Q. Can I change my username after I register? A. No. When you register you create your "user name" and it CANNOT be changed. We recommend using an alias, a nickname or some other name you wish to be known by on our site.
Q. Will the system ever log me out of a GovDeals auction? A. Yes. Govdeals has a twenty minute time limit. If there is no activity for twenty minutes, you will be logged out, but your last screen is still displayed.
Q. Does GovDeals allow for automatic (proxy) bidding? A. Yes. On the bid page you can place your bid in the "Max Auto Bid Amount" field.
The following steps will allow you to set a limit as to how high you are willing to bid on an item. Any time you are outbid on this item, GovDeals will automatically place a bid for you up to your set limit. After you have set a “Max Auto Bid Amount”, a line will be displayed telling you what the amount is each time you view the item.
Step 1.Click on the asset that you would like to bid on. This will display an asset information sheet.
Step 2.Enter your “Max Auto Bid Amount” in the bid box labeled “Max Auto Bid Amount”. Your “Max Auto Bid Amount” must be equal to or greater than the “Minimum Bid”.
Step 3.Click 'Go!'
Step 4. Click 'Agree.' A confirmation page will display the item description and the “Max Auto Bid Amount”. By clicking the 'Agree' button, you agree that the “Max Auto Bid Amount” is correct and wish to place the bid.
Q. I am only interested in certain categories of items. Is there a way I could be notified when new items, in a particular category, have been put up for auction? A. Yes.
1) Login.
2) Select “Favorites”.
3) Select the categories you are interested in.
4) If you want to be notified via email when new items are posted, select the option.
5) Select Update.
Q. Is it possible to have equal bid amounts? A. Yes. It is possible for equal bids to occur during an auction. The person who placed their bid first is the high bidder.
Q. How do I change my email address? A. 1) Login.
2) Select “My Account”.
3) Scroll down and select “Edit”.
4) Change your email address.
5) Select “Update”.
Q. Can I ever be knocked out of the auction? A. When a bidder is logged into the GovDeals auction, there is a twenty minutes activity clock. If there is no activity, the application will "time out." The bidder will then need to log-in to the GovDeals auction.
Q. What do I do if I forget my username? A. 1) Select “Login” on the home page.
2) Under the Sign In button, select "Forgot Username"
3) Enter the email address in your buyer account.
4) Your Username will be sent to you via email.
Q. What does “Reserve Not Met” mean? A. "Reserve Not Met" is displayed when the bid does not meet the price a seller is willing to accept for an item. The seller is under no obligation to complete the transaction when their reserve is not met.
Q. How do I know if I am the winning bidder? A. GovDeals provides you with three different methods to determine if you are the high bidder at the close of an auction.
1) A Buyer’s Certificate is sent via e-mail to the high bidder shortly after an auction closes. Print this certificate and present it to the seller as proof that you are the high bidder.
2) Check My Bids (available 10 minutes after an auction closes):
A) Login.
B) Select “My Bids”.
C) Check the items listed under the heading “Past Auctions Results" – Last 365 Days”. If you were the high bidder, the item will be listed in this area.
3) Check “Past Auctions Results" (available 10 minutes after an auction closes):
A) Select “Past Auctions Results" on the Home page.
B) Navigate to the closed item you want to check.
C) Select “Bid History”.
D) The bids are listed chronologically in descending order. The high bidder is listed first.
Q. How can a bidder be the high bidder or winning bidder without appearing to meet the bid increment or minimum bid? Max Auto Bid and its Effect on the Bid Increment. A. At the time a bidder places a “Max Auto Bid Amount” the bid amount must be equal to or exceed the “Minimum Bid”. A bidder may be outbid by an amount less than a full increment. This will occur when the winning bidder's bid beats the second highest bidder’s bid by an amount less than the full increment.
