How do I register to bid?

Only registered bidders over the age of 18 can participate in Pelton Livestock online auctions. To register, select the Login/Register link on the right top side of the screen in the navigation bar. Register for a new account by entering your contact information, email address, desired password, etc. Once you submit the auction registration form, please follow the steps to validate your email. Prior to Sale day, view auction/lot you are interested in and for those sales that require approval to bid, click "request to bid" on any lot to be approved for bidding. Request will be sent to Seller and once approved, you will be notified that you can now bid live for that auction. Please keep your user information (email address and password) in a secure place as you can use the same account login for all online auctions hosted by Pelton Livestock. 

How do I get a bidder number for the auctions?

Each user will have one account under their email address (using the password you set up when you registered) that can be utilized for all auctions.

What are the features of My Account?

To view your account select Account on the top of the screen in the header menu. Within the Account page, you have the ability to view and edit your account, password, interests, notification preferences, watchlist as well as invoice and statement information for your account.

To view your watchlist and edit, bid and manage your selected lots.

To view all of your open and/or paid invoices and statements / payment history. Each invoice can be downloaded into a PDF by clicking on the blue 'Printer' button to the top right of each invoice.

How do I add Lots to my Watchlist?

A Watchlist is comprised of individual lots you would like to 'watch' within current and/or upcoming auctions. Your Watchlist can contain items from one auction or across multiple auctions and species. You can add as many or few items as you would like. Once an auction has ended, the items will be automatically removed from your Watchlist. To add items to your Watchlist, click on the eye icon at the bottom right corner of each lot. As items are successfully added to your Watchlist, a green box will appear in the right hand corner of your screen with this notification: Lot x has been added to your watchlist. If you would like to remove an item from your Watchlist, click on the eye icon again, and it will be removed. As items are successfully removed from your Watchlist, a green box will appear in the right hand corner of your screen with this notification: Lot x has been removed from your watchlist. To view your entire Watchlist, click on Watchlist on the left hand side of the screen in the navigation/menu bar.

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 (and your maximum bid) for each item. Simply login to your user account, request approval to bid, and once approved click on the yellow Bid button for each lot to submit the bid(s). 

How does Bidding Work?

Regular Bid v MAX Bid (autobid)

A Regular (single) bid can be placed as a one time bid for any amount. A MAX bid can be placed and set at your maximum amount you are willing to spend. With MAX Bid, our system will place your bid at the minimum amount needed to lead. When you are outbid, our system will bid automatically for you until your maximum is reached.

Who wins?

When two bids are placed for the same amount, the bid placed first based on the timestamp wins. Timestamps are set when the initial bid is placed, for MAX bids this is when a maximum was set not when the system prompted the bid to win.

Why are there bids with the same amount?

We list competing bids of the same amount to indicate what prompted a MAX bid to be placed. Otherwise, it would be unclear as to why a MAX bid was increased. For Example, Lot100 has a current amount of $1000 and a bid increment of $250. John placed an MAX bid at 1:00pm with a maximum amount of $2000. John is winning at $1500. Jill placed a bid for $2000 at 1:30pm. John's bid is increased to $2000 by our system. John wins because he committed to the amount earlier than Jill. The list shows both John and Jill at $2000 so we can see what prompted John's bid to increase.

How do I know if I am winning if there are no bidder numbers shown?

If you are watching the auction via a computer or via your mobile device, when you are winning the screen will show this message: You are winning! in green on the lot(s) you have the high bid on. If you get outbid, the message will change to: You have been outbid. in red on the lots(s). Winning Lots also have a Green Box around them and lots you have been outbid on will have a red Box around them.

How do I know if I got outbid?

