Articles on: Buying

How auctions and bidding work

In a Creatures auction, the highest bid when the clock runs out wins, as long as the seller's reserve is met. Every bid is a binding offer to buy at that price plus the 5% service fee, so decide your top price before you start.

Read the auction first

Ends in counts down to the close. Dates and times show in your own time zone.
The current bid shows near the top of the listing, and Bids shows how many have been placed.
Reserve Not Met means the seller set a reserve: a hidden lowest price they will accept. If bidding ends below it, the seller doesn't have to sell. The label goes away once a bid meets the reserve.
Some auctions also offer Buy Now at a set price until the first bid.
Buyer Approval Required means you select Apply to Bid first, then bid once the seller approves you. See Buyer applications.

Place a bid

Type your bid. The box starts at the lowest bid you can place now.
Select Place bid.

Auction bid panel with the time left, the bid count, Reserve Not Met, the bid box, Place bid and Set up auto-bid

Each bid must beat the current bid by a step that grows with the price: $1 under $100, $5 from $100, $10 from $500, $25 from $1,000, $50 from $2,500, and $100 from $5,000.

The first time you bid on an auction, Confirm your bid opens. It shows Your Bid, the Service Fee that is held on your card now, and the Total Purchase Price.
Enter your card, tick I agree to the Terms, and select Place bid.

Confirm your bid showing the bid, the service fee placed as a temporary hold, and the total purchase price

Creatures saves that card. On later bids, a shorter Confirm your bid step shows your bid and the card for the hold. To change cards, select Use a different card under the bid box.

Signed in from a link in an email? Creatures may first email you a code. See Why Creatures asks for a code.

Let Creatures bid for you

Select Set up auto-bid, enter your Maximum auto-bid amount, and select Save auto-bid. When someone outbids you, Creatures bids again for you, only as much as needed, up to your maximum. The button then reads Auto-bid up to your amount. To stop, open it again and select Cancel auto-bid.

How the card hold works

The hold is 5% of your first bid on that auction, and at least $5. It isn't a payment, but it may show as a pending charge on your card. Raising your bid later doesn't add another hold.

Being outbid doesn't release the hold. If you don't win, or the auction doesn't sell, Creatures releases it after the close, and your bank usually clears it in 1 to 3 business days.

If you win, the hold is released after you complete checkout. If you don't pay within 72 hours of the close, Creatures may charge a Bidder Default Fee, up to the amount of your hold.

Expect the clock to move

Late bids push the close back. The listing says: "Bids placed in the final 2 minutes reset the auction clock to 2 minutes." In a sale event it's 3 minutes, and a late bid on any lot resets the clock on every lot still open. Set an auto-bid rather than counting on a last-second bid.

Sellers can hide the bid history or comments. Bidders may show as Bidder #1, Bidder #2 and so on. See Auction transparency.

If you win

Winning creates an amount due, not a finished payment. Pay it from Dashboard > Buying > Purchases within 72 hours: use the pay button on a single auction's card, such as Pay $2,150 now, or Pay auction wins for a sale event. See I won an auction: what happens next.

Updated on: 29/10/2026

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