There are two cases where a bid increment may be higher than the standard increment:
1. Meeting the reserve
2. Beating a competing bidder's high bid
The following is an example of how a “Max Auto Bid Amount” can be declared the winner of an auction and appearing not to meet the “Minimum Bid:
Opening amount $100.00
Bid increment $10.00
Minimum bid amount $200.00
Bidder A enters a max auto bid amount of $215.00.
Bidder A’s max auto bid amount passes the minimum bid test.
GovDeals records bidder A's minimum bid amount of $200.00.
The new minimum bid amount is now $210.00. ($200.00 + $10.00 bid increment).
Bidder B enters a minimum bid amount of $210.00.
GovDeals records bidder B's bid amount and then enters bidder A's max auto bid amount of $215.00 as the high bid. Although Bidder A’s max auto bid amount of $215.00 appears not to meet the bid increment of $10.00, at the time Bidder A placed the max auto bid amount it passed the minimum bid test.
Q. How do I stop receiving emails when new items are posted? A. 1) Login.
2) Select “Favorites”.
4) Deselect the notify the option.
5) Select Update.
Q. What do I do if I forget my Password? A. 1) On the home page select "Login"
2) Under the sign in button select "Forgot Password"
3) Enter your Username and email address.
4) Select Send.
5) Your Password will be emailed to you.
Q. What if I have not received my temporary password? A. 1) If you have not been verified, please call 1-800-613-0156 option 1.
2) If you have contacted a GovDeals representative and a password has already been sent. Please check in your spam or junk folder.
3) If it has been more than 10 days since you registered, your registration information may have been purged. You will need to re-register.
Q. What if someone else uses my account and defaults on a bid? A. Notify the Help Desk immediately. The registrant is responsible to pay the GovDeals service fee. The GovDeals service fee is 40% of your high bid amount.
Q. Is there a way for me to know when I have been out bid on an item? A. During the bidding process you will be notified after bid confirmation or via email notification if this option has been selected and you are the high bidder. Note: This is a courtesy feature and notices may not be received before an auction ends
Q. I am unable to log on using the temporary password that was sent to me? A. 1) Enter your username.
2) Type in the temporary password. The temporary password is composed of letters only.
3) Try copying the password from your email and paste into the password field.
4) Please call the help desk @ 1-800-613-0156 option 2.
Q. I won an item but did not receive the certificate? A. You may view and print the certificate by following these steps:
1) Once logged into GovDeals, select "My Bids"
2) Select "View" in the certificate column next to the item won.
Q. Can I increase or decrease my "Max Auto Bid Amount? A. Rules for increasing or decreasing the “Max Auto Bid Amount”:
Subsequent to a bidder entering their initial “Max Auto Bid Amount” they may increase the “Max Auto Bid Amount”, however, the new Max Auto Bid Amount” must be equal to or greater than the “Minimum Bid”. A bidder may also decrease their “Max Auto Bid Amount”, however, the new “Max Auto Bid Amount” cannot be less than the “Minimum Bid”.
How to increase or decrease your “Max Auto Bid Amount”:
In order to change your “Max Auto Bid Amount”, simply enter your new “Max Auto Bid Amount” in the “Max Auto Bid Amount” bid box for the item on which you are bidding. Follow the same steps for setting the initial “Max Auto Bid Amount” and be sure to follow the rules for increasing or decreasing the “Max Auto Bid Amount”.
Q. How does automatic (proxy) bidding work with a reserve amount? A. When placing an automatic bid amount on an item with a reserve, the automatic bid amount is compared to the reserve amount.
Examples:
1) The automatic bid amount is lower than the reserve amount:
The bid is placed for the total amount of the automatic bid and the item reflects, the high bidder, as well as “Reserve Not Met”.
2) The automatic bid amount is equal to the reserve amount:
The bid is placed for the total amount of the automatic bid (equal to the reserve amount) and the item reflects the amount of the bid as well as the high bidder.
3) The automatic bid amount exceeds the reserve amount:
The bid is placed for the amount of the reserve and the item reflects the amount of the bid as well as the high bidder.
