I won an auction: what happens next

You placed the high bid, the clock ran out, and you won. Here is exactly what happens from the close of the auction to having the animal on its way to you.

You are notified that you won

When the auction closes with you as the high bidder (at or above any hidden reserve), Creatures notifies you that you won. Your won listing also appears in your purchases, where you manage it from here.

Complete checkout

Winning an auction is a commitment to buy, and the next step is to pay for the animal.

• What you pay: your winning bid + the 5% buyer fee, with any delivery you add, and with any Creatures Credit or Wallet applied first. What you pay becomes the animal's cost basis in your Creatures finances.
• The bid hold vs. the payment: the small 5% hold placed when you bid was a pre-authorization to prove your bid was good. It is not your payment. At checkout you pay the full winning amount; the earlier hold is reconciled and does not double-charge you.
• Pay promptly: complete checkout soon after winning. The seller is expecting payment to move the sale forward, and paying quickly keeps everything on track.

Into the held-funds process

Once you pay, the auction purchase joins the same protected flow as any Creatures sale:

1. Your payment is held safely by Creatures. The seller is not paid yet.
2. The animal is delivered to you (you collect it, the seller delivers, or Creatures transport brings it).
3. You confirm delivery, which releases the funds to the seller right away.

So winning is the start of the purchase, not the end. The protections you would have on any Creatures purchase apply fully to an auction win. See Receiving your animal and confirming delivery for the delivery and confirmation step, and How buying works for the full money flow. There is also a "I Won An Auction: Now What?" walkthrough in this category.

Related information

• How auctions and bidding work
• Receiving your animal and confirming delivery
• When does the seller get paid? Your role as the buyer

Updated on: 23/06/2026