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NEW TO BIDCHASER
Bidchaser is an online auctioning site where purchased bids are used to bid upon brand new items straight from the supplier to you the consumer. There are NO second hand items, NO reserve prices and all our auctions start from R0.00.
>> First
register with Bidchaser
>> Choose the item you would like to bid for to be able to buy it
>> Everytime you click on "Bid" in an auction, 1 bid will be used up from your Bidchaser account, 10 seconds is added to the auction time and the Auction price jumps up to either R1.00 or R0.01
>> You can use as many Bids as you have in your Bidchaser account, to be the final bidder of the auction.
>> If you are the final bidder of the auction, you will be able to buy the item at the auction's final price.
Currently each
bid costs R5.00 across all Bid Packages.
Firstly, Bidchaser only auction brand new products from authorised distributors in South Africa. This is so all products bid on and purchased on Bidchaser has the full manufacturer warranty.
Secondly, Bidchaser is always looking for new and great products to offer our customers so if you can offer and uphold the warranty on the product you'd like us to auction, please use our "
Suggestion" page with all the details and we'll definatley look into it.
Yes please! We definately want you to suggest new products you would like to see on Bidchaser. Use our "
Suggestion" page and tell us what you would like or suggest for the site.
BIDDING
Here you can view our selection of
Bid Packages. Click on the package of your choice to purchase it.
You will then be taken to an encrypted site hosted by Paygate (Pty) Ltd to make your payment securely with a credit card.
If you would like to pay via EFT(Electronic Funds Transfer) please note the following:
Please e-mail support@bidchaser.co.za or using our "Contact" page, selecting "Customer Services" for "Department", telling us you'd prefer paying via EFT and we will send you our banking details, a reference to use for the transfer, and where to send the Proof of Payment. The moment we receive the proof of payment, the bids will be assigned to your Bidchaser account.
To Place bids you first need to become a member:
>> If you are not yet a member you can register by clicking
here>> Fill out the registration form and you will receive a confirmation email. Open the email and click on the link contained within to confirm your registration. This will take you to the login page where you may now login with your new BidChaser username and password.
>> You will then need to purchase bids
>> Once you have purchased the bid package of your choice
>> Select an auction to bid on
>> Then simply click the 'BID' button to place a bid on that item
Use the Chaser to your advantage:
>> The Chaser can be turned into a powerful tool. Nobody likes seeing a pre-set Chaser constantly matching their bids over and over again. They have no idea when you've set it to stop. This is a useful strategy to exhaust your competition and disuade bidders from a particular item and give you the advantage. Use the Chaser to cover for you when you need to nip out just incase the timer runs out!
Keep your eyes open:
>> Many people who release chasers tend to set the 'Bid to' option to a round number. If you watch closely you could snatch up a bargain by bidding after a Chaser has just finished. To avoid this happening to you, When releasing a Chaser, dont set your "Maximum" price to a obvious round number
Make your choice:
>> It is never a good idea to randomly place bids on different auctions. Make your choice and try to stick to it or, at the most, a couple auctions at one time to increase your spending effectiveness. Keep a lookout for bidders who have been reckless in this way with their bids and you could pick up a bargain!
Take one step at a time:
>> If you are still new to the site, perhaps go for the relatively cheaper products as they will tend to be less competitive than the higher end items available. Then, when you feel more accustomed to the site and have developed your strategy, move up to the higher priced products.
>> Select
'My Bids' on the left hand side menu
Here all purchased and placed bids will be recorded for your easy viewing. To view the auction it was bid on, simply click the auction to the right of the listed bid. We archive all bids placed on all auctions every 10 days, if you require a bid history older than 10 days please "
Contact" Customer Services and we'll send the list of bids and the auctions you placed them on.
>> Select
'My Bids' on the left hand side menu
To the right of each listed bid is the auction name/number. Click on the auction name/number to view the auction.
To track auctions you have placed Chasers on:
The Chaser can place bids for you when you are not available to do so yourself. Simply assign it an auction price at which to begin and a maximum at which to stop, setting the number of bids allowed to be used during this period. The Chaser is triggered in the last 10 seconds of the auction and will then place the assigned bids at random intervals ensuring you are the highest bidder when the clock is about to run out and you are away.
Chasers can also be a good psychological tool to use to wear down your rival bidder(s).
To add a Chaser to an auction:
>> Select your
auction of choice and click on it
.You will then be taken to the main auction page of your chosen auction
>> Look for the 'Add a Chaser' box beneath the BID button
To deploy a Chaser you will need to assign it:
i) a 'Minimum Price' (When/At what price to enter the auction and start bidding on your behalf)
ii) a 'Maximum Price' (When/At what price to exit the auction and stop bidding)
iii) the number of bids allowed to be used for the duration of this period - This is the most important part of adding a chaser, if you don't assign enough bids to the chaser, it may run our of bids before reaching your maximum set price.
