An auction is the only way of buying where you set the price yourself, and where the emotions of a few minutes can cost you thousands. A little preparation keeps the decision in your own hands.
Before the auction opens
- Study the listing: photographs, frame number, condition notes and known faults. Use the buying checklist as a guide.
- Ask the seller questions during the preview week. A seller who answers well is a good sign.
- Consider an inspection if the bike is valuable: pre-purchase inspection.
- Watch the listing, so that you get a notification when bidding opens. On Epic Motor Trading, bidding is closed during the first week, which is for viewing only.
- Work out the value in your own terms: the comparable sales, the work the bike needs and what you would pay for a better one.
Set a maximum that includes the costs
Your maximum bid is not what you are willing to pay in total. Subtract the other costs first:
- VAT, where it applies. The rate depends on the seller type and your location.
- Transaction costs. On Epic Motor Trading the confirmation popup shows your estimated total cost when you bid: your bid, VAT on the bid and the transaction costs. The FAQ describes the transaction cost as the Stripe fee of 2.9% plus €0.30, plus 21% VAT on that fee.
- Transport and customs: shipping and importing from outside the EU.
- Registration and taxes in your country.
- Repairs you already know about.
Write the number down before you start. When you reach it, stop.
Manual bids and automatic (proxy) bids
You can bid by hand: you enter an amount that is at least the minimum increment above the current bid. Or you can set an automatic bid, also called a proxy bid: you enter your maximum, and the system bids for you in small steps, only when someone outbids you. The maximum is not shown to other bidders.
Automatic bids have two advantages: you are not tied to the screen, and you cannot be tempted to bid above your limit at the last second. They have one risk: if another bidder has also set a high maximum, the bidding goes quickly up to the lower maximum plus one step. Set your maximum as if you will pay it, because you might.
Anti-sniping
Sniping means placing a bid in the last seconds, so that the other bidders have no time to react. Many online auctions, including Epic Motor Trading, protect against this: a bid placed just before the end extends the auction. The default on this site is a two-minute window and up to three extensions. Do not plan to win on a last-second bid. Be ready for the auction to run longer than its scheduled end.
A bid is a contract
Bids are binding and cannot be retracted. If you are the highest bidder at the end, and the reserve has been met, you must complete the purchase. On Epic Motor Trading the winner has 48 hours to pay, through the checkout, into escrow. Read safe payment.
Common mistakes
- Bidding without reading the listing and the condition notes.
- Forgetting that the price shown is not the total price.
- Chasing: raising the maximum because someone else keeps bidding. The other bidder may have an incentive you do not know about.
- Bidding on several similar bikes and winning all of them.
- Bidding on a bike you cannot register in your country. Read buying a classic motorcycle abroad.
If something looks wrong
Bids that appear from nowhere on a listing with no interest, or a seller who bids on their own bike, are shill bidding. The platform bans it, so report it to the support team. See the fraud alert page for the signs.
