We've been hard at work, and we're proud to announce our latest feature: auctions! Although we can't prove that we invented the concept of auctions (although our media team is hard at work figuring out how to do just that), we'll say it anyways. Guys, we just invented auctions!

To kick it off, how about an auction for a Golden Frying Pan with a $100 starting bid? Check it out!

Creating Auctions

Eligible Items

Just like the real world, auctions are best for items whose price isn't concretely known ahead of time. With that in mind, in the beginning, we're restricting auctions to the following items:

• Unusual cosmetics, taunts, and skins
• Unusualifiers
• Skins and Warpaints
• Strange Items
• Collector's Items
• Normal Items
  • Note: this refers to a rare, glitched quality known as "Normal"; very few items of this type exist.

We will, of course, be expanding this list to include more types of items as time goes on. Additionally, we will add support for auctioning items from games other than TF2 soon.

 

Fees

We put a large amount of thought into the pricing structure for auctions, and in the end, we decided that the best solution was to go with what we already know works. 

Therefore, auctions have the same 10% commission as any other sale on Marketplace.tf.

 

Things You Should Know

• You may set a starting bid price between $0.99 and $5,000.00 when you create your auction.
  • You may be tempted to set this rather close to your desired final price, but be careful! This is a great way to cause bidders to ignore your auction in favor of others that have lower starting bids. 
• Once an auction has received its first bid, it cannot be canceled. Your auction will run for the entire length that you specify, and will be sold to the highest bidder at the end. Before placing your item up for auction, make sure you won't miss it!
• For the time being, you may not have more than 4 auctions active at any one time. We expect to increase this limit over time, according to feedback and gathered data.

 

Bidding on Auctions

The Basics

Requirements

Before placing any bids, you'll need to add your phone number to your account. This is to prevent abuse of auctions and provide a safe environment for everyone. We will never spam you or sell your data.

 

Auto-Bidding

• When you place a bid, you'll enter your maximum bid, which is the highest price you're willing to pay for the item.
• When another user bids on the same item, the higher of the two maximum bids will win. Bids are increased in $0.10 increments.
• Your maximum bid is a secret and not visible to other bidders or the auctioneer.
• For example...
  • You're the first bidder on an item that has a starting bid of $1.99. You place a bid for $5.00.
  • Your bid is placed at $1.99, the starting bid value. If nobody else bids and you win, you would be charged $1.99.
  • Another user places a bid for $3.00. Your bid instantly increases to $3.10, and you maintain your winning position.
  • Finally, another user places a bid for $7.50. Your bid is defeated, and the current bid on the item is now $5.10.

 

Ways to Bid

Credit / Debit Cards

When you place a bid with a card, you will not be charged unless you win. When you win an auction, you will have 48 hours to return to Marketplace.tf and pay for the item you won. Failure to pay within 48 hours will result in a permanent ban from placing further bids.

Additionally, to bid with a credit or debit card, you must add a card to your account that meets our verification requirements:

• If the card supports 3D Secure v1 or v2, then it is automatically eligible. Most cards support this.
• Otherwise...
  • If your card supports both AVS (Address Verification) and Postal Code Verification, then you must verify its address. This is a one-time process wherein we will send a physical postcard to your billing address to verify you are the owner of the card.
  • If the card does not support AVS and postal code verification, it cannot be used to bid.
• The Auction Card Verification page will walk you through the entire setup process.

 

We understand that these requirements may inconvenience some bidders; unfortunately, these measures are necessary to prevent fraudulent transactions. 

Bidding with PayPal will be available in the future.

 

Wallet Funds

If you have Wallet Funds on your Marketplace.tf account, which are obtainable either by selling items or by purchase, you may bid with that instead of a card.

 

When you place a bid with Wallet Funds, we will deduct your maximum bid from your balance immediately. This will be refunded if you are outbid.

If your winning bid is lower than your maximum bid, the difference will be refunded to you at the end of the auction.

 

Note: if you opt to purchase Wallet Funds to bid with, please be aware that they are NON-REFUNDABLE. For this reason, we do not recommend that you purchase Wallet Funds to place bids.