Q. How to make an electronic payment? A.
Log into GovDeals
Select "My Bids"
Check the box to the left of the item you wish to pay for
Select the payment type (Bottom)
Payment types:
PayPal: Continue with check out through PayPal
Credit Card: Complete Form
Wire Transfer: Print Invoice; take to financial Institution
Q. How to View Past Auction Results? A. An item shows up in the past auction results section approximately 10 minutes after an auction closes.
You may not view the bid history on an item currently on auction or one that has closed without meeting the reserve set by the seller.
To view past auction results:
A) On the home page select “Past Auctions Results".
B) Navigate to the closed item you want to check and click on the item description.
C) Select “Bid History”.
D) The bids are listed chronologically in descending order. The high bidder is listed first.
Q. How to Clear Browser Cache history A.Select your browser type
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0
1. Click Start and select Settings, then Control Panel.
2. Double-click Internet Options to open Internet Properties.
3. Click Delete Files.
4. Click OK on the Delete Files dialog box.
5. Click OK.
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 7.0
1. Click Start and select Settings, then Control Panel.
2. Double-click Internet Options.
3. Click the General tab.
4. Click Delete under the Browsing History section.
5. Click Delete Files in the Delete Browsing History dialog box.
6. Click Close.
7. Click OK.
8. Close and reopen your browser.
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 8.0
1. Click Start and select Settings, then Control Panel.
2. Double-click Internet Options.
3. Click the General tab.
4. Click Delete under the Browsing History section.
5. Uncheck every check box except for Temporary Internet Files.
6. Click Delete Files in the Delete Browsing History dialog box.
7. Click Cancel.
8. Click OK.
9. Close and reopen your browser.
Firefox 1.5
1. Click Tools and select Options.
2. Click the Privacy icon.
3. Click the Cache tab and click Clear Cache Now.
4. Click Ok.
5. Close and reopen your browser.
Firefox 2.0
1. Click Tools and select Options.
2. Click the Advanced icon and click the Network tab.
3. Click Clear Now under the Cache section.
4. Click Ok.
5. Close and reopen your browser.
Firefox 3.0
1. Click Tools and select Options.
2. Click the Privacy icon on the Options menu bar.
3. Scroll down to the Private Data section.
4. Click the Settings button to open the Clear Private Data window.
5. Verify that the Cookies and Save Passwords boxes are not checked.
6. Click OK to close the Clear Private Data window.
7. Click Clear Private Data Now.
8. Click OK to close the Options window.
9. Close and reopen your browser.
Netscape® Navigator 9.X
1. Click Tools and select Options.
2. Click the Privacy.
3. Click Clear Now under the Private Data section.
4. Check the box Cache and Clear Private Data Now.
5. Click OK.
6. Close and reopen your browser.
Safari 3.0
1. Click Edit and select Empty Cache.
2. Click Empty.
3. Close and reopen your browser.
AOL 8.0
1. Close your browser.
2. Click Start, select Settings and Control Panel.
3. Double-click Internet Options.
4. Click Delete Files.
5. Click OK on the Delete Files dialog box.
6. Click OK.
AOL 9.0
1. Close your browser.
2. Click Start, select Settings and Control Panel.
3. Double-click Internet Options.
4. Click Delete Files.
5. Click OK on the Delete Files dialog box.
6. Click OK.
Safari 2.0 for Macintosh
1. Click the Safari menu and select Empty Cache.
2. Click Empty on the Are you sure message box.
3. Close and reopen your browser.
Safari 3.0 for Macintosh
1. Click the Safari menu and select Empty Cache.
2. Click Empty on the Are you sure message box.
3. Close and reopen your browser.
Firefox 1.5 for Macintosh
1. Click the Firefox menu and select Preferences.
2. Click the Privacy icon and click the Cache tab.
3. Click Clear Cache Now.
4. Click the X in the top left corner to close the Privacy window.
5. Close and reopen your browser.
Firefox 2.0 for Macintosh
1. Click the Firefox menu and select Preferences.
