Buy It Now vs. Live Auctions on AutoBidMaster: Which Option Should You Choose?

Wondering how to buy a car at auction through AutoBidMaster? 

Knowing the difference between Buy It Now and live auctions is essential to a successful purchase. 

Buy It Now suits AutoBidMaster users who prefer more direct transactions on vehicles at a set listed price. 

By contrast, live auctions suit buyers who prefer to compete for the best possible price through bidding.

Neither method necessarily promises a lower vehicle purchase price. Here’s why:

Buy It Now is only available during preliminary bidding, which occurs before the live auction. Competitive live auction bidding can then cause a vehicle’s winning bid to fall below or exceed its Buy It Now price.

Key Takeaways:

• Buy It Now offers greater upfront price certainty, while live auctions suit buyers comfortable with competitive bidding and uncertain outcomes.
  
• Preliminary bidding can last days or weeks. The highest preliminary bid carries into the live auction if no one purchases the vehicle through Buy It Now.
  
• Live auctions offer a chance to pay less than a car’s Buy It Now price, but competitive bidding can drive the final cost higher.
  
• AutoBidMaster Pure Sale, On Approval, and On Minimum Bid auction statuses determine whether the highest live auction bidder automatically wins or needs seller approval.
  
• Buy It Now and live auction bids cannot be retracted.

Buy It Now vs. Live Auctions: Quick Comparison

How to Use AutoBidMaster Buy It Now

We’ve established that Buy It Now is exclusive to preliminary bidding and how it removes live auction price uncertainty. 

Still, there’s more to know if you want to decide which option is best for you. 

A seller must opt in to list a Buy It Now price. You can directly access these listings by filtering your AutoBidMaster searches to Buy It Now cars. 

Buy It Now prices aren’t typically negotiable. However, some Buy It Now listings include a “Make an Offer” option. Make an Offer lets you propose a purchase price lower than the advertised Buy It Now price. Neither Buy It Now nor Make an Offer proposals are retractable. 

An accepted Buy It Now contractually binds you to the vehicle’s Buy It Now price (along with applicable auction and AutoBidMaster fees). You can better understand a car’s added costs with our Final Price Estimator tool. The Final Price Estimator tool is available within each lot page.

A vehicle in preliminary bidding that isn’t purchased through Buy It Now or Make an Offer goes to live auction. If you want to avoid live auctions altogether, Buy It Now or Make an Offer submissions are right for you. Make an Offer submissions remain valid for the day they are submitted plus two business days (48 weekday hours).

Although preliminary bidding differs from a live auction, it doesn’t just involve Buy It Now or Make an Offer. Preliminary bidding also features competitive bidding.  

Understanding how preliminary competitive bidding can shape a live auction will help you decide between Buy It Now and live auction bidding on AutoBidMaster.

How Live Auctions Work on AutoBidMaster

What Is Competitive Preliminary Bidding and How Does It Impact Live Auctions?

An auction vehicle must receive a sale date for preliminary bidding to begin. Preliminary bidding ends one hour before a listing’s live auction.

Once you’ve estimated a vehicle’s total auction costs, you can work backward to determine your maximum preliminary bid. 

After submitting this maximum bid, Bid4U automatically and incrementally bids on your behalf during preliminary and live auction stages. You can only set your Bid4U maximum bid during the lot’s preliminary stage. 

You’ll receive an email if your maximum preliminary bid is outbid, which gives you a chance to increase it. A live auction’s starting bid is the highest bid from preliminary bidding. 

If your Bid4U maximum bid is surpassed during preliminary bidding and you don’t increase it, you would have to win the lot through live auction bidding.

You can only win a car during the preliminary bidding phase if your Buy It Now or Make an Offer proposal is accepted. This restriction means preliminary competitive bidding isn’t ideal for those who want to avoid live auctions altogether.

Let’s look at how to place a bid in live auctions to help you decide whether Buy It Now suits you better.

How to Bid on Copart During a Live Auction 

A car’s live auction beginning doesn’t mean that the vehicle is actively on the auction block. You can place a pre-bid during a live auction as late as two minutes before the car hits the auction block. 

Once pre-bidding expires, manual bidding, which takes place outside of Bid4U, involves selecting the next standard increment or choosing a Monster Bid. A Monster Bid jumps several increments to your designated amount. Bid increments scale with the current bid.

A timer starts once the car hits the auction block. This timer refreshes with every placed bid. The auction ends when the timer expires, and no more bids are placed. 

However, whether the highest bidder actually wins the live online car auction depends on the lot’s sale status.

Essential Car Auction Rule: How Sale Status Affects a Live Auction’s Bidding Outcome

A seller will be running an auction with one of the following sales statuses: On Minimum Bid, On Approval, or Pure Sale.

