New User FAQ's | Bidder & Buyer FAQ's
How do I search for things on auctions.searsliquidations.com?
Searching on auctions.searsliquidations.com is fast and simple! Through our Advanced Search facility, you can look for specific items by title description, listing number, seller name, listing format, category and more!
You will be able to sort listings within a category by listing number, item title, current price, bid count and time remaining. When you have located an item you are interested in, click on the item's title link to see its listing page.
How do I bid on an item I am interested in?
When you have located an item you are interested in, click on the item's title link to see its listing page.
On each item listing page there is a Bid button which you must click on to place your bid.
If you do not see a Bid button on the listing page, then the listing is not yet open for bidding. The "Remaining Time" field will say: Listing Not Yet Open. Please refer to the "Starting On" field to see when the listing will open to accept bids.
To place a bid, you must first enter your Logon information, if you haven't done so already. An opening bid should be either your SmartBid (the maximum amount you would be willing to pay for the item), or the "Highest Bid" amount plus the bid increment (the "Next Bid" amount) as shown on the item page. You will be notified by e-mail if your maximum bid has been surpassed by another bidder.
Remember, you must be registered before you can begin bidding on items. Don't worry! Registration is free and easy! Just click on the "Register" link on auctions.searsliquidations.com.
Is there a charge to place bids?
No. Browsing and Bidding for merchandise on auctions.searsliquidations.com is free. As a buyer, you are not obligated to buy anything on auctions.searsliquidations.com after you have registered. You are welcome to drop by any time and look around. If you see something you would like to bid on you can do so quickly as a registered member.
Do I need to use a credit card to bid?
Yes. To ensure fair bidding, a valid Visa or MasterCard credit card or Discover credit card will be required to bid on any item. Your credit card information is required only for the first time you place a bid on auctions.searsliquidations.com. All additional bids will not require credit card verification.
Your credit card is required for personal identity validation only. Credit card verification may pre-authorize charges to your card, where indicated in the item description, to pay for an auction item if you are a successful auction winner. All authorized, or pre-authorized, credit card payments for winning bids will be processed through our secure payment servers.
By providing your valid credit card information, you authorize auctions.searsliquidations.com to make a temporary $5.00 USD charge to your credit card account, to verify that the credit card information you provide is valid. This charge will be refunded to your account within 30 days upon verification. This credit verification will occur each time you provide a different credit card in the bidding process.
If you need to update your credit card information, you can do so anytime from the My Account page, within the section called Manage My Account > Update Credit Card Info.
Can I ask auctions.searsliquidations.com a question before I place a bid?
Yes. You may contact auctions.searsliquidations.com before placing a bid from the listing page by clicking on the Contact Us link if you require additional information about the item, the payment terms, or would like to determine shipping and handling costs.
What is an Open Auction?
In an Open Auction, buyers bid until the auction ends. The item is then sold to the highest bidder at the end of the auction period. There is no reserve price for this auction type. The seller must sell the item to the highest bidder. Bidding can start as low as the Opening Value (minimum price or starting amount) of the auction.
Once the auction closes, e-mail notification providing contact information is sent to the buyer and seller automatically so that arrangements for payment and shipment of the item can be determined.
What is a Dutch Auction?
A Dutch Auction occurs automatically on auctions.searsliquidations.com when a seller has multiple, identical items offered for sale. The seller specifies the minimum price (the Opening Value) and the number of items for sale. Bidders can then bid at or above the minimum price for the quantity of items they wish to purchase. At the close of the auction, all winning bidders purchase the items at the same price, which is the lowest successful bid.
What is a Fixed Price Sale?
Fixed Price Sale listings have a fixed price set by the seller and buyers simply choose to buy the item at that price. Fixed Price listings will remain active until either all items have been sold, or the listing duration has reached 90 days. If multiple quantities are posted, the listing will remain active until all remaining items are sold out, or until the 90 day listing duration has expired. The available quantity will be updated on the listing page each time an additional item is sold.
Once the fixed price is met, e-mail notification is sent to the buyer and seller automatically and, depending on the quantity available, the listing will close.
What is SmartBid?
Smartbid is proxy bidding system on auctions.searsliquidations.com. Each time you place a bid by entering your maximum bid amount (which is the most you're willing to pay for a item), you will be using our SmartBid bidding system. SmartBid will then bid automatically, on your behalf and at the lowest possible bid increments, until your maximum bid amount is reached. That's all there is to it!
The goal is to win an item at the lowest successful price. To do so, you must be the bidder who placed the highest maximum bid at auction close. You will be notified by e-mail if your maximum bid has been surpassed by another bidder. In case of a tie for high bidder, earlier bids will take precedence.
What is a "maximum bid" amount?
Your maximum bid amount is the highest price you are willing to pay for an item.
You should determine beforehand the most you are really willing to pay for an item and then enter a single bid at that amount in the Bid Amount field. An early bid supported by a high maximum bid amount can make you a winner!
