DVLA Personalised Registrations Timed Auction ... - DVLA Auctions

Issue 2 2013 I DVLA Timed Auction of Personalised Registrations
Maximum Bids and
Sliding End Times
Sliding End Time
The “Sliding End Time” is a mechanism to prevent auction sniping, or the practise of rival
bidders outbidding each other with just seconds to go before the deadline.
Every Lot has a published “End Time” clearly visible on the website at all times. This is the
deadline by which all bids must be received.
For Lots on which the winning bid changes in the last 30 minutes before the End Time, the
End Time will slide by 30 minutes to allow the underbidder the chance to bid again, thereby
allowing bidding to reach its natural conclusion.
To cause the End Time to slide, the bid must be a winning bid. This means the bid must
actually exceed the current hidden Maximum Bid.
Examples
To help explain the Maximum Bid & Sliding End Time features, please study the examples below:
Scenario A: End Time Does not Slide
Opening Scenario: Lot is due to end at 5pm and lot is with Bidder A at £900
Time Bidder Maximum Bid Current Winning Bid & Winner End Time
4.20pm Bidder A £1,000 £900 Bidder A 5.00pm
4.40pm Bidder B £910 £920 Bidder A 5.00pm
In this scenario, Bidder A has a Maximum Bid greater than his current winning bid. Bidder B
places a bid against Bidder A which is lower than Bidder A’s Maximum Bid. This simply
increases the hammer price to £920 in Bidder A’s favour. Importantly, as Bidder B never
outbid Bidder A, the End Time does not slide.
If no more bids are placed, the lot will sell at 5.00pm to Bidder A for £920 (even though his
Maximum Bid was £1,000).
Scenario B: End Time Slides
Opening Scenario: Lot is due to end at 5pm and lot is with Bidder A at £900
Time Bidder Maximum Bid Current Winning Bid & Winner End Time
4.20pm Bidder A £1,000 £900 Bidder A 5.00pm
4.40pm Bidder B £910 £920 Bidder A 5.00pm
4.50pm Bidder B £1,050 £1,010 Bidder B 5.30pm
In this scenario, Bidder A has a Maximum Bid greater than his current winning bid. Bidder B
places a bid against Bidder A which is lower than Bidder A’s Maximum Bid which has the
effect of increasing the winning bid price but still in Bidder A’s favour. Bidder B then increases
his Bid beyond Bidder A’s Maximum Bid. This places the winning bid with Bidder B at one
bidding increment (£10) greater than Bidder A’s maximum. Importantly, as Bidder B outbid
Bidder A, the End Time slides by 30 minutes to allow Bidder A to bid again.
If no more bids are placed, the lot will sell at 5.30pm to Bidder B for £1,010 (even though his
Maximum Bid was £1,050).
For more information about how the auction works, please contact SMA Vehicle Remarketing.
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