>> Finally click on 'Add a Chaser' to add your Chaser to the selected auction.
Here you can view which auctions you have Chasers assigned to as well as edit and delete your Chasers.
>> Select
'My Bids' on the left hand side menu
Here you can view any and all Bid Packages purchased on Bidchaser.
If you place a bid on an auction you will be the highest bidder only until someone else or their Chaser places a bid. But if they don't and the timer runs down while you are the highest bidder then you will become the successful bidder. We also suggest not waiting till the timer reaches below 5 seconds to bid on an auction as any delay between your computer and the Bidchaser site, may result in you missing the ending of the auction. Connection slowness can be attributed to your computer being busy at that moment or your internet connection being used in the background or even a traffic spike at your Internet Service Provider.
BUY NOW *New*
Our new "Buy Now" feature allows you to buy the item being auctioned off in the specific auction without having to bid for it. If you do bid for it and decide you would prefer to buy it, the "Buy Now" feature uses the bids you used on the auction as a discount towards your purchase of the item.
On some auction pages, you will see a "Buy Now" window like below:
• Placed Bids: Here it will tell you how many bids you have used on the specific auction.
• Discount: Currently you receive a discount on the Item's Retail price of R5.00 with every bid you place on the auction. Meaning you receive 100% of the bid value back to buy the item!
• Item Price: This is the Retail value of the item in the auction.
• Your Buy Now Price: This is the item's price less the discount given back to you. When you click on the "Buy Now" button that is the price you will pay to buy the item, plus delivery.
When you click on the "Buy Now" button, you will taken to a confirmation page. When you accept the confirmation and click on the "Buy Now" button, the item will be added to your "Successful Auctions" page. There you can pay for the item plus delivery. Like as in our normal auctions, if after 7 days you have not confirmed by paying, the item will be removed from your "Successful Auctions".
Due to stock limits at our suppliers we can only offer the "Buy Now" on some items.
The following are examples and limitations of when you can't use the new "Buy Now" feature on Bidchaser.
• When there is no "Buy Now" window in the auction page, as the "Buy Now" is only available on certain items.
• You can use the "Buy Now" for 24 hours after the auction has ended, after the 24 Hours you will not be able to use it.
• You can only use the "Buy Now" feature once per auction.
• If you are the current highest bidder of the auction you won't be able to use the "Buy Now".
• If you are the Successful Bidder of the ended auction you won't be able to use the "Buy Now" feature.
AUCTIONS
If you are the successful bidder you need to:
1) Pay the auction's final price plus delivery charges to confirm and conclude that you still want the item within 7 days of the auction ending.
2) Confirm your delivery address.
3) Now wait for your brand new item to arrive!!
To do this:
Here you can view tasks needing your attention under the 'Things to do' header. If an item is awaiting your payment it will be listed here.
>> Click the 'Pay for an Auction' link to make payment.
>> Select '
Successful Auctions' on the left hand side menu. Here will be listed your successful auctions
>> On the right of each auction listed you can select to view and pay for an item. Do this by clicking on 'View' or 'Pay now'
Confirm your delivery address and pay the auction final price and the delivery fee and your item will be delivered to you shortly by Courier.
Please note that on your credit card statement, payments made on Bidchaser.co.za will indicate Netcash (Pty) Ltd.
If you would like to pay via EFT(Electronic Funds Transfer) please note the following: Please note that we will only invoice you after the payment reflects in our account, which may take up to 2 working days.
Please e-mail support@bidchaser.co.za or using our "Contact" page, selecting "Customer Services" for "Department", telling us you'd prefer paying via EFT and we will send you our banking details, a reference to use for the transfer, so we know what it's for, and any other instructions.
Members currently bidding on a particular item can be viewed in the 'Bidding History' box on the right of the screen. The current highest bidder, time of bid and type of bid i.e. single bid or Chaser will be listed.
Auctions continue as long as there is interest. When a bidder places a bid the auction time will increase by 10 seconds to allow for any counter bids. If there are none the auction will end when the timer reaches zero.
We currently have 2 different types of auctions on Bidchaser.co.za:
>> Nail-Biter Auctions: No Chasers can be added on these auctions
>> Cent-Auctions: Instead of the auction price increasing by R1.00 with every bid placed, the auction price only increases by R0.01 on these auctions.
Future auctions will be listed on the
'Future Auction' Page found in the Categories drop down menu.
No. Only once the auctions start can bids be placed on them.
DELIVERY
What are the delivery charges?
The delivery charges are dependent upon the size of the item but should be no more than R250, every auction will state the delivery charge for that specific item. We also insure all our deliveries for your convenience.
Please allow 14-21 working days for delivery.