Protected Maximum Bid Amounts
A current high bidder's maximum bid amount will remain "protected" (will not be viewable to other bidders in the Bid History) until auction close, while all other next high bidders' current bid amounts will be viewable during the auction. Having the current high bidder's maximum bid amount protected during the auction encourages bidders to submit their maximum bid amounts according to their desire to purchase the item, and not bid only in accordance with the current "Next Bid" amount for a listing.
With Open Auctions, your protected maximum bid amount (if you are a current high bidder) will not be shown to other bidders until after the auction closes.
Lowest Successful Price
The goal when using SmartBid is to win a item at the lowest successful price. To do so, you must be the bidder who placed the highest maximum bid at auction close. The lowest successful price may not necessarily be the maximum bid amount you submitted to win the auction, unless there was a tie. Typically, the lowest successful price is the next highest bidder's maximum bid amount plus the stated bid increment.
Can I increase my maximum bid after I've placed a bid?
Yes. If your maximum bid amount has been outbid, you can either place another maximum amount or enter each subsequent bid one at a time. Please note that you can only increase a subsequent maximum or incremental bid.
What is my Watch List?
You can use the Watch List feature on auctions.searsliquidations.com to keep track of items you're not yet ready to bid on, but want to monitor closely so you can bid on them when you're ready. You can review the full list of items you're watching at anytime when you go to the Manage My Active Bids section of your My Auction Account and click on the ''View My Watch List' link.
I placed a bid. Why isn't it showing up?
There are 4 steps to placing a bid on an auction. You must complete all 4 steps in order for our system to record and display your bid in a listing's Bid History.
- Click on the Bid button on the listing page of the item you are viewing. You will be asked to Logon, if you haven't done so already. Then, scroll to the bottom of the page where you can enter your SmartBid (maximum bid amount per unit).
- Click on the button that says Submit Bid for Listing #...
- Scroll down the Bid Confirmation page, review your bid information, and check it for accuracy. At this point, you will have the opportunity either to go back and modify or correct the desired quantity and bid amount or submit your bid.
- To place your confirmed bid simply click on the Submit Bid button again.
When reviewing an item's Bid History after having placed a bid, you should reload, or refresh, your browser so that it displays the most current information.
I keep bidding on an item and then it says I have been outbid. Why?
When this happens, it means that an earlier bidder has placed a maximum bid amount which is higher than the amount of your maximum bid.
When you placed your bid, the SmartBid system immediately placed another bid on the earlier bidder's behalf, for an amount just high enough (i.e., plus the bid increment) to outbid your maximum bid amount, insuring his position as high bidder.
If the maximum bid that you place is high enough to outbid any other bidders, then SmartBid will do the same for you and maintain your position as the current winning bidder.
I have confirmed my bid, but it tells me it is invalid: why?
There are two reasons why a confirmed bid can be considered invalid:
- You have entered an invalid value in the "Bid Amount" field. Make sure that your bid amount contains only numbers and decimal points, i.e., 45.00 . Do not enter any dollar signs ($) or commas (,) into the bid amount field.
- Your bid amount is less than the "Next Bid" value. Make sure that your bid is equal to or greater than the current "Next Bid" value shown on the listing page.
Yes - but your confirmed bid can only be retracted under special circumstances should you choose to submit a formal bid retraction request. The customer service link should take you to the webform.
Once you have submitted your confirmed bid, it can only be retracted under the following circumstances:
- You made a typographical error when placing a bid amount.
- New item information added by the seller changed your understanding of the item for which your bid was placed.
- You cannot reach the seller via e-mail, or your question to the seller is returned as undeliverable, or the seller responds with a request to sell to you directly off-line.
- You have submitted your valid bid retraction request to auctions.searsliquidations.com not less than 24 hours before the auction closes.
- You have placed bids on a similar item.
- You have placed a bid on a Dutch Auction.
- You have changed your mind.
- You state that you cannot pay for the item.
- You submit a bid retraction request less than 24 hours before auction close.
Where can I monitor my bidding activity?
You can monitor all your bidding activity from within the Manage My Active Bids section of the My Auction Account.
How do I find out if an auction has ended?
You can locate an auction you have bid on from within the Manage My Active Bids section of the My Auction Account, or by entering the listing's listing number, if known, from the Search page.
What do I do if I win an auction?
If you are the winning bidder when an auction closes, auctions.searsliquidations.com will send you an e-mail notification telling you that you have won the item.
How do I make payment?
Sears Auction is configured with Auto-Checkout. This means that if you are the winning bidder, your order will be created automatically. (There is no need to go through a checkout process.)
- You will receive a "Bid Won" email notice directly after the close of the auction.
- The credit card that you have placed on file will be charged for the order total.
- Your order will be shipped to the address selected on the Bid Entry page.
- You will receive a "Ship Confirmation" email once you order has been placed with the shipping carrier.