BidCactus is a new kind of auction experience that combines the best of online shopping with entertainment. Experience the thrill of participating in live auctions while trying to score real bargains!

Unlike some auctions sites, BidCactus auctions feature only brand new merchandise. Also unlike many auction sites, bidding starts at just $0.01 with no reserve. Bids cost only $0.75 each, so you can walk away a winner with only a small amount invested!

With each new bid placed on a penny auction, the auction price will increase by one cent. When there are less than two minutes remaining on the auction clock, any bid placed will increase the clock by 3-30 seconds. The reason for the time increase is to give other users a chance to respond and bid again if they wish (similar to the way an auctioneer in a live auction says "going, going, GONE"). An auction ends when there are no further bids and the counter reaches zero.

Registration is the first step and we have made the process as simple, secure and straightforward as possible. To get started on BidCactus, go to the Registration page and follow the steps:

1. Enter your contact and personal information
   Your contact information includes your first and last name.
2. Enter your email address
   You need to enter a working email address that you can check immediately. We'll also use this email address to notify you when you've won an item, and to provide shipping and payment information.
3. Choose a username and password
   You will use your username and password every time you login to BidCactus. Our online registration process will tell you whether the username you selected is available and will help you create a secure password.
4. Read and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
   You must read and accept these agreements in order to register. Learn more about our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
5. Read "How BidCactus Works"
   Learn how to bid, avoid rookie mistakes, and pick up some great tips by reading our How BidCactus Works section.

BidCactus registration is free, however you must purchase bids in order to participate in an auction. Bids cost $0.75 each and are available in packs of 30, 50, 100, 250, and 500 bids. If you win an auction, you will be responsible for paying the final auction price of the item, shipping & handling, and sales tax (CT state residents only).

Your "actual cost" to win an item consists of two things: the amount of bids you place, and the final auction price of the item. For example, if you place 20 bids on an auction (and bids cost $0.75 each), you have spent $15 worth of bids. If you win the item at a final auction price of $1.00, you will pay $1.00, plus shipping & handling, plus CT sales tax if applicable.

Email: info@bidcactus.com
Phone: 1-(800)-BID-8711
Customer Service Hours: MON-FRI 9AM to 5PM EST

You can purchase bids using your credit or debit card, or via PayPal. At this time, we accept Visa, MasterCard, Diner's Club, Discover and Maestro cards. (Please note that all Bidpacks are non-refundable.)
Important: We do not accept Vanilla Visa Gift Cards. However, if you would like to use a Vanilla Visa Gift Card, you can register and use it through Paypal.

Getting set to bid and bidding on BidCactus is easy:

1. Register for free
   Your contact information will be collected and you will provide a username, password and agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
2. Purchase bids
   Bids cost $0.75 each and are available in packs of 30, 50, 100, 250, and 500 bids.
3. Select an item you wish to bid on
   Find the item you want to bid on. You can even determine what's being auctioned next - go to Upcoming Auctions at the bottom of our home page and cast your vote!
4. Place bids and go for it
   There is only one way to win and that is by bidding. You have found the items you want, you have the bids in your account, now get started! We advise beginners to focus their bids on one or two items at a time rather than spreading their bids around.
5. Automated Bidding
   At this time, we have no plans to utilize a bid butler or an automated bidding system.
6. Do I get my bids back if I do not win an auction?
   Any bids placed during an auction are considered "used" and will not be returned to your account, whether you win the auction or not.

Any bids placed during an auction are considered "used" and will not be returned to your account, whether you win the auction or not. This is an inherent feature of our site and is explained in our Terms and Conditions.

We do this for two reasons. The first is that it eliminates inflated auction prices that would occur if users knew they would have nothing to risk if they lost. A non-refundable bid means that each bidder has a stake in the auction, and is not likely to make frivolous bids. Second, this policy is what allows us to offer items at such low auction end prices. The amount of bids we collect during an auction covers the cost of the item for us.

It is our #1 goal to make the site fair to all players. Therefore, collusion of any kind is not permitted.

By clicking on an item that is up for auction, you have the ability to see a list of the 10 most recent bidders. You can also view your current and past auction purchases in My Account.

Just below our live auctions, you can view the results of completed auctions. The 300 most recent auctions are listed.

Penny Auction
In a penny auction, with each bid placed the auction price increases by one penny.

Beginner Auctions
Beginners only auctions are open exclusively to users who have won fewer than five auctions. These are great auctions to start with, since you will only be competing against other new users to the site.

Expert Auctions
Where experienced users battle it out! Open to all players, but enter at your own risk. Since the 30-day win limits do not apply to expert auctions, you can participate even if you have reached your limit. However, category limits do apply to expert auctions (e.g., if you have won a camera in the last 30 days, you may not bid on an expert auction for a camera).

30-Second Auction
The countdown increases by a maximum of 30 seconds each time a bid is placed on an item.

20-Second Auction
The countdown increases by a maximum of 20 seconds each time that a bid is placed.

15-Second Auction
The countdown increases by a maximum of 15 seconds each time that a bid is placed.

10-Second Auction
You guessed it - the countdown increases by a maximum of 15 seconds each time that a bid is placed.

3-Second Bidpacks
Due to popular demand we have decreased the time on our Bidpacks. Bidpacks may begin with regular clocks but as the auction continues the clock will speed up. This will make the auction run faster and allowing other Bidpacks to run more often. This will increase your chances of winning one of our most popular items!

An auction ends when the auction clock reaches zero ("going, going, GONE") AND when people stop bidding on an item. Our auctions are completely interest driven; some may go on for hours while others will end after only a few bids. It often depends on the website traffic and the popularity of the item up for auction.

A note about the auction clocks: As you may have noticed by watching the site, some of the auction clocks get close to zero and then increase again. When an auction is "in the zone" - that is, when there are less than two minutes remaining on the auction clock - any bid placed will increase the clock by 3-30 seconds. This gives other users a chance to respond and bid again if they wish (similar to the way an auctioneer in a live auction says "going, going, GONE"). If nobody else bids by the time the clock says "GONE", the auction will end.

Congratulations!

1. Check out
   Once the auction has ended and you are the winner