Frequently asked questions

You need a free account. After that, enter your amount on the auction page or use the plus button to move up by one bid increment. The bid takes effect immediately and is visible to everyone.

No, bid increments are fixed. How large the next step is depends on the current price:

Your bid has to reach at least the current price plus one increment. The auction page always shows that minimum.

A placed bid is binding and cannot be withdrawn. Before submitting, you confirm your bid and see the calculated total cost. Check the amount and listing details carefully.

You get an e-mail and a notification in your account. Your dashboard under “My bids” also shows at a glance which auctions you are leading and where you have been outbid.

No. While you are the highest bidder another bid is rejected — it would only raise the price you pay yourself. If you want to secure a higher limit, use the bidding robot.

You set your maximum once and the robot bids for you — always just one increment above the competing bid and never beyond your maximum. That way you do not have to sit in front of the screen until the auction closes.

Yes. As soon as you set it up it places a first bid: the current price plus one increment, but never more than your maximum. That usually makes you the highest bidder immediately. If you already are, it waits. After that it only raises when somebody else bids — and never beyond your maximum.

The higher maximum wins. The price only climbs to just above the second-highest maximum — not to the winner's limit. If both maxima are equal, the older one wins.

Yes, at any time, using the same button on the auction page. Bids already placed stay valid and are unaffected — only the further automatic bidding stops.

Yes. If a bid lands in the last 2 minutes, the remaining time is reset to 2 minutes from that bid so that outbid bidders can respond. This happens at most 5 times; after that the auction closes at the time reached.

Usually 25 days from publication. The exact end is shown on every auction and counts down there.

Some sellers set a reserve. If it is not reached by the end, the auction closes without an award and no purchase comes about. Bidders never see the reserve amount. Whether it has been met is not displayed during the auction. After the auction closes, you can see whether an award was made or the reserve was not met.

The seller may offer the lot to the highest bidder at their last bid. The offer lasts three days. Acceptance follows the same contract, tax and payment rules as an award, including the frozen settlement mode. If declined or unanswered, the auction remains unsold.

The price breakdown for the particular auction applies. For standard VAT, the disclosed goods VAT and buyer fee with its VAT are added to the bid. Under the margin scheme or an exemption, no additional goods VAT is disclosed. The total is shown before bidding. Cross-border purchases must be clarified with AustroBid before bidding. A company account alone does not make a purchase tax-free.

Buyers and sellers pay the fees fixed for the lot. Fees, tax treatment and settlement mode are frozen when the lot is published and carried into the purchase at award. Later changes to general rates do not change that agreement.

Follow the payment instructions in your purchase after signing the contract. For a direct sale, pay the goods amount to the seller and an independent buyer fee separately. An approved seller surcharge forms part of the goods amount. Existing purchases retain their agreed settlement mode.

Your purchase overview guides the review of contract and tax details and signing by both parties. Payment follows the instructions shown there, followed by documented handover. A direct sale has no additional payout of the goods amount by AustroBid.

The settlement mode frozen on the lot and the signed contract determine where to pay. In a direct sale, the goods amount goes to the seller. AustroBid does not promise to hold that purchase price in escrow. Earlier purchases retain their agreed workflow.

Your purchase overview shows the applicable payment and handover deadlines. An overdue deadline creates an administrative review. It does not automatically cancel a purchase, confirm handover, release a payout or issue a refund.

A missed deadline does not automatically cancel a purchase. Report problems through the purchase workflow. Cancellations, refunds and other financial actions require a documented review; payments are not automatically reversed.

Yes. Private and business buyers from Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein can register and bid after approval. Arrange collection or a carrier appointed by you before bidding. After award, enter the actual destination address and transport arrangement under “Tax & delivery”. EU business exemptions require reviewed VAT identification, goods movement and reporting evidence. Ordinary standard-rated collection by private buyers or purchases without exemption evidence generally retain Austrian VAT. Imports into Switzerland/Liechtenstein incur additional import and clearance charges; tax refunds are not automatic. Seller shipping and exceptional cases require a separate agreement before bidding.

During the auction you see the region. The exact address including collection instructions is released in your purchase overview after the award and confirmed again in the contract.

The buyer. You organise collection, loading and any equipment needed yourself, and arrange the date with the seller. Notes on access are provided by the seller with the listing.

All details come from the seller. Please send questions about an item to us through the contact page; the direct line to the seller opens when the hammer falls.

The full VIN is shown after the award only. Before that it is shortened, so the vehicle cannot be identified and approached around the auction.

Registration for additional sellers is currently closed. Individuals and businesses can still register as buyers. Existing seller accounts remain available.

Questions, awards and contracts need to remain linked to the correct purchase on the platform. Contact details in listing descriptions are therefore removed automatically, with a notice after saving. Released contact details become available in the purchase workflow after award.

They are re-encoded and scaled down on upload. The embedded metadata goes with it, GPS coordinates in particular — the location of your machine is no longer sitting invisibly inside the image.

Nothing. Registering and bidding are free; fees only apply when the hammer falls.

With two-factor sign-in, either through an authenticator app or a code by e-mail. You will find it in your dashboard under “Security”. For seller and administrative accounts we strongly recommend it.

Request a link via “Forgot password” on the sign-in page. If no e-mail arrives, please check your spam folder and whether the address matches the one stored in your account.