How it works
How liquidation auctions work, first bid to pickup day
The catalogue opens, the lots close on a soft close, and you collect. Every step is written down here, including the ones that cost money.
What you actually have to do
Register on HiBid with a card. Bid on the lots you want. If you win, pay within 48 hours, book your pickup appointment, bring photo ID, and collect by Saturday at 3:00 PM, or request shipping. The only hard part is deciding what a lot is worth to you.
How do liquidation auctions work?
Six stages, start to finish
- 1
The auction opens
A new catalogue goes live each week and closes the following Wednesday at 7:00 PM Eastern. A soft close extends a lot rather than letting it be sniped.
- 2
You browse and bid
No reserve. Highest bidder wins. Every bid is binding. Opening bids start low, and many lots open at $5. Lots that receive no bids may be offered again in a later auction.
- 3
You win, and we invoice
Winners are invoiced automatically: your bid, the buyer premium, per-lot handling and HST. An email arrives with the link.
- 4
You pay within 48 hours
Payment is due in full within forty-eight (48) hours of auction close. For eligible customers, the card on file may be automatically charged after close unless another payment method was requested at registration. Accepted methods: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, debit, Interac e-Transfer, and cash at pickup.
- 5
You choose pickup or shipping
Pickup runs for three days after each auction closes, by booked appointment, and produces a scannable code. Or we pack, rate and label it.
- 6
You collect before the deadline
All items must be picked up, or shipping requested, by Saturday at 3:00 PM following the auction. If an item is not collected and no shipping has been requested by then, we will notify you by email and text message, and you will have seven (7) more days to collect it or request shipping. A storage fee of $5.00 per lot per day applies from the Saturday deadline, and you authorize us to charge it to your card on file. An item still not collected or requested seven (7) days after that notice is deemed abandoned, and you authorize us to resell it on your behalf. Your original purchase is not cancelled or refunded. From the resale proceeds we deduct the storage fees, an abandonment fee equal to the greater of $25.00 or twenty-five percent (25%) of your original lot price, and the costs of resale; any remaining balance is held for you and paid on written request. Two abandoned purchases result in permanent suspension of bidding privileges.
The formula is published. The invoice proves it.
Your bid, 15% premium, $1.50 per lot or $10 for a pallet lot, HST. Run any figure through the calculator, then check it against the invoice at close.
Your invoice
SUM-44-0142
- 101Cordless drill kit$50.00
- 118Robot vacuum$40.00
- 204Patio heater$20.00
- Hammer$110.00
- Buyer premium, 15%$16.50
- Handling, $1.50 per lot$4.50
- HST$17.03
- Total$148.03
Live portal, sample data shown.
Bidding runs on HiBid
We build the catalogue here; the bid is placed on HiBid, where a free account gets quick approval.
Pickup
Booked, staged, loaded
Book your slot
the moment you win
Arrive
on your booked time
Barcode check-in
your order is already staged
Loaded
pulled and staged before you arrive
Tell us inside your claim window
If a New / Overstock, Grade A or Grade B item has a major functional fault, tell us and we make it right. A check, not a warranty.
Whatever the grade and whatever the window, a wrong or misdescribed item is always reviewable. Final sale means final on condition, never on a listing that was wrong.
New / Overstock, Grade A and Grade B items carry a claim window for major functional defects of twenty-four (24) hours from pickup or confirmed delivery, seven (7) days for accounts verified as resellers, and fourteen (14) days only under a signed reseller addendum. Grade C and Grade D items are final sale as to condition. Regardless of grade, an item that is the wrong item or materially misdescribed is always reviewable.