left instead?

When an auction receives more than 50% of the maximum allotted bids for it to close, we show the closing soon indicator. next to it.
We don't show the exact number of bids, in order to avoid giving unfair advantage to the late bidders. We want our auctions to be fair for all and strategy based rather than a stroke of luck and sniping at the end.

How do I use the hint message?

SmartBid provides you with hints to help you locate the current lowest unique bid. The hint range changes with the lifetime of the auction. In the beginning, the hint range is within 5 cents giving you higher odds of finding the lowest unique at a very cheap price. As the auction goes on, the range increases in order to avoid giving the late bidders unfair advantage. You can use the multiple bidding feature to cover the full range of the hint to nullify the current lowest unique. (note that this may result in a bid outside of that range becoming lowest unique and you will be given a hint accordingly).

How do I change my password?

Please login to SmartBid with your existing credentials and then go to your My Account's "Change Password" section. You would be able to change your password from there.

What do I do, if I've forgotten my password or user name?

Click on the Forgot Password link. Once you have provided your email address that you used to sign up for SmartBid - we will send your username and a temporary password to your email address. Use those credetials to login. Once you successfully login, we recommend that you change your password to something you can remember.

Can I change my user name?

Unfortunately, your user name cannot be changed. If you have any concerns about your username, please contact our customer service.

How do I add or change my address?

Please go to your My Account's "Update Address" section. You would be able to update your address and phone number from there.

Can I change my email address?

Unfortunately, your email address cannot be changed. If you have any concerns about your email id, please contact our customer service.

How do I refer a friend to smartBid?

Why just keep the fun of getting crazy discounts to yourself? Spread the word among your family and friends and get free $5.00 in your SmartBid account for each new member that signs up and buys a bid package!

Bid Cost

Represents how much it costs to place a bid.

Bid early at half the price. For most auctions bid cost start at $0.75. Bid cost doubles to $1.50 at closing, when 50% or less of maximum bids left.

Bids Left

Represents how many bids left before the auction closes. When an auction receives more than 50% of the maximum allotted bids for it to close, we show "Closing Soon" in order to avoid giving unfair advantage to the late bidders.

Time Left

Shows how much time left before the auction will close regardless whether the max bids allocated for the auction is reached or not.

Max Bids

Represents the maximum allotted bids for the auction to close.

Not Unique

A bid is not unique if more than one bidders have placed a bid at that price. Use the hint to find and eliminate the current lowest unique bid.

Lowest Unique

A bid is lowest unique when currently no one else has placed a bid at that price and it's lowest among all other unique bids. This will be the winning bid if it remains the lowest unique when the auction closes.

Higher Unique

A bid is higher unique when currently no one else has placed a bid at that price but it's higher than the current lowest unique bid. This can become the winning bid if the lower unique bids are eliminated. Use the hint to find and eliminate the current lowest unique bid.

Hint Message

The hints are provided to help you locate and eliminate the current lowest unique bid. You can use the multiple bidding feature to cover the full range of the hint to nullify the current lowest unique.

My Status

My status panel shows your current status in the auction ie whether you hold the Lowest Unique, Higher Unique or Not Unique in that order.

Current Bidders

Current Bidders panel shows the bidders who are participating in the auction. We don't show initial bidders in order to avoid giving unfair advantage to early bidders.

Max Early Bid Limit

We only allow bidders to put down 20% of the early bids at discounted bid price. Any bid over this limit will be charged at closing bid price.
This limit is enforced to ensure fair auction for all bidders.

Why is my account disabled?

SmartBid accounts that have been reported or detected for policy violations may be disabled by SmartBid. Possible reasons include, but are not restricted to:

• Colluding with other members in order to unfairly manipulate auction outcome
• Creating multiple accounts from the same household

Please review SmartBid’s Terms & Conditions to learn more about specific types of conduct and that are not permitted on the site.

If you believe your account was disabled by mistake, please contact us.

What are the win limits?

Our current win limit is 7 regular auctions (beginner and reward auctions don't count in the limit) per 7 rolling days. Members are also prohibited to bid on the same product that they have won in last 7 days (for products over $250 - the limit is last 15 days) so that everyone else has a chance to win.

My Bids Breakdown

This panel shows the break up between your paid bids and free bids which you have accumulated through coupons, reward auctions or other promotions. Remember you can only play with your paid bids in our black friday special auctions.

Eligible Bids Back

This panel shows how many bids are eligible for bids back in case you don't win the auction. Remember only the discounted bids (for bids back auctions - you also get half of your bids back until last call) are elgible for the bids back special - so bid risk free in the early part of the auction.

All Bids Back Auction

Win or get all bids back in this auction. So bid risk free and win - remember only paid bids are allowed for this auction.

Early Bids Back Auction

Win or get all your early bids back in this auction. Remember only the discounted bids are elgible for the bids back special - so bid risk free in the early part of the auction.

Intermediate Auction

This auction is only open to users who have won less than 10 regular auctions.

Fair Bidding Policy

Blocking too many bids makes the auction unfair for rest of the bidders. When the auction is in "Closing Soon" stage - No more than 50 higher uniques could be blocked so that every one else has a fair chance to get back in the auction. Also, you are only allowed to place up to 40 bids simultaneously. After the "Last Call" email gets sent out (ie when less than 25% bids left) - No more than 25 higher uniques could be blocked so that every one else has a fair chance to get back in the auction. Also, you are only allowed to place up to 20 bids simultaneously.

For smaller auctions( total bids less than 150), the corresponding limits are 20 and 10 respectively. Please refrain from this kind of power bidding behavior and let the game be fun and fair for all.

How many bids should I buy?

That depends on what you're bidding for. Big-ticket items like iPads tend to attract more bidders and take more bids to win than smaller-ticket items like $25 gift cards. Remember, unused bid tokens are 100% refundable, with no questions asked. So don’t worry about being stuck with a bunch of extra bids if you win iPad with a single bid.

Bid Swap

Certain auctions are eligible to have their prize swapped for equivalent bids. Bid swap eligiblity is indicated in the auction description section.

The value of the bid package offered is our supplier's price, which may be lower than the listed retail price.

Bids Back Auction

Win or get all your early bids and half of your bids until last call back in this auction. Remember all your discounted bids and half of your bids upto last call are elgible for the bids back special - so bid risk free in the early part of the auction. Check "Eligible for Bids Back" label to see how much bids are eligible for bids back.

Lock Early Bird Discount

You need to place 1 closing soon bid to get all your early bird bids back in case you don't win. Otherwise you will only get back 75% of your early bird bids.

Did that answer your question? Or you have a suggestion, concern or technical bug to report. Please contact our friendly support staff. We'll do our very best to answer your concerns.