Frequently asked questions about bidding, auctions, payments, pickup, and contacting sellers on BackyardAuction.
Enter the maximum you're willing to pay. Our proxy bidding system automatically bids the minimum needed to keep you in the lead, up to your max. Bid increments scale with the item price: $1 under $10, $2 from $10–$49, $5 from $50–$99, $10 from $100–$249, $25 from $250–$499, $50 from $500–$999, and $100 at $1,000 and above. If someone outbids your max, you'll get an email notification so you can decide whether to bid higher.
You'll receive an email with the seller's pickup address, instructions, and any details they've provided. All pickups are local — no shipping. You can also contact the seller directly through the item page to coordinate timing.
Payments are handled securely through Stripe. You add a card on file before bidding; when you win, the card is charged automatically once the lot closes. You'll see a line-item receipt (winning bid + buyer's premium) in your won-items email and on your Won Items page. Manage saved cards from your profile any time.
Not currently. BackyardAuction is below the volume threshold where states require us to collect sales tax as a marketplace facilitator. Buyers see only the winning bid + buyer's premium at checkout. We'll add tax collection automatically when our volume crosses the threshold (state-specific) and we'll notify buyers in advance.
Bids are binding commitments and cannot be cancelled. Make sure you're comfortable with your maximum bid before placing it.
Go to your Seller Dashboard and click 'New Auction' to get started. You can upload photos and use our AI tool to automatically group items into lots with titles, descriptions, and categories — or set everything up manually. Add your pickup location, save as a draft to finish later, and publish when you're ready.
If a bid is placed within 5 minutes of a lot's closing time, that lot's timer automatically extends by 5 minutes. This prevents last-second bids from unfairly winning and gives all bidders a fair chance to respond.
Each item page has a 'Contact Seller' button. Send a message directly through the platform — the seller will receive your message via email with your email address so they can reply.
Auctions are organized into lots — individual items or groups of items that are each bid on separately. Each lot has its own closing time, so they close one after another throughout the auction.
When you win, you'll get a 6-character pickup code in your winner email — one code per auction, covering every lot you won there. Show that code to the seller at pickup; they type it on their Pickup Day screen, which marks your items handed off and releases the seller's payout to their bank. You don't need to do anything else — no app to open at pickup, no confirm button to tap.
Codes live in the winner email and on the buyer's Won Items page on BackyardAuction — they can pull either up on their phone at pickup. If they're stuck, send them back to /won-items to grab the code, or check their email for that auction. Don't hand over items without typing a code on the Pickup Day screen — that's what tracks the handoff and tells our system to release your payout.