Stage 1: Collection of pre-bids (Timed Online)

Begins when the catalogue is published online and lasts until the start of the live auction. Any user with an approved account can place a maximum bid on the lot page.

Stage 2: The live auction (Live)

The live session does not start from the catalogue starting price, but from the current price formed during Stage 1.

If a lot has a starting price of €100 and someone places a pre-bid of €100 (or more), the starting price automatically becomes the current price.

Any subsequent bid must exceed this current price by at least one bidding increment (a predetermined fixed value, e.g., €10, €50, etc., depending on the lot value).

The platform protects the bidder's budget. The system will not display your maximum amount publicly, but only the minimum amount necessary to keep the lead.

Practical example: the lot has a starting price of €100 and the bid increment is €10.

Bidder A enters a maximum pre-bid of €500 in Stage 1. The platform does not jump directly to €500. The current price becomes €100 (the bid being equal to or higher than the starting price). The platform keeps the remaining €400 “in reserve” to defend Bidder A.

Bidder B places a bid of €150. The automatic (proxy) system instantly reacts for Bidder A and increases the current price to €160 (one increment above Bidder B). Bidder A remains the leader, saving the rest of the funds until their €500 cap.

At the start of Stage 2 (the live auction), the opening price for that live session will be exactly this current price established at the end of Stage 1.

The system monitors the status of each bid in real time and generates specific notifications (Winning Bid, Outbid or Exact Tie) only when a participant's position changes.

Winning Email (Winning Bid) - Sent to a user if they place a new bid that puts them in first place, or if they were already the leader but another participant increased the current price (forcing the proxy to place an extra increment to keep them winning).

Outbid Email (Outbid) - Sent instantly to the user who was dethroned from first place or whose entered maximum is lower than the updated current price.

Exact Tie Email - Sent when two users enter exactly the same maximum amount. The platform applies the time-priority rule: the one who placed the bid first remains the leader, and the second receives a special email informing them that they lost by an equal amount.

If an active bid is cancelled/deleted (by an administrator or the user), the platform's algorithm triggers an automatic full recalculation of the lot's history from scratch.

Because the bid that caused the price increase is removed from the database, the system replays the remaining bids, which generates two unique notification situations.

Becoming the winner with the same amount - A user who was initially declared the loser (due to a tie or being narrowly outbid) can now become the current leader of the lot. They will receive a Winning email.

Becoming the winner at a lower amount - If the cancelled bid was the one that forced the proxy system to raise the price artificially, the current lot price will automatically drop to the next logical step generated by the remaining competitors. Thus, the user not only becomes the winner again, but the price they will have to pay decreases.

Scenario A: Standard bidding and time priority

Moment 1: User A enters a secret maximum of €300. Current price: €100. User A receives a Winning email for the €100 amount.

Moment 2: User B enters an identical maximum of €300. The system applies time priority: User A remains leader because they bid first, and the proxy uses A's reserve to match B's maximum. The current price becomes €300. User A receives a new Winning email at the updated price of €300 (they were forced to reach their maximum), and User B instantly receives a Losing email for the same amount.

Scenario B: Cancellation of a bid (price decrease and change of winner)

We continue from the stage where the lot reached the current price of €300, with User A leading and User B having lost on equal terms.

Moment 3: User C places an aggressive bid with a maximum of €500. C's maximum exceeds the current leader's (€300), and the system adds one bidding increment above the old threshold. The current price becomes €310. User C receives a Winning email, and User A receives an Outbid email.

Moment 4 (Cancellation): User C's bid is cancelled in the system. The system deletes C's bid and reanalyzes the lot using only the remaining bids (A and B, both €300). Since the competing €500 bid no longer exists, the forced €310 disappears and the remaining bids are replayed automatically. The new current price returns to €300. User A becomes the legitimate leader again and receives a new Winning email confirming they are back in first place at €300.