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No Reserve and Buy Now Auctions Explained
In collaboration with our auction platform Bright Auctions, we regularly organize special auctions. This week, two are online: a No Reserve auction and a Buy Now auction. Both give you certainty about what to expect, but they work in different ways. Here's an explanation.
What is a No Reserve auction?
In a No Reserve auction, vehicles are offered without a hidden reserve price and without the seller's right to reject the winning bid. Every vehicle that receives at least one valid bid is sold to the highest bidder when the auction closes, regardless of the final bid amount.
For you as a bidder, this means:
- No hidden reserve price: the starting bid is the lowest possible bid, and what you see is what counts.
- No right to reject: the seller cannot turn down the highest valid bid once the auction has ended.
- Guaranteed award: if you are the highest bidder at closing, the vehicle is yours.
How does a No Reserve auction work?
The bidding process works just like a regular auction. You place a bid on the vehicle you're interested in, at a minimum of the starting bid. As soon as you place your bid, you become the highest bidder. If someone outbids you, you can of course bid again.
If your bid remains the highest until the auction closes, the vehicle is automatically awarded to you. No additional approval from the seller is required.
The difference from a regular auction is that the seller cannot reject the highest bid afterwards, and there is no hidden reserve price that has to be met first. The highest valid bid at closing determines who buys the vehicle.
How does this differ from an auction with a reserve price?
In auctions with a reserve price, the seller can reject the highest bid, or a minimum amount must be reached first. The highest bid therefore doesn't automatically result in a sale. In a No Reserve auction, only the highest valid bid at closing determines who buys the vehicle.
What is the difference between No Reserve and Buy Now?
At Automotive Auctions, you can buy vehicles in several ways. Two of them are No Reserve and Buy Now. Both offer certainty about the award, but the moment at which the purchase is final differs.
- No Reserve: interested buyers bid against each other. At closing, the highest bidder is guaranteed to win the vehicle.
- Buy Now: in addition to regular bidding, there is a "Buy Now" button. The regular auction simply continues, but if you want to be certain of winning, you can purchase the vehicle immediately. It is then yours straight away, and nobody can outbid you.
The key difference? With No Reserve, the highest bid at closing determines who buys the vehicle. With Buy Now, the regular auction continues, but the "Buy Now" button lets you purchase the vehicle instantly and be certain of your purchase.
Discover our current auctions
Would you like to experience how a No Reserve auction works for yourself? Take a look at our auctions:
Would you rather buy a vehicle right away, without the risk of being outbid? Then take a look at our:
