Welcome to Trade Away's Reverse Auction game. Here are the guidelines on how to play. A few rules are outlined on this page, these need to be adhered too, so please read them.
Still trying to grasp how these work? If you think of a Reverse Auction as a bit like a raffle and you're trying to guess how many jelly beans there are in the jar, that would be a good similarity. The difference with a 'Reverse Auction' is you're trying to guess the LOWEST UNIQUE BID on an item.
Reverse Auctions are a game, to play and have some fun with, and if you guess the lowest UNIQUE bid win some wicked prizes! So look out for our 'Dice' icon and good luck!
Getting Started
To play 'Reverse Auctions' you will need to a member of Trade Away and also 'Address Verified'. Click here to Join and here to apply to become Address Verified
If you're not an 'Address Verified' member and you wish to play Reverse Auctions, that’s easy! Follow the steps through you’re My Account page. This process can take up to 5 working days, we post a verification letter and code to your home address. Sorry those are the rules.
You may have to wait a few days to place your bid, but don't worry generally these auctions run for a few weeks and if you miss out on this one there will be more in the future.
New members will receive $20.00 credit in their accounts, this can be used once Address Verified, to play 'Reverse Auctions'. Once these credits have been spent, you will need to credit your account to play on if you wish, click here to find out about Trade Away accounts
The key word here is 'Unique' and this means in this instance, "like no other, one of a kind, the only one". Reverse Auctions look like regular auctions, but they are totally different. Only Trade Away can list a 'Reverse Auction' item. We also offer this auction style to our local Charities and Not For Profit groups to fundraise, so spread the word.
These auctions work backwards, it is not the highest price that wins but the lowest unique bid that wins. So, we hear you say why doesn’t everyone just bid 0.1cents? Because it is the lowest unique bid that wins, basically the only one of it’s kind.
You will be able to see your bids in the listing when you're logged in, other members will not be able to see your bids. These are not revealed until the close of the auction.
You can still ask the seller questions regarding the item, there is no minimum bid increment; a set admin fee is charged for each bid placed and this is deducted from your Trade Away trading account. See below for the fee ratio for Reverse Auctions.
The winner in each auction is the bidder who bids the ‘lowest unique bid’ or ‘lowest unmatched bid’, after the required rumber of bids has been reached.
Reverse Auctions are offered exclusively to 'Trade Away Address Verified' members, why? Well we need your full details to be able to call you when you win! All players must adhere to our Terms & Conditions when bidding on Reverse Auctions.
Each Reverse Auction will have a different administration fee. If you think of like buying a ticket to guess how many jelly beans there are in the jar, you can make as many guesses as you like and hope you get it right and win all the jelly beans!
We need a pre determined number of players to register per Reverse Auction, that is the reserve, but as we are new at this we will be leaving the dates open on the first few auctions so we can promote this fun game and hopefully bring new players on board!
Decide what you would like to place a bid on, to win. Then try and guess the lowest unique bid; see below for the example of how this works.
The winning bidder does not have to pay their bid amount for the item; we simply give this to the winner!
Can you Play?
You must be over 18 years of age and a resident of Western Australia.
You must be a Trade Away member.
You must have 'Verified your Address' with Trade Away and have address verified status.
You must also have a minimum of $10.00 in your trading account.
An Example of a winning'lowest unique bid':
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Auction Item: Ipod Shuffle
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Recommended Retail Price: $100.00
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Required Number of Bids: 100
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Administration Fee: $2.00 per bid
At the conclusion of the auction (when the required number of bids has been met) the lowest ten bids might be as follows:
Bid 1 $0.01
Bid 2 $0.01 – Bids 1 and 2 are the lowest bids, but are not ‘unique’
Bid 3 $0.02
Bid 4 $0.02
Bid 5 $0.03 – WINNER – this is the lowest ‘unique’ bid the only amount like no other
Bid 6 $0.04
Bid 7 $0.04
Bid 8 $0.05 – ‘Unique’ bid, but not the lowest
Bid 9 $0.06
Bid 10 $0.06
Removing a bid? Unfortunately you cannot, in your My Bid's it will offer the cancel button but it won't actually cancel your bid; we are working on this function.
Bid IncrementsThere are no actual bid increments. Place your bids in cents. $4.09 - $5.65 - $34.89 - $00.30 etc
Remember you're trying to guess the Lowest Unique Bid amount
How Much To Play?
The admin fee charged to play Reverse Auctions will vary, these are based on the retail value per item being auctioned.
Items $0 - $1000 = $1.00 Admin Fee
Items $1000 - $5000 = $2.00 Admin Fee
Items $5000 - $10,000 = $5.00 Admin Fee
These are the only fees that are involved for Reverse Auctions. If you're the winning bidder the item will be won by guessing the 'lowest unique bid'. The winning bid amount is not deducted from your trading account and there are no success fees involved. The administration fee per auction will always be made very clear in the actual listing and these will be directly debited from your Trade Away account each time you place a bid.
Reverse Auction Duration If for any reason the Reverse Auction is not capable of running as planned due too (including but not limited to infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes), anything which may corrupt the integrity or proper conduct of the Reverse Auction, Trade Away reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the game.
If there is no unique lowest bid when the required amount of players has been reached, we will issue a statement pertaining to that fact and extend the auction until such a bid is made. The Item will be delivered to the address provided by the successful bidder within 30 business days.
Larger Items such as cars, boats, caravans and home entertainment systems may take longer to deliver depending on geographical location of the item and the successful bidder's nominated delivery address and government regulations. We determine the Reverse Auction closing time.
After the Reverse Auction Closes
The results of a Reverse Auction will be posted on the site. Trade Away will contact the winner by email and phone to arrange delivery of the winnings. The item will be dispatched to the address provided within 30 business days. Trade Away is responsible for all freight and delivery costs pertaining to the delivery of the item.
Unless you won the home and land package of course! We can't wait, how cool would that be to win a house for lets say $65 bucks! We hope the good folk of WA get excited about these auctions and that we get to give away some fantastic prizes!
Reverse Auction Rules
A person must be an Address Verified Member of Trade Away. Have a minimum of $10.00 credit in their trading account. Understand that a Reverse Auction is a game where the lowest unique bid wins the item being auctioned. By placing a bid in a Reverse Auction you agree to pay the relevant fees charged for this service. Reverse Auction fees are fully explained in the website Help pages and on this page. When you play Reverse Auctions Trade Away members must adhere to these rules.
Trade Away reserves without notice the right in its absolute discretion to cancel, withdraw, reject, suspend or ban a bidder and their bid at any stage during the Auction.
We offer more information on these auctions in our Help section, we appreciate that these are a relatively new style of auction and may take a bit of understanding!
If you have any questions please contact us reverseauction@tradeaway.com.au