If you get outbid on any lot within an auction, you will receive a notification based on the preferences you set up in your Account user profile registration. There are two outbid notification preferences you could possibly receive - a text alert sent directly to your cell phone, or an email sent to your registered email address, or both! Please note, if texts are your only method of notification, you are at the mercy of the cellular network. When cellular connections are spotty, often an email can go through but not a text. Click on Account on the top right of the screen in the header, then click on the preferences tab to manage your notification preferences. You may opt in or out of either of these options at any given time by selecting the options you prefer and Save Settings. If you are watching the auction via a computer or via your mobile device, when you are outbid, the screen will show this message: You have been outbid. If you would like to bid again on that lot, simply click on the yellow Bid button and Place Bid. 

How can I make sure I am seeing the most current bidding information on the screen?

During the bidding process you will not need to refresh your page to ensure you are viewing the most current bidding activity. The auction platform auto-refreshes the page, and the bidding is in real time. 

How do I find out more about a posted lot?

Contact information for the seller can be found at the top of each auction and also underneath each lot on a particular auction. If you have any questions regarding a specific 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. For example, let’s assume that you enter a bid of $2000 on a lot and maximum bid of $4000 If no other bids are placed on that item, you will be the winner at your $2000 bid. If another bidder places a bid of $2250 on the item you will now be winning at $2250 plus one increment level, $2250 + $250 = $2500. Your maximum bid is completely confidential and not revealed to the public or viewed by anyone other than you when selecting this feature. 

May I raise my Maximum Bid?

Yes, you have the ability to raise and/or lower your maximum bid at any given time while the auction is open for bidding. However, when lowering your maximum, you can not change the maximum bid price to lower than the current winning bid. 

What is a Bid Increment?

The bid increment is the minimum dollar amount that the bid must be raised. Bid increments will typically be in $250 increments. You can bid higher than the minimum bid increment (next required 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 as shown on the individual auction site. Ending time is typically 1 PM mountain, but this could change, so please visit the specific consignor's auction to confirm the closing date and time.

All auctions will utilize an auto-extend, horse race style closing. With this feature, the bidding will remain open on a lot item in the auction if there has been at least one bid received within the last 1 minute of scheduled closing (or the set extended bidding increment at the time). Once 1 minute has lapsed without any bidding activity, the bidding on that lot item will be closed. All lots will close in lot item sale order.

Please see the examples below – this is a sample and may or may not match the actual ending times.

• Example 1: LOT 1 closes at 2 PM. There is no bidding from 1:59 PM to 2 PM. LOT 1 is declared closed at 2 PM and the sale continues with LOT 2.
• Example 2: LOT 1 closes at 2 PM. There is a bid placed at 1:59 PM. Auction is extended by 1 minute until 2:01 PM. No more bidding occurs. LOT 1 is declared closed at 2:01 PM and the sale continues with LOT2.
• Example 3: LOT 1 closes at 2 PM. There is a bid placed at 1:59 PM. Auction is extended by 1 minute until 2:01 PM. Another bid is placed at 2:01 PM. No more bids are placed. LOT 1 is declared closed at 2:02 PM and the sale continues with LOT2.

NOTE: Sales may use a use a different auto extend threshold (120 seconds, 60 seconds, 30 seconds, etc.). Please visit specific consignor's auction to confirm the auto extend threshold.

What is the auto-extend time within the horse race style closing?

The auto-extend time goes into effect once the LOT item reaches its original ending time. The LOT will remain open for bidding if there has been at least one bid received within the last 1 minute of scheduled closing (or the set extended bidding increment at the time), even if the original ending time has been reached. Extended bidding means that the LOT is not declared closed until there has been 1 minute of inactivity on the entire auction. Each time a bid it placed, it resets the clock timer on the LOT back to the high water mark auto-extend time that is set.

How do I know I won?

If you are the high bidder, The auction system will email you to your registered user email address immediately after the auction has ended.

If I win, how and when do I pay?

When you win an item you will receive an email with the complete details of your purchase. All payments to be made to seller(s) per their terms and conditions at conclusion of the auction.

Is the auction platform mobile friendly?

Yes, the auction platform and entire site is mobile friendly. So, no matter the device (computer, cell phone, tablet, etc.) you are utilizing to view and/or bid on an auction, the site is responsive to your screen so you have the most optimum viewing and bidding experience.