Overview

This policy file was written with the intent of informing bidders who use the FurBuy system of policies and recommended procedures for the auction bidding process. It is a bona fide extension to the Terms of Use document which acts as the core policy file which all users must abide by. This file is of particular interest to bidders and only applies to the bidding and purchase of auctions on the FurBuy system.

Contractual Obligation

When a bidder places a bid on an auction, they are entering into a contractual agreement with the seller of the item(s) to purchase said item(s). Bids placed by the proxy bidding system are considered to be requested and authorized by the original bidder and continue to hold the binding contract for sale should the bidder win the auction. Auctions which close with a bid that is below the Reserve Price of an auction are the only exception to this policy, in which case neither the seller nor the bidder are obligated to complete the transaction normally. Failure to meet the required obligation of purchase with the seller of an auction may result in Negative Feedback from the seller and possible administrator action up to suspension from the system. Multiple offenses of this policy may result in removal of the offensive party from the system. In the event that a conflict arises between the seller and high bidder(s) of a closed auction, the administrators will be obligated but not required to assist in mediation of the conflict.

Under normal circumstances, users will not be permitted to retract bids at this time. However, under extenuating circumstances (such as an auction which violates the Copyright or Plagiarism policies) users may be permitted to recind their bids in order that the auction can be removed in compliance with the Posting Policies. In these situations users will normally be informed of the ability to remove their bids, typically by sending an e-mail confirmation of their desire to do so. Bids may also be removed on the request of the bidder who placed the bid via e-mail to a FurBuy administrator so long as the seller of the item(s) the bid(s) were placed on agrees to allow it. This policy remains in place in order to validate and support the fact that placing a bid is a legal contract between the seller and high bidder.

As an accomodation to bidders who have realized they may have overbid their budget on an auction, a system of 'Bid Pleading' may be enacted by administrators which allows users to cut a previously placed proxy level down to the current bid level. In addition to this, a pleaded bid may be overbid by another user at the current bid level and/or advertised as a pleaded bid status concerning the auction itself. This system of pleading bids was added as a compromise to not allowing users to directly remove their bids on an auction, but still attempt to be outbid with the assistance or interest of other users who will take on their legal obligation at the same level.

Shill Bidding and Bid Shielding

As defined by the US Federal Trade Commission on their website: "shill bidding" [is] when fraudulent sellers or their partners, known as "shills", bid on sellers' items to drive up the price, and "bid shielding" [is] when fraudulent buyers submit very high bids to discourage other bidders from competing for the same item, then retract their bids so that people they know can get the item at a lower price.

It should be noted also that eBay, another prominent auction site, has a custom definition for shill bidding, as do many other online auction systems. For the purposes of FurBuy, we adhere to the FTC's definition as stated above. FurBuy does not tolerate shill bidding but it must be very evident through means of logs or public testimony that shill bidding has occurred by definition, and the motives and evidence of fraudulent activity must be clear for FurBuy staff to take action regarding these actions. By definition, bid shielding is not possible on FurBuy due to the fact that bidders cannot retract bids after they have been placed and pleading bids will not lower the bid price level for an auction.

In the event of suspected fraudulent bidding activity or valid accusation of such, the user in question may have their account temporarily suspended while the investigation is performed. Should a user, upon thorough investigation, be found to have been involved in a shill bidding incident their account will be permanently disabled and any future attempts of the user to establish an account on the system will be denied. Furthermore, this activity may be reported to appropriate law enforcement agencies for possible litigation.