 |
Where you get amazing deals
while supporting charities
Charities get at least 25% of net proceeds |
        |
|
Offers valid in
 |
 You are not logged in. |
 |
|
|
|
|||
 |
 |
| Refer a Friend Earn FREE Auction Bid Credits! |
FREE SHIPPING on every product! |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)Auctions 4 a Cause, LLC has been holding Unique Bid Auctions since the Fall of 2003 and we have donated thousands of dollars to multiple charities. Since this is an auction site, you can only buy the product if you win the auction. Click on a question to go directly to that section, or scroll down to see the answers. Follow this link for a quick overview of how the auctions works. And see how this is different from a typical auction.
What is Auctions4aCause.com? Auctions4aCause.com is the Internet website of Auctions 4 A Cause, LLC, a Colorado company, which manages and implements private auctions, designed to raise money for selected charities and member non-profit fundraising organizations through the Internet via an innovative auction process called the Auction 4 Charity. How do the auctions work?
What is a unique bid? A unique bid is a bid that is NOT a duplicate bid. A "duplicate bid" is a bid submitted by a participant in an auction where another participant(s) has submitted a bid(s) for the identical amount. Duplicate bids are used to calculate the number of bids required to close an auction, but are disqualified from being selected as the successful bid. A bid can be unique and still not qualify as the successful bid. For example, in a single auction the following bids are accepted: Participant "A" bids $69.42 (bid #1) Bids #1 and #2 are for identical values and are therefore duplicate bids and disqualified from being selected as the successful bid. Bids #3 and #4 are both unique bids and qualify to be selected as the successful bid. Bid #4 is the highest unique bid and is therefore selected as the successful bid. All participants will be required to pay the bidding fees for the bids they submitted. Participant "D" is awarded the right to purchase the product and/or service offered in the auction at the successful bid amount. <Return to How Does the Auction Work> What if an auction closes and there is not a unique bid? In the very unlikely event that an auction closes and there is not a unique bid, all participants will receive an e-mail describing the situation and will be asked to submit a new bid within 72 hours. There will be no fees associated with the new bid and a special URL will be given to the participant to submit the new bid. If a participant does not submit a new bid, their original bid will be used. What is the "Get4" price? The "Get4" price is the maximum price a member can bid on a product and/or service in an auction. The "Get4" price is approximately 80-90% off suggested retail prices and is the maximum price a product and/or service can be sold for. Even better the amazingly low "Get4" price has no hidden charges and includes all taxes, shipping and handling costs unless otherwise noted in the auction. It is NOT possible to purchase a product at or below the "Get4" price unless you win the auction with the highest unique bid. Can I bid more than the "Get4" price? No. Your bid must be equal to or less than the "Get4" price. Bids greater than the "Get4" price will not be accepted. How many bids can be submitted in an auction? The maximum number of bids allowed in any one auction is determined by the auction supervisor before the auction opens, and may vary between different auctions. The maximum number of bids that will be accepted for an auction will be clearly specified in the information presented for each auction. Once an auction opens, the maximum number of bids will not be changed for that auction. How long will an auction remain open? An auction will remain open until either the maximum number of bids allocated for the auction is reached OR the auction reaches maturation (63 days for auctions requiring less than 200 bids, and 183 days for auctions requiring 200 or more bids), AND has received the MINIMUM number of bids required to close. If the minimum number of bids has not been reached, the auction will be extended until the minimum number of bids has been reached. At that time, a closing date of three days will be set and posted on the auction. This is a very good time to bid in an auction because your chances of submitting the successful bid are greater because the maximum number of bids has not yet been reached and you will be competing against fewer bidders. What is the "Closing Soon" indication?/How will I know when an auction ends? We will attempt to show a "Closing Soon" indication on any auction that has only 20% or less of the bids left to go before it hits the maximum number of bids we accept for the auction. If an auction is set up with a maximum of 50 or less bids, the "Closing Soon" indication will show when there are 10 or less bids left. How many bids can I place in a single auction? You may bid as many times as you would like, within the constraints of the maximum number of bids that may be accepted for an auction. The more times you bid, the more chances you will have of becoming the successful bidder. You will be charged bidding fees for every bid you place in a main auction. How can I buy the products and/or services at or below the "Get4" price? Every auction offered by Auctions4aCause.com is for only one item per auction. Like any auction, ONLY the auction winner is allowed