Bidder Guarantee Program
Automated approvals with payment guarantees
What is the Bidder Guarantee Program?
LiveAuctioneers has introduced the Bidder Guarantee Program to ensure the best bidders can bid right away in their favorite auctions, without the hassle of undergoing an approval process. We want to delight bidders and auction houses by facilitating high-value bids when intent is strongest, and we’re willing to absorb the risk in the unlikely event there’s a dispute.
This program is free and exclusively available to auction houses using LivePayments (if you are not yet enrolled in LivePayments, contact your account manager to begin the enrollment process).
Program Details:
- LiveAuctioneers has identified some of the best bidders on the platform (based on their previous auction history) and labeled them as “Premium Bidders” - this is indicated by a star (in the classic dashboard) and gem in the new bidder approval UI on Bidder Approval page
- We recognize that no bidder is perfect, but with our criteria, we’re willing to back purchases made by Premium Bidders with our Bidder Guarantee
- All Premium Bidders will be automatically approved for upcoming sales, saving you time on manual approvals, while also protecting you in the event of a dispute or non-paying bidder
How does the Bidder Guarantee Program auto-approve rule work?
When an auction house joins the program, we ensure that they have the Bidder Guarantee Program auto-approve rule turned on.
Who gets auto-approved:
- All Premium Bidders who register for your auctions
Who is not approved:
- Any bidder on your Blocked Bidders list
- Any bidder who may have an open dispute with you.
What happens when a Premium Bidder doesn’t pay for the item they won?
The Bidder Guarantee Program is designed to save you time, but also protect you in the event a bidder doesn’t pay for an item.
How it Works:
- If a Premium Bidder has not paid for their item, you will need to mark a dispute on the End of Auction report (EOA) - our team will receive a notification and work with you to resolve the issue
- Any Premium Bidder disputes of up to $5,000 will be paid by LiveAuctioneers within 7 days after a dispute is confirmed following an internal investigation.
- For Premium Bidder disputes exceeding $5,000, you will receive an initial covered payment of $5,000 within 7 days after a dispute is confirmed following an internal investigation. LiveAuctioneers will attempt to facilitate the transaction with the winning bidder. In the event the winning bidder cannot complete the purchase, LiveAuctioneers will attempt to complete the sale with the underbidder. If the item cannot be sold to another bidder, LiveAuctioneers will work with you to determine whether to re-list the item for sale. Once the sale is completed, you will receive the full purchase amount minus the $5,000 covered payment. Should you choose to, you can decline the $5,000 covered payment and re-list the item yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if a bidder is covered under the Bidder Guarantee Program?
Refer to the End of Auction report (EOA). In the Premium Bidder column, you will see either a “yes” or “no” indicating each bidder’s status for the auction. If the Premium Bidder column on the EOA shows a “yes,” then that bidder can be covered by the Bidder Guarantee Program in the case of a dispute. If there is a “no,” then that bidder cannot be covered.
Premium Bidder statuses can change as bidders are active on LiveAuctioneers, and the status shown on the EOA is essentially a snapshot of their status at the time of registration approval for that specific auction.
The Premium Bidder status for a particular bidder has changed. Why is that?
As a bidder spends time on LiveAuctioneers, their bid and purchase history may change. Based on the actions they take, this could affect their Premium Bidder status.
What happens when a Premium Bidder is auto-approved, but then loses that status before the auction?
They will be moved from Approved back to Pending, awaiting your manual approval. A Premium Bidder icon will no longer be present for the bidder and purchases made by them will no longer be covered under the program.
How can a bidder be a Premium Bidder if they have an open dispute? Will they still get auto-approved?
A Premium Bidder may only have one open dispute. Any bidder on our platform (Premium or not) will be suspended by LiveAuctioneers once they have two or more open disputes. Getting suspended means that the account is no longer in good standing, which is one of the requirements to be a Premium Bidder.
Premium Bidders who have an open dispute will still be auto-approved EXCEPT for when the open dispute is with that particular auction house. Additionally, Premium Bidders who are on your Blocked Bidders list will not be auto-approved for that house.
We have carefully designed our Premium Bidder qualifications and stand by them with our guarantee.
Do bidders know their Premium Bidder status?
Not at this time. We don’t want to inform Premium Bidders of their status in case they view it as a way to get out of paying for a won item.
Once an auction house joins the Bidder Guarantee Program, how long does it take to officially be enabled for their auction?
Almost immediately! Once an auction house opts-in to the program, it will be enabled for any upcoming sales. Purchases made by Premium Bidders that have been auto-approved will be covered under the program.
The Bidder Guarantee Program sounds too good to be true. Is there a catch?
Nope! This program ensures the best bidders can bid right away in their favorite auctions, without the hassle of undergoing an approval process. We want to delight bidders and auction houses by facilitating high-value bids when intent is strongest, and we’re willing to absorb the risk in the unlikely event there’s a dispute. It’s a true win-win!
How do I Enroll?
Go to your Auctioneer Dashboard and click on the Bidders tab > Automation Settings > Bidder Guarantee Program > Enroll.
Please thoroughly read our program Terms and Conditions for more information.