How auctions and bidding work

In an auction listing, buyers compete by bidding, and the highest bid when the clock runs out wins. This guide covers every part of an auction so you can bid with confidence.

What you see on an auction

• Starting bid: the lowest opening bid the seller will accept. Bidding begins here.
• Current bid: the highest bid so far. The next bid must clear this by at least one increment (below).
• Reserve price (hidden): some auctions have a reserve, a minimum the seller is willing to sell at. The reserve amount is hidden from bidders. You are told when bidding is still below reserve, but not the number. If the auction ends below the reserve, the seller is not obligated to sell. If it meets or beats the reserve, the high bidder wins.
• Buy Now (before the first bid only): some auctions also show a Buy Now price that lets you skip the auction and buy outright. It is available only until the first bid is placed. Once anyone bids, Buy Now disappears and the auction runs to its close.
• The timeline / closing time: when the auction ends. Watch this, because the close can move (see sniping protection below).

Bid increments

Each new bid must beat the current bid by at least the minimum increment, which scales with the price so bidding stays sensible at every level:

You can always bid more than the minimum.

The 5% hold when you bid

Every time you place a bid, Creatures places a temporary hold on your saved payment method for 5% of your bid amount, or $5, whichever is greater.

• What it is: a hold (a pre-authorization), not a charge. It confirms your bid is backed by a real, working payment method, which keeps auctions honest and free of bids that cannot pay.
• What happens to it: if you are outbid, the hold is released. If the auction ends and you did not win, the hold is released after it closes. The hold is not your payment; it is separate from paying for the animal if you win.
• Why it exists: it is what lets everyone trust that the bids on the board are good. There is a dedicated explainer, "Why is there a 5% hold when I bid?", in this category.

Proxy bidding (automatic bidding)

You do not have to sit and watch the clock. Set a maximum bid and Creatures bids for you.

• How it works: you enter the most you are willing to pay. Creatures then bids on your behalf only as much as needed to keep you in the lead, one increment at a time, up to your maximum. It does not jump straight to your max. To settle on that maximum before the heat of bidding, a Crestimate gives you a data-driven read on what the animal is worth; see What is a Crestimate?.
• What it means for you: you stay the high bidder automatically until someone exceeds your maximum. If two people set maximums, the higher maximum leads, at one increment above the lower one. You are notified if you are outbid past your max, so you can decide whether to go higher.

Sniping protection (anti-snipe)

To stop last-second bids from sneaking past everyone, a bid placed in the final moments extends the closing time.

• How it works: if a bid lands in the last couple of minutes, the clock resets to give everyone a fair chance to respond. For a standalone auction the extension is about 2 minutes; auctions that are part of a sale event extend by about 3 minutes.
• What it means for you: you do not lose simply because someone bid one second before the end. The auction only truly closes once the final minutes pass with no new bids.

Winning

When the auction closes and you are the high bidder (at or above any reserve), you have won. You are notified, and you complete checkout to pay for the animal. From there it is the normal purchase flow: your payment is held by Creatures and the seller is paid only once you confirm delivery. See I won an auction: what happens next.

Related information

• How buying works: payments, held funds, and protection
• I won an auction: what happens next
• Saving searches and using your watchlist

Updated on: 23/06/2026