How does a traditional (English) auction work?

In this article, you'll find answers to the most frequently asked questions on the course of a traditional, English Fluenta Auction event.

1. Why are there two bidding fields for each item?

   
   In traditional, English auctions, the system tries to make sure you don't accidentally send the wrong bid because of a typo, so as a security check, you must enter each bid twice.
   
   

2. I've submitted a faulty bid, how can I delete it?

   
   Only organizers have the option to delete faulty bids. If you've accidentally submitted an incorrect bid, please contact the auction's organizer as soon as possible.
   
   

3. Why can't I see the other participants or the best price?

   
   

   In blind auctions, you can only see your own ranking, while in non-blind ones, you can see the current best price as well.
   You can check whether the auction you've been invited to is blind on the auction's overview page, by clicking the auction's title.

4. The auction has been suspended, what happens now?

   
   It's subject to the organizer's decision. Auctions are usually suspended for technical reasons, and the auction usually continues after a short break. For more detailed information, please contact the organizer.
   
   

5. Why has the auction been extended?

   
   A system message on the top part of the bidding page should include the reason for the extension.
   It's possible that the organizer has extended the auction manually; for more detailed information, please contact the organizer.
   The other possibility is that, if the organizer has set this feature up, the auction was extended automatically. In this case, the system monitors the bids in a given timeframe, and extends the auction if a valid or rank-changing bid is submitted, to give participants a chance to react to the bid. You can check whether this is set up by clicking the auction's name, in the overview of the auction.
   
   

6. Where is the Excel file I'm supposed to bid in?

   
   Enter the overview of the auction by clicking its name in the list view on the Auction / Start page. On the right side of the top table, next to "Template for bidding by Excel", there should be a downloadable file.
   
   

7. I can't download or upload the Excel bidding file.

   
   To bid via Excel file, you need to enable pop-ups in your browser.