1. Auction Rules
MineralBids uses an auction system with automatic bidding enabled.
The same auction rules apply to all users and all auctions.
All auction times on our platform are displayed and calculated in UTC (UTC + 0).
1.1 Binding Bids
All bids are binding
Once placed, bids cannot be withdrawn
Bids placed by mistake cannot be cancelled
By bidding, you commit to purchasing the item if you are the winning bidder
2.2 Automatic Bidding
MineralBids uses an automatic bidding system:
You may place a maximum bid
The system automatically increases your bid only as needed
The minimum bid increase follows the rules below
Automatic bidding continues until your maximum bid is reached
The current bid, number of bids, reserve status, and time remaining are updated live on the site with a small delay.
3. Automatic Bid Increments
Bid increments are standardized and depend on the current bid price.
| Current Bid (€) | Automatic Increment (€) |
|---|---|
| From start price up to €25 | €1 |
| €25 – €50 | €2 |
| €50 – €86 | €3 |
| €86 – €120 | €4 |
| €120 – €500 | €5 |
| €500 – €750 | €10 |
| €750 – €1,000 | €15 |
| €1,000 – €1,500 | €20 |
| €1,500 and above | €25 |
These increments:
Apply automatically
Are the same for all users
Cannot be manually overridden
4. Reserve Prices
Some auctions may include a reserve price set by the seller.
If the reserve price is not met, the item will not be sold
The reserve status is displayed during the auction
The reserve amount itself may not be visible
The start price will not increase if the reserve price is not met
5. Buy Now Items
Some listings may include a Buy Now option.
If an item has a Buy Now price:
The first buyer to use Buy Now purchases the item immediately
The auction ends instantly
All existing bids are cancelled
The item is no longer available for bidding
Buy Now purchases are final.
6. Auction Overtime
To keep auctions fair and prevent last-second “sniping”, we use an automatic overtime system.
Rule:
If a bid is placed within the last 4 minutes of an auction
The auction end time is automatically extended by 5 minutes
This process repeats every time a valid bid is placed in the final 4 minutes.
⏱️ In other words:
As long as bids keep coming in near the end, the auction stays open.
7. Technical Functionality
MineralBids uses custom systems to:
Refresh bid counts
Refresh current prices
Display reserve status
Update auction timers in real time
While every effort is made to ensure accuracy and reliability, MineralBids is not responsible for:
Temporary delays due to connectivity issues
User-side device or browser problems
Third-party service interruptions
8. Fair Use & Integrity
Any attempt to:
Manipulate auctions
Artificially inflate bids
Interfere with automatic bidding
Abuse platform features
may result in:
Bid cancellation
Account suspension or termination
9. Bidder Identity & Nicknames
To balance transparency and privacy, MineralBids currently applies the following policy regarding bidder identities:
Public nicknames are not allowed
During auctions, bidder identities are partially masked
Only the first and last letter of a bidder’s username may be displayed
MineralBids reserves the right to modify this policy in the future, including:
Fully hiding bidder identities
Introducing controlled or system-generated nicknames
Changing how bidder information is displayed publicly
Any such changes will be applied platform-wide and communicated clearly to users.
10. How Bid History Works
MineralBids uses an automatic bidding system (sometimes called proxy bidding) to ensure fair and efficient auctions.
What you see in the Bid History
The Bid History shows only bids that were actively placed by users.
This means:
When a user manually places a bid or enters a maximum bid, it appears in the bid history.
Each entry represents a real bidding action taken by a user.
Why some price steps may not appear
When automatic bidding is enabled, the system may automatically increase the current price on behalf of a bidder to keep them in the lead.
These automatic increases:
Happen instantly
Are based on the bidder’s previously entered maximum bid
Do not count as new user actions
May change the current auction price without appearing as a separate line in the bid history
Example:
User A places a bid at €10
User B has a higher maximum bid
The system automatically raises the price to €11 to keep User B in the lead
In this case, €11 is the current price, but it does not appear as a separate bid because no user manually placed that amount.
This ensures fairness
Automatic bidding:
Prevents last-second micro-bidding
Keeps auctions competitive without requiring constant manual bids
Treats all bidders equally using the same rules
The current price and leading bidder are always accurate, even if some intermediate price steps are not shown in the bid history.
Bidding History “Short” confusion
Our Auction System logs:
The maximum bids
Not the internal comparisons
Here is an example:
Bidder A → 20 € (1st bid)
Bidder B → 20 € (2nd bid)
Frontend shows:
Only the leading bid at 20 €
The losing max bid at the same value is not shown separately
This avoids exposing:
Ties
Bid order
Losing bidder strategy
This is intentional privacy-wise.
If you have any questions about how bidding works, feel free to contact us — we’re happy to help.
11. Questions
For questions related to:
Shipping → contact the seller
Auctions or bidding rules → contact MineralBids