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Terms

The terms a bid is placed under.

A bid on The Bid is a binding commitment to buy, so the terms behind it matter more than they would on a shop. They are being written properly.

01

Who we are, and who you are buying from

That the event organiser is the seller and the merchant of record, that The Bid runs the auction and takes payment on their behalf, and what that division means for you in practice.

02

Who can bid

That bidding is limited to people aged 18 and over, because a bid forms a binding contract, and what happens to an account that turns out not to meet that.

03

Your account and your pseudonym

What we need from you before your first bid, what other bidders can see of you, which is your pseudonym and nothing else, and when an account may be suspended.

04

How the auction works

The binding minimum, proxy bidding on your behalf, the three-minute anti-snipe extension, and the rule that settles a tie, which is that the earliest maximum wins.

05

A bid is a binding commitment

That the highest bid at close wins automatically, that there is no confirmation step and the organiser cannot decline, and that a bid cannot be retracted once placed.

06

Price, payment, and what you actually pay

That the price shown is the total with nothing added on top, how your card is authenticated before your first bid, and when a winning bid is charged.

07

If a payment fails

The window you get to put it right, what happens to the table during that window, and when a table may instead be offered to the runner-up at their own maximum.

08

Your right of withdrawal

Why the usual 14-day right to change your mind does not apply to a table at an event on a fixed date, and which rights you keep regardless.

09

If an event or a table is cancelled

What happens when an organiser cancels an auction or the event itself, who owes you what, and how quickly.

10

Our commission, and our agreement with organisers

What The Bid charges, who pays it, and why our fee does not change the price you see on a table.

11

Keeping the market honest

The rules against bidding on tables you have an interest in, the per-bidder ceiling, and what follows when a bidder fails to pay twice.

12

Liability, and who to bring a claim against

What each of us is responsible for, given that the organiser is the seller and we act as their agent, and the limits that apply to both.

13

Complaints, governing law and disputes

How to complain, which country’s law governs these terms, and where a dispute would be heard.

14

Changes to these terms

How we will tell you when these terms change, and which version applies to a bid you have already placed.

This page will carry a version number and an effective date once the text is final.