All Main centres and most Non Main centres in South Africa ONLY. If you are unsure whether we could deliver to your area or not please "
Contact" Customer Services with your query and include your address.
Goods will be be delivered by CourierIT directly from the manufacturer to your doorstep.
You will be e-mailed when you item is dispatched containing a tracking number that you can use to track your delivery online.
RETURNS
Faulty goods
If you have received a product that is faulty, we would first of all, like to apologize.
As all goods are delivered directly from the manufacturer to CourierIT, who will deliver it to your delivery address, we would advise that you first try the technical division of the manufacturers by using their website or helpline. Many problems can be solved easily without having to return the product.
If your item does have a manufacturers fault please contact us at
support@bidchaser.co.za or on our "
Contact" page
Please include the following:
>> Your Bidchaser username
>> The Invoice number of the faulty item
>> The product serial number
>> A description of the fault, if possible
Please first make contact with our Customer Services department before returning any items as returning an item unannounced is likely to slow down the entire process.
All products sold on Bidchaser.co.za are NOT grey products so they come with all relevant manufacturers warranties and gaurantees.
BidChaser allows for returns/refunds if within 7 Days of delivery and we will be happy to refund you the item's final price as invoiced to you.
Returned Items must still be in the original packaging and must not be damaged.
We cannot however offer you a refund on the cost of the bids used on the auction of the item nor the delivery charge and we cannot offer you a refund on the costs to return the item.
MANAGING YOUR ACCOUNT
Forgot your Bidchaser password/username?
If you have forgotten your username or password:
>> Simply go to Bidchaser's
Log in page
>> You will see the header 'Forgotten your Password?'. Beneath it click 'reset your password'. Type in your registered e-mail address to where your new password will be sent.
You will find your username and new password in the email sent from BidChaser.
Remember to change your password after you login.
To change your password:
Enter your current password and the new password in the fields provided and click on the 'Change Password' button.
To change your username:
Enter your new username and click on the 'Save Changes' button.
Subscribe/Unsubscribe to Bidchaser's newsletter?
If you would like to receive the Bidchaser newsletter simply tick the box below your personal details. If you would like to deactivate the newslettter make sure the box is NOT ticked then click on the 'Save Changes' button.
Here you are able to edit your billing and delivery addresses.
Please take care filling out your addresses as lost items will not be refunded.
Here you are able to change your personal details such as your username, name and surname, e-mail address, date of birth and gender.
Click on the 'Save Changes' button when you are finished to update your account.
>> Select
'My Bids' on the left hand side menu
Here you are able to view your current balance (above placed bids) listed under Credit.
Here you will be able to view your successful auctions as well as relevant information such as auction number, payment status as well as the date and time of your successful auctions.
To view or pay for your successful auctions simply click on the links provided to the right of each successful auction listed.
Your accout will now be suspended and will be deleted by our Admin on a monthly bases, so if you accidentally cancelled your account, mail
support@bidchaser.co.za requesting to uncancel your account.
TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
Recommended PC requirements to use Bidchaser?
If your PC has an Internet connection and an Internet browser then it has the minimum requirements. We do however recommend using the latest
Internet Explorer 8,
Firefox or
Google Chrome to view the site correctly and use it's full functionality!
How do I activate cookies?
In Internet Explorer:
>> Select 'Tools' from the menu
>> Select 'Internet Options' from the drop down menu
>> Selct the 'Privacy' tab
Here you can set whether to accept cookies. If the slider is set to medium then you should be able to receive cookies from Bidchaser.co.za
In Firefox:
>> Select 'Tools' from the menu
>> Select 'Options' from the drop down menu
>> Select the 'Privacy' tab
Ensure that 'Accept cookies from sites' is ticked and press "OK".
What happens to the auctions during system downtime?
During downtime all auctions will be placed on hold(Paused) and you will not be able to place any bids.
If downtime occurs while an auction is in process all bids placed will be credited to your account.
I'm using XXXXX browser,why can't I bid more than once?
In Internet Explorer:
>> Select 'Tools' from the menu
>> Select 'Internet Options' from the drop down menu
>> Under "Browing History", click on "Settings"
>> Under "Temporary Internet Files" the selection for the “Check for newer versions of stored pages:” should be on “Every time I visit the webpage”.
TV LICENCES
I'm a successful Bidder on an auction for a TV on Bidchaser, what is needed from me?
Apart from paying the auction final price and the delivery charge, you will need to supply us, faxed or e-mailed, the following: Your TV LICENCE, Your ID Book, Full residential address that corresponds with your TV Licence and a daytime Contact Number. You can send these to us before or after paying for the auction to either:
support@bidchaser.co.za including your username or fax them to 0865512611, we will then respond back to let you know we have successfully received the required infomation.