2. Click the Advances icon and click the Network tab.
3. Click Clear Now under the Cache section.
4. Click the X in the top left corner to close the Advanced window.
5. Close and reopen your browser.
BlackBerry Handheld
Clearing the content caches clears both the rendered pages and server data:
1. Highlight the Browser icon and click the trackwheel.
2. Click the trackwheel again to display the Browser Options menu.
3. Scroll down to Options and click the trackwheel to open the Browser Options screen.
4. Scroll down to General Properties and click the trackwheel to open the General Properties screen.
5. Click the trackwheel to open the Cache menu.
6. Scroll down to Clear Content Caches and click the trackwheel to clear the cache and return to the General Properties screen.
7. Press the Escape button to page back to the main menu.
Q. How to Enable Cookies A.Please select browser type
Internet Explorer 8.x
1. Click on the Tools-menu.
2. Select Internet Options in the menu - a new window opens.
3. Click on the Privacy tab near the top of the window.
4. Click on the Default button of the window.
5. Move the slider so that it is on one of the levels below Medium High (including Medium, Low, Accept All Cookies).
6. Save changes by clicking OK.
Internet Explorer 6.x and 7.x
1. Click on the Tools-menu.
2. Select Internet Options in the menu - a new window opens.
3. Click on the Privacy tab near the top of the window.
4. Move the slider so that it is on one of the levels below Medium High (including Medium, Low, and Accept All Cookies).
5. Save changes by clicking OK.
Mozilla Firefox:
1. Click on the Tools-menu in Mozilla.
2. Click on the Options item in the menu - a new window opens.
3. Click on the Privacy tab.
4. Expand the Cookies section.
5. Check the Enable cookies and Accept cookies normally checkboxes.
6. Save changes by clicking OK.
Netscape 7.x:
1. Click on the Edit-menu in Netscape.
2. Click on the Preferences... item in the menu - a new window opens.
3. Expand the Privacy & Security selection in the left part of the window.
4. Click on the Cookies selection.
5. Under Cookie Acceptance Policy - either check the Enable all cookies checkbox or Allow cookies based on policy settings.
6. If Allow cookies based on policy settings is selected, click on View and ensure that the level is at low or medium.
7. Save changes by clicking OK.
Netscape 6.x:
1. Click on the Edit-menu in Netscape.
2. Click on the Preferences... item in the menu - a new window opens.
3. Expand the Advanced selection in the left part of the window.
4. Click on the Cookies selection.
5. Check the Enable all cookies setting.
6. Save changes by clicking OK.
Opera 7.x:
1. Click on the Tools-menu in Opera.
2. Click on the Preferences... item in the menu - a new window opens.
3. Click on the Privacy selection near the bottom left of the window.
4. The Enable cookies checkbox must be checked, and Accept all cookies should be selected in the "Normal cookies" drop-down.
5. Save changes by clicking OK.
Safari:
1. Click on the Safari-menu in Safari.
2. Click on the Preferences... item in the menu - a new window opens.
3. Click on the Security icon near the top of the window.
4. Under Accept Cookies the Always or Only from sites you navigate to must be selected.
5. Save changes by clicking OK.
AOL version 8 & 9:
1. Click Settings on the main toolbar.
2. Click Preferences.
3. Click on Internet Properties (WWW).
4. Click on the Security tab.
5. Click on the Internet Zone, then click on the Custom Level button on the bottom of the window. The Security Settings window will appear.
6. Scroll down until you see Cookies.
7. Click Enable under the 'Allow cookies that are stored on your computer' subheading.
8. Click OK to exit.
AOL version 7:
1. Click Settings on the main toolbar.
2. Click Preferences.
3. Click on Internet Properties (WWW).
4. Click on the Security tab.
5. Click on the Internet Zone, then click on the Custom button on the bottom of the window. The Security Settings window will appear.
6. Scroll down until you see Cookies.
7. Click Enable under the 'Allow cookies that are stored on your computer' subheading.
8. Click OK to exit.
