The Wish Foundation - Lowest Unique Bid Penny Auctions - Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is a lowest unique bid penny auction?
A. Instead of bidding and then buying a product you fancy at the highest bid in a conventional auction, with our penny auctions you place what you believe will be the lowest unique bid and if you’re right you will be able to buy your chosen product for just 1 penny – and we help you to win.

Q. How do you help me to win?
A. Every time you bid we tell you whether the bid was too high, unique but not the lowest or the unique lowest. You can use that information to bid accurately.

Q. What does it cost to bid?
A. Bids cost from a maximum of £1.20 down to around 50 pence through your credit / debit card, depending on the bid package purchased. You can see full details on our home page.

Q. How much are auction items worth?
A. Anything from £500 upwards, there is no maximum. Auction items vary from time to time based on special purchase offers made to us, and even donated products from some supporting suppliers. The choice of product to bid on is yours, all auction item bids cost the same.

Q. Is there a minimum age to take part?
A. Yes, you must be 18 or over to participate.

Q. How do I buy bids?
A. We accept all major credit and debit cards. Simply click buy bids on our home page. All purchased bids are stored in your private account area, are live for 6 months after purchase, and will expire without refund thereafter.

Q. Is your site secure?
A. 100% secure is the answer. We use the latest technology to ensure that your bid and card information is handled in a totally secure environment.

Q. Do your auctions have a reserve level?
A. Yes, a proportion of the Foundations complete costs relating to Auctions plus a contribution to the Foundations work equal to the normal selling price of a featured Auction item must be acheived on each Auction through placed bids before an Auction can close ("Reserve"). The only exception to this is in the case of Auctions closed early as detailed below.

Q. Can I win an auction that hasn't reached its Reserve? 
A. Yes, In the unlikely event this happens through non participation or for any other commercial reason, Our costs underwriters will close the Auction concerned early and pay the winner 25% of the acheived bid fund for that auction.

Q. Why does the timer bounce back up?
A. Our auctions run from 10.00am until 12.00 midnight, 7 days a week. As soon as the Foundations Costs have been covered on an Auction the displayed timer counts down to zero and the Auction is closed. Until this happens, or when any new bid is placed during the last minute of an Auction,  panel timers automatically bounce back up to 1 hour with the word "bid" being displayed.

Q. What happens if I win?
A. We will contact you using the details you registered on the Site, so please keep them up to date.

Q. If I win how much do I pay for the auction item?
A. Your winning bid includes the1 penny cost to purchase your chosen item and that includes delivery anywhere on the UK mainland. You are responsible for all other delivery/collection costs.

Q. What if there are no unique bids on my auction?
A. If this happens we will sell the auction item for 1penny to the bidder who entered the lowest non unique bid first, that person will be declared the winner and all rules relating to a normal unique lowest bid winner will apply.