to purchase the product and/or service. If you are the successful bidder for an auction, you may purchase the product and/or service for your successful bid amount or donate it to charity. The successful bid in an auction is the highest unique bid. Here is how it works: Suggested Retail Price = $1,000 How is the successful bid determined? When an auction closes, all duplicate and unique bids are identified. Duplicate bids are disqualified and unique bids are ranked by value. The highest unique bid less than or equal to the "Get4" price is declared the successful bid and the participant that submitted the successful bid is awarded the right to purchase the product and/or service at the successful bid amount. <example> How can I see what the successful bid was in an auction? When an auction closes and the successful bid is determined, all auction participants will receive an e-mail with the auction results. In addition, auction results may be viewed on your bidding history page and all closed auctions will be displayed on the closed auctions page for a minimum of 45 days. How will I know if I have the successful bid in an auction? In the event you are the successful bidder, within a few days of an auction closing, we will contact you, via the e-mail address contained in your member profile at the time you submitted the successful bid. If we are unable to contact you via e-mail we will try alternate methods such as telephone and postal mail. What if I didn't have the successful bid for an auction? You will receive a bonus auction credit good for 45 days that will allow you to bid on items in the bonus auction area of the website. You will still be charged the bidding fees if you are not the successful bidder. Can I participate in more auctions even though I've already been the successful bidder in another auction? Absolutely. There are no limits to the number of auctions you may participate in or win. How much does it cost to bid? The bidding fees vary from auction to auction and are clearly specified in the information posted for each auction. Bidding fees are kept low and typically range from $9.94 to $19.94. Bids in the free and bonus auction areas are FREE, but you must have free auction or bonus auction credits in order to participate in these areas. What forms of payment do you accept? Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.
We will be accepting electronic checks and PayPal soon. You can
bid and pay with confidence at www.Auctions4aCause.com, our site
uses a secure SSL payment gateway and encryption from VeriSign™.
Click on the Seal in the left column of this page to check our secure
certificate. How long do I have to pay? Bidding fees are charged at the time you place a bid. If you are the winner of an auction, you will have (45) days, from the transmission of a notification message sent to the e-mail address in your member profile identifying you as the successful participant, to pay the amount of your successful bid. Payment instructions will be included in this e-mail notification. What are the different types of auctions? There are three different types of auctions: Main Auctions, Free Auctions, and Bonus Auctions. All members may participate in a main auction by paying bidding fees. Only members that have earned free or bonus auction credits may participate in a free or bonus auction. How do I earn free auction credits? Users of the website will earn one free auction credit for becoming a member. Every time one of your friends, which you referred to the website via the "Refer a Friend" program, places a bid in a main auction and pays the required bidding fees, you will receive one free auction credit. Do you have more friends you want to tell about the amazing deals you get at www.Auctions4aCause.com while helping charity or do you want to increase your chances of winning a free auction? <Click here to Refer A Friend> Hurry, don't forget to use your free auction credits, they expire after 45 days. How do I earn Bonus auction credits? If you place a bid in a main auction, but aren't the successful bidder, don't despair. You still have a chance to win an auction for great products. For EVERY non-successful bid you place in a main auction, you will earn one bonus auction credit that will allow you to bid on the great products in our Bonus Auction area. This is just another way we make it easier get amazing deals at www.Auctions4aCause.com. Hurry, don't forget to use your Bonus auction credits, they expire after 45 days. What kinds of "causes" do you serve? Every quarter Auctions 4 A Cause donates at least 25% of the net auction proceeds to the charities or up to 65% of net proceeds to the fundraisers sponsored by Auctions 4 A Cause. There will always be 4 to 5 well-known charities supporting different causes for you to choose from. If you don't see your favorite charity or cause sponsored on the website, you can tell us about your favorite charity <Charity Listings>. In addition to the money we donate to the sponsored charities, every quarter we will choose two member submitted charities to receive a portion of that quarter's donations. If your favorite charity supports a worthy cause and could benefit from a donation, please tell us about it. How can you afford to sell new brand name products for 80-90% off retail prices and still donate so much money to charity? The Auction 4 Charity is a new and innovative method of conducting auctions on the Internet to raise money for charities. Every participant pays an affordable