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How it works

How auctions work on BIDZ

If you’ve never used an online auction, you’re exactly who this page is for. Most of Lebanon hasn’t — buying and selling here has always meant classifieds, WhatsApp groups and endless haggling. An auction replaces all of that with something simpler: a price that real people push up in real time, a clock, and a winner. Here’s the whole thing, start to finish.

The short version: four steps

  1. Find

    Browse live auctions in a feed built for speed — swipe through cars, phones, watches, whatever’s ending soon. Every listing shows the current price and a live countdown.

  2. Bid

    Tap to bid. A small refundable deposit is held when you enter an auction — that’s what keeps every bid serious. It comes straight back if you don’t win.

  3. Win

    Highest bid when the clock hits zero wins. Last-second bids extend the timer, so nobody steals it while you blink — the auction ends when bidding truly stops.

  4. Meet & pay

    You and the seller arrange the handover — inspect the item, pay in person, both confirm in the app. Then the deposit settles and you’re done.

The details, one concept at a time

Everything above is enough to place your first bid. The rest of this page explains each moving part properly — what it does, and why it exists.

What’s a deposit, and why does it exist?

A deposit is a small, refundable amount held from your account when you join an auction. Think of it as a handshake: it tells the seller — and every other bidder — that your bid is real.

If you don’t win, it’s released back to you automatically. If you win and complete the handover, it settles as part of the deal. The only way to lose a deposit is to win an auction and then walk away — that’s the point. It’s what makes a bid on BIDZ mean something.

Without deposits, auctions fill up with people bidding for fun and disappearing. With them, when you’re outbid, you know you were outbid by someone real.

The deposit amount is a percentage of your bid: [deposit %]

What does “reserve price” mean?

Some sellers set a reserve — a minimum price they’re willing to accept. If bidding ends below the reserve, the item doesn’t sell, and nobody owes anything.

You’ll always see whether a reserve exists and whether it’s been met, so there are no surprises when the clock runs out.

Why did the timer just get longer?

On old-school auction sites, the winning move was to hide until the final second and “snipe” the auction before anyone could react. That’s not a fair fight — it’s a fast internet connection.

On BIDZ, a bid in the closing moments extends the countdown, giving everyone a chance to respond. The auction ends when people stop bidding — not when someone with better timing hits a button. Expect the extension to be short:

[extension time]

What’s Buy Now?

Some listings have a Buy Now price — a fixed price at which you can skip the auction entirely and take the item immediately. If you love it and the price is right, you don’t have to wait for the clock.

What does BIDZ cost?

Browsing is free. Bidding is free — the deposit isn’t a fee, it’s your own money, held and returned.

When a sale completes, BIDZ charges a fee. We publish it plainly here because a marketplace that hides its fees is telling you something:

Buyer fee
[buyer fee]
Seller fee
[seller fee]

No hidden charges, no surprise line items at handover. If a number isn’t on this page, we don’t charge it.

What if something goes wrong?

Most deals end with two confirmations and a handshake. When one doesn’t, there’s a real process — not a support inbox that goes quiet.

If the item isn’t as described, or the other side doesn’t show up, you open a dispute in the app within the window below. You submit what happened, with photos or video as evidence. The BIDZ team reviews both sides and makes a ruling — including what happens to the deposit.

Dispute outcomes are part of a seller’s public track record, so a seller’s history of resolved and lost disputes is visible before you ever bid. Fairness isn’t a promise, it’s a record.

[dispute window]