On Minimum Bid means the seller has a hidden minimum bid amount. If the minimum bid is not met, the seller has until 8 PM PST on the next business day to notify the auction of their decision to accept the bid.

On Approval auctions similarly require sellers to accept, counter, or reject the highest bid. However, there is no minimum price a bidder must meet. The seller has one business day (until 8 PM PST) to respond.

Pure sale means that the highest bidder at the end of a live auction automatically wins the car.

Each lot will display its sale status, both in preliminary and live auction bidding.

Comparing Buy It Now and Live Auction Costs

Cost is one of the main factors behind AutoBidMaster bidding decisions. As a result, you might be wondering whether Buy It Now costs more than winning a live auction. 

Earlier, we highlighted that the upfront cost of a Buy It Now listing isn’t necessarily lower than winning at auction, and vice versa.

You should also know that core fees and any applicable penalties for Buy It Now purchases are the same as those for vehicles won at auction. Additionally, some fees depend on your membership tier rather than the auction’s sale status.

The main fee difference between Buy It Now and live auction wins is the length of storage grace periods, not the penalty amount. 

You’ll have two days, including the sale date, to pick up a vehicle won through Buy It Now or Make an Offer from the yard. In comparison, winning at auction gives you three days. Still, the maximum fee after the storage grace period expires ranges from $30 to $40+ per day for Buy It Now or live auction transactions.

Which Option Is Better for First-Time AutoBidMaster Buyers

We’ve discussed how Buy It Now works better for those who prefer more direct vehicle transactions at a set price. This certainty can make first-time AutoBidMaster buyers more comfortable than live auction bidding.

Cars are typically only on the live auction block for a few minutes. As a result, new AutoBidMaster users might feel more pressure, especially when bidding manually without Bid4U. 

Since preliminary bidding lasts days or weeks, you’ll naturally have more space to consider a Buy It Now purchase. Still, you’ll have to be the first to receive Buy It Now approval.

Live auctions may be more conducive to repeat AutoBidMaster buyers, since you’re dealing with uncertainty regarding how bidding develops during a short time window. The upside of embracing this uncertainty is the possibility of paying less than a vehicle’s Buy It Now price. 

Additionally, there are ways to manage live auction bidding uncertainty.

One strategy is to prioritize pure sale lots. Once you win a pure sale live auction, you won’t have to wait for a seller to decide whether you receive the car. You can also benefit from setting firm live auction spending limits, which helps you accept a loss rather than exceed your budget.

Conclusion: An AutoBidMaster Review on Choosing the Right Purchasing Method

Given that neither Buy It Now nor a live auction promises a lower price, the option you should choose depends on your personal goals and preferences.

Although a purchase through Buy It Now inventory might better suit first-time AutoBidMaster purchasers, new users might still prefer a live auction. 

Additionally, you may prefer live auctions, but happen to see a Buy It Now vehicle within your budget that you don’t want to risk losing. In this case, Buy It Now can make more sense.

Browse our Buy It Now inventory and live auction calendar after reviewing the answers to the most frequently asked questions for each purchasing method below. 

FAQ: How Do Car Auctions Work on AutoBidMaster? (Buy It Now vs. Live Auctions)

How can I register for car auctions? 

Are you curious about how to register for car auctions on AutoBidMaster? 

Begin by visiting our Register Now page, where you’ll enter your name, email, and phone number. Alternatively, you can register for AutoBidMaster using your Google or Facebook account.

You’ll automatically receive a free Guest tier membership after registering. To access higher tiers, upgrade on the membership plans page.

Your AutoBidMaster membership must be higher than Guest to bid on live auctions. However, with a Guest membership, you can submit a Buy It Now proposal or preliminary bid, both limited to a $1,200 maximum spending. Guest memberships can have one active preliminary bid at a time and are allotted no more than one purchase. Read more about our membership types to learn what each tier above Guest gives you during live auctions.

Next, you’ll increase your buyer power and place a refundable security deposit that’s equal to 10% of your intended maximum bid, with a minimum of $600. You can complete these two steps via the “My account” dropdown menu located in the top right corner. 

After placing your security deposit, upload your government ID using the “My account” menu under the “Documents and ID” tab. 

Can you increase or cancel a preliminary bid on AutoBidMaster?

You can increase your preliminary bid on AutoBidMaster while preliminary bidding is still open. Once it closes, you can still place a bid by contacting us by phone.

AutoBidMaster members can’t cancel preliminary bids. The Mistyped Bid option during preliminary bidding allows you to lower your maximum bid if you mistyped your current amount.

Can Bid4U win a live auction without you participating?

Bid4U can win a live auction without you participating, but a tie-breaker between a preliminary bid and a live bid of an equal amount goes to the live bidder.