bidding fee for each bid they place in an auction. By collecting these fees, keeping our administrative costs low and/or by getting product donations from the product manufacturers, we are able to offer these amazing discounts and still donate at least 25% of the auction net proceeds to the selected charities. Which charities receive money from my bids? There will always be 4 to 5 well-known charities supporting worthy and different causes for you to choose from. If you don't see your favorite charity or cause sponsored on the website, you can tell us about your favorite charity. In addition to the money we donate to the supported charities, every quarter we will choose two member submitted charities to receive a portion of that quarter's donations. See the <Charity Listings> section of this site to learn more about the charities we've selected or to tell us about your favorite charity. How are the donations to the charities determined? Every time a member participates in an auction, the charity selected in their member profile gets a point. At the end of the quarter all the points are tabulated and the charities are ranked according to the percentage of the points earned. This percentage determines the distribution of the proceeds each charity gets. How do I change my charity affiliation? Log in and change your charity selection in your member profile. Every time you place a bid, the charity selected in your member profile will receive one point. If you change your affiliation, points earned for prior bids will not be altered. This allows you to earn points for multiple charities if you desire. How can I contact somebody at Auctions 4 A Cause? See the <Contact Us> section on our website to reach a representative. Will you share my user information? Auctions 4 A Cause does not share any member information with affiliates or outside sources, other than those required to conduct the auction and process payments. Please see our <Privacy Policy> for more details. Are the products new or used? All products and/or services are new, brand name products with warranty, provided by the manufacturer or distributor, unless otherwise noted. How will my product and/or service be shipped? If you are the successful bidder, once you pay the successful bid amount the product and/or service will be shipped to you. Auctions 4 A Cause will select the delivery method based on the product and/or service to be delivered. Some products and/or services will be shipped overnight while others will be shipped via ground service. How much do I have to pay for shipping? All shipping and handling charges are included in the successful bid. There are no additional charges for shipping or handling. You will be responsible for any taxes and/or customs duties. Can I have the product and/or service delivered to an address outside the USA or Canada? At this time, our auctions are only open to members with US or Canadian addresses. Can I change or cancel my bid once it has been submitted? When you submit a bid you will be asked to verify your bid prior to final submission. As a general policy bids cannot be changed or canceled once they have been submitted. We will consider special requests on an individual basis providing that the request is submitted while that auction is still open. A confirmation e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address in your member profile verifying your bid was accepted. If you received a confirmation e-mail and suspect fraudulent use of your credit card, please <Contact Us> immediately. Where can I go to review my bids or see the status of auctions I have participated in? When you submit a bid, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address in your member profile verifying the bid was accepted. Bidding histories, auction statuses and results may be viewed on your bidding history page. What is your refund policy? As a general policy, refunds and credits for bidding fees will not be issued. We will consider special requests on an individual basis providing that the request is submitted while that auction is still open. Please see the <User Agreement & Rules> for more details on our refund policy. When will I receive the product? Usually you will receive the product 1-2 weeks following payment of the successful bid. However it can take up to 45 days depending on the product and shipping and distribution times. Can I see other participants' bids? No. This is a "blind" auction and all bidding information is kept in the strictest confidence. Only the auction supervisors and auditors will have access to bid amounts while an auction is open. Do the products or services come with a warranty? All products include the full manufacturers or service providers' standard warranty. Who can become a member and bid in an auction? Any person, 18 years of age or older, with a valid credit card or accepted method of payment with a residence in the USA or Canada, or a business entity qualified to do business within a particular jurisdiction, with a valid credit card or accepted method of payment and a shipping address in the USA or Canada. What if I forget my username and/or password? Your username is the e-mail address we have on file for you. If you change your e-mail address in your profile, your new e-mail address will become your new username. To recover your password, just click on the "I forgot my password" link on the <member login page> and your password will be e-mailed to the e-mail address stored in your member profile. |
|
|
|