How it works

Create an account, confirm your email and phone number, and set up two-step sign-in with an authenticator app. Then pass an identity check: a photo of a government-issued ID and a matching selfie. The check is carried out by Stripe. We receive the result, your name and the type of document. We do not keep copies of your ID or selfie.

You must be 18 or over. If you bid for a company, you confirm you have its authority. The seller, and anyone connected with the seller, cannot bid.

For each lot you want to bid on, you accept the auction terms and pay a bidding deposit by card. The amount is shown on the lot page and is never more than 10% of the lot’s starting price. We then approve your registration, and you can bid.

If you do not win, the deposit is refunded in full within 3 business days after the lot closes. If you win, it is refunded in full once you have paid the price on time. It is kept only if you win and do not pay.

Each lot page lets you explore the business itself and sets out the facts, each with the date it was measured, and exactly what is included. Approved bidders also get a data room of supporting documents and can ask questions. Every answer is published to all approved bidders on that lot.

Do all of your checking first. A bid is not conditional on finance, further checks, advice or anything else.

Bids are in whole Australian dollars. You enter the most you are willing to pay: your maximum. It is kept hidden from everyone. The system then bids for you, one step at a time, only as far as needed to keep you in the lead, and never above your maximum.

So you often pay less than your maximum. While you are leading you can raise your maximum, which does not change the price. You cannot lower it.

The earlier bid leads. In the example, if Ben had entered exactly $9,000, the price would go to $9,000 and Ann would still lead, because she placed that maximum first. To take the lead, Ben would need to bid more.

Each lot shows its closing time. If a bid in the last 10 minutes changes the price or the leader, the close moves to 10 minutes after that bid. This repeats, with no limit, until 10 minutes pass with no such bid. Nobody can win by bidding in the final second.

The auction runs on our system’s clock. A bid counts when our system processes it, not when you sent it. The countdown on your screen is a guide and can lag, so do not leave a bid to the last seconds.

A bid is a binding offer to buy the lot at any price up to your maximum. Once placed, it cannot be withdrawn, cancelled or reduced. You are asked to confirm every bid, with the amount shown in figures and in words, before it is placed.

There is no reserve. When a lot closes, the highest bidder has bought it at the price shown, and a binding contract of sale is made at that moment. This does not take away any right you have under the Australian Consumer Law.

We send you a written record of the sale. You pay the full price within 5 business days into an Escrow.com transaction that we set up. The seller pays the escrow fee. Never pay anyone directly: we will not ask you to pay into a bank account by email.

Once the price is in escrow, the seller hands over everything listed on the lot page. You then have 7 days to confirm it was all delivered as described. When you confirm, or the 7 days pass without a written complaint, the money is released to the seller. The inspection period is for checking delivery against the description. It is not a right to change your mind.