How do I find all of the available auctions on the site?
All auctions are categorised on the site so as to allow ease of navigation. Using the drop-down menu on the top left hand side of the screen you can navigate through the categories and view all active auctions in those categories.
Can I watch an auction without participating?
Yes. All of the features on the home page, including current auctions, are accessible without the need to be logged in, except for the bid button. We especially encourage newcomers to observe several auctions to get some idea of bidding strategies before bidding themselves.
Is there a limit on how many auctions I can win?
To ensure that all of our registered members have an opportunity to secure an auction we do set a monthly limit on the number of auctions that any member may secure.
We also have categorised most auctions into three categories that have limits on the number of auction wins in a period of 30 days. The auction categories and limts are:
Gold - 1 Auctions
Silver - 2 Auctions
Bronze - 15 Auctions
We even run special Rookie auctions for members who have never before secured an auction.
What are the different types of auction?
Smokoo currently offers four types of auction. These are...
Rookie Auctions: Only those bidders who have secured 2 or less auctions, may participate in a Rookie auction.
Fast and Furious Auctions: Those auctions do not permit bidders to make use of the AutoBidder.
100% Off Auctions: The successful bidder will receive their bids on that auction back. This means the final cost of the item is only the cost of the item plus the cost of delivery.
Credit Pack Auction: You bid to secure a BidPackage.
Smokoo Buy Now Deals
The Buy Now option is available on certain auctions and is available only once per auction in which you are actively bidding. You will be able to purchase the auction item at the advertised retail price and only have to pay in the difference of the value of bids placed and the retail price. Shipping costs will be added to your order when you checkout.
Shoppers will need to have a registered Smokoo account to participate in a Buy Now auction. All orders are subject to successful verification of your registered Smokoo account.
Buy Now auctions are represented by the Red Shopping basket symbol .
Shoppers can choose to bid to secure the item on auction and/ or use the Buy Now option to purchase the item at the advertised retail price.
The Buy Now option is available from when the auction is created on the Site and for up to 24hours only, after the auction has Finished. The Buy Now option is available only once during the auction per shopper.
Shoppers may choose the use the Buy Now option to purchase the item and continue to take part in the auction to also secure the item on auction. Credits you have already used to place bids on the auction, will be deducted from the final price you pay at the time you use the Buy Now option.
All payments must be made through one of the available payment options provided on the Site.
When you have completed your order, you will need to contact support to complete the verification of your Smokoo account before details of the seller will be passed onto you.
Shoppers will be responsible for contacting the supplier directly to receive their item/ voucher purchased, using the Invoice Date, Invoice Reference and Payment Reference number provided in your order confirmation e-mail. Should the supplier not have sufficient stock available to honour the purchase, Smokoo will credit you Smokoo account with credits for the retail price paid.
Products/ Services purchased on a Buy Now option may be location specific. Shoppers will be liable for all eventual shipping and customs fees. Warranties on products/ services are provided by the suppliers and shoppers will need to contact the relevant supplier directly in the event of any claim.
The Final Sale Price of the auction must reach 0.2% of the advertised retail price for the final bidder to receive the item/ voucher on auction. Auctions that do not reach the minimum 0.2% Final Sale price required, will be cancelled 24 hours after the auction and credits used in the auction returned to the participating shoppers accounts.
In the event that an auction is cancelled, credits not used by shoppers on the Buy Now option will be returned to their Smokoo account. All shoppers who have used the Buy Now option, their orders will still be honoured with the supplier, pending successful verification of your Smokoo account. The Final Bidder will receive 150% of the credits used in the auction back to their Smokoo account, except where credits have already been used on the Buy Now option.
What is the difference between the end price and the retail price?
The recommended retail (selling) price is the price for which the item would normally be sold by a retailer. The end price is the price that is displayed on the screen when an auction closes and that must be paid in order to secure the item won. It normally represents a substantial discount over the recommended price.
When does an auction end?
If no new bid is registered before the countdown reaches FINISHED, the auction will automatically close and no further bids can be accepted.
All auctions operate on a countdown timer. Between 1 and 60 seconds are added to the timer with each new bid placed. All auctions are set with a time limit, meaning that once the timer is below the time limit, any new bids placed will not increase the timer above this time limit.
Big Ticket Items (i.e. High value items) may have different time shifts to the standard auctions. Contact support for more information.
We reserve the right to change the countdown structure for items of larger retail value.
Why does the timer reach 00:00:00 before the auction has ended?
This is one of the most common questions that lead to numerous misconceptions being created about Smokoo. Let’s clear up the timer question once and for all.
Every bid placed on a Smokoo auction is administered by the Smokoo servers. How it works is like this: each bid received before the auction time on the servers reaches the required 00:00:00, the bid will be accepted by the servers after verification, after which a signal is sent to all current users.
Let’s take a look at the reasons why the timer may reach 00:00:00 before the auction ends:
The connection between the Smokoo server and your PC is lost.The downside to this happening is that when the connection gets lost, the timer on your PC continues to display the countdown as it has not yet received the signal from the Smokoo servers to reset it.
Your browser has utilised all its available resources. Standard websites operate by downloading one page at a time, whereas the Smokoo website is distinct in that it constantly communicates with the servers in order to receive bids and manage the auction timers. Unfortunately, the older browsers, including browsers with a variety of plugins, may freeze after hosting the site for a longer period of time. What we recommend is to use the most up-to-date browsers as well as reducing your tally of add-ons and plug-ins.
Smokoo believes in fair bidding, and in keeping with this practise we allow all users (due to the time it takes bids to reach the servers) regardless of geographic location, the same opportunity to bid on an auction by allowing the servers to add an additional 3 seconds for any placed bids to reach the Smokoo servers before closing the auction.
If you have any further questions, please contact us on support@smokoo.com
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