How Does the Dutch Auction Work?

Each subscriber bids as much as he is willing to pay for a given cover. Bids are private, so subscribers cannot see one another's bids. After the bidding cut-off date, all the bids are sorted by price. In the case of equal bids, the one that was placed earlier takes precedence. We will then "confirm" as many bids as we can, based on how many copies of the cover we expect to receive. Higher bids are confirmed first. The lowest confirmed bid is the price that all of the confirmed bidders will pay for the cover. Subscriber discounts are not applied to incentive prices.

Let's consider an example. Amazing Spider-Man #590 has a one-in-ten Wolverine incentive cover. It carries a minimum bid of $4.99 and an Automatic Fill bid of $14.99. Several subscribers place bids for the cover:

Katie: $14.99
Tony: $10
Jenna: $8
Mark: $7.50
Yolanda: $7.50
Scott: $4.99
Fred: $4.99

In this example, we receive 4 copies of the Wolverine cover, so the top four bids will be successful. We compare the bids in order of price; because Mark placed his bid before Yolanda, he is considered to have a higher bid than she does. Mark's is the lowest successful bid. Yolanda, Scott, and Fred will be backordered on the Wolverine cover in case we get more in stock.

If you want to be sure you will receive a cover, it's a good idea to bid high! If we receive enough to fulfill bids lower than yours, you will pay the lower price.

What is the Bidding Cut-Off Date?

The cut-off date is the last day that bids can be placed on a given cover before we must finalize our orders with the publisher. After the cut-off date has passed, we will confirm bids that we expect to be able to fill based on how much product we expect to receive. Confirmed bids cannot be retracted or changed, and they will be filled at the confirmed price even if later bids (placed after the cut-off) are higher. Bids placed after the cut-off, or those placed before the cut-off but not expected to be filled, are unconfirmed bids. These can be changed or canceled any time and will be considered for fulfillment after confirmed bids, if we receive extra copies.

What is the Automatic Fill Bid?

If you place a bid at the Automatic Fill price, we will do everything we can to ensure that you receive a copy of this cover, including ordering extra product if the publisher requires it. This is only effective if the bid is placed before the bidding cut-off; after that, our ability to get additional variants is very limited.

How does the Automatic Incentive Bid work?

If you set an automatic incentive bid on your subscription, a bid will be entered for you on any cover with a minimum bid that is less than or equal to the price you entered. The bid amount will be the minimum price for the cover, not the price you specify. If you wish to bid above the minimum on any incentives, you must enter a manual bid.