RBAI RBAI

How To Bid

Register to bid

Only registered bidders can participate in our online auctions. To register, select the 'Register' link displayed on any of the auction detail pages. Enter your contact information. When you submit your registration information, a message will appear on your screen as follows:

    Thank you for registering with Rene Bates Auctioneers, Inc.! In order to become an active bidder and to be eligible to bid, you must send a $100.00 (refundable) Deposit in the form of either a cashiers check or money order to:

      Rene Bates Auctioneers, Inc.
      Attention: Online Deposit Department
      1650 W. Virginia St., Suite 104
      McKinney, TX 75069

    PLEASE BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR PAYMENT SO WE KNOW WHICH ACCOUNT TO ACTIVATE!

You may utilize Pay Pal to submit your $100.00 refundable deposit only. When you register, a link to Pay Pal will be provided at that time. Please note that Pay Pal may only be utilized for the refundable deposit. We do not accept Pay Pal as payment for auction purchases.

Why is there a required deposit to bid?
We require each bidder to post a $100.00 refundable deposit to ensure that each of our bidders is a valid, qualified bidder. This deposit method has been implemented for the protection and security of each of our bidders. Each bidder knows that all bidders are valid and that they have met the same requirements that you have to be able to bid online. The $100.00 deposit is fully refundable. It activates your account and you can then bid on any of our auction items in all online auctions conducted. You can either leave the $100.00 in your online account, which will keep your online account active so you do not have to post the $100.00 each time you want to bid, or you can apply the deposit to your purchase. The only instance in which your deposit would not be refunded would be if you failed to pay for any items won under your bidding number.

How do I bid?
Select the auction you would like to view. When the bidding for the auction is open you will have the opportunity to enter Your Bid or your Maximum Bid for each item. Enter your bidding number and password at the bottom of the screen to submit the bid(s). You will then review your bid for accuracy. If you have made an error in your bid, this is your only chance to correct it. If your bid is correct as displayed, you will submit again for your bid to be registered.

How do I find out more about a posted item?
Each auction has a contact person for that particular seller. If you have any questions about an item, please contact the Seller.

What is a Maximum Bid?
A Maximum Bid is the highest dollar amount you are willing to pay for an item. Here is an example of using the Maximum bid feature: If you enter a Maximum bid the system will automatically bid on your behalf up to your Maximum bid amount. IMPORTANT: YOU DO NOT NEED TO PLACE A STANDARD BID IN ORDER TO PLACE A MAXIMUM BID. For example, let's assume that the next bid requirement is $100.00, you enter a Maximum bid of $400. If no other bids are placed on that item you will be the winner at your $100 bid. If another bidder places a bid of $200 on the item you will now be winning at the $200 plus 1 increment level (for example: $200 + $10 = $210).

May I raise my Maximum Bid?
You can also raise your Maximum Bid WITHOUT having to raise your own bid! Our Maximum Bidding Tool will now allow you to raise your Maximum Bid. For example, you originally placed a Maximum Bid amount of $50.00 and now you want to increase the maximum bid to $100.00 - all you need to do is submit another bid for the $100.00 bid in the "Maximum Bid" box. YOU DO NOT NEED TO PUT A BID IN THE "STANDARD BID" BOX.

What is a Bid Increment?
The Bid Increment is the minimum dollar amount required to raise the bid. Bid Increments will typically be in $5.00, $10.00, $20.00, $50.00 or $100.00 increments. You can bid higher than the minimum bid, or you may enter a Maximum bid, but you may not bid in denominations less than the set Bid Increment.

How does the auction end?
Each auction will end at a specified time. However, we use an auto-extend feature. With this feature, the bidding will remain open on any item that has received a bid within the last 5 minutes of its scheduled closing time. Once 5 minutes has elapsed without any bidding activity the bidding on the item will be closed. If there is more than one item in an auction the auction will have staggered ending times. When you click on "ALL ITEMS" in the Category List the first item that appears will close first. Each item will close one minute after the previous. For Example: If the auction is closing at 1:00 pm, the first item closes at 1:00 PM. The second item closes at 1:01 PM. The third item closes at 1:02 PM. This will continue until all items have closed. Also note that extended bidding is still in place. Therefore, if the first item goes into extended bidding the second item will still close at 1:01 PM and the third item will still close at 1:02 PM, etc. (unless they also go into extended bidding) while the first item is still in extended bidding. This scenario applies to all lots. If you have any questions regarding extended bidding, please contact us.

What is Auto-extend time?
The Auto-extend time feature will leave the bidding open for any item that has received a bid within the last 5 minutes of its scheduled closing time, even if the original ending time has been reached.

How can I make sure I am seeing the most current bidding information on the screen?
During the bidding process you will need to refresh or reload your page to ensure you are viewing the most current bidding screen.

How do I know I won?
If you are the high bidder, the system will send you an Invoice via email when the auction ends. The Invoice will have complete instructions on payment.

If I win, who, how, and when do I pay?
When you win an item you will receive an Invoice via email which will give you complete details of your purchase. Please refer to the FAQ section for complete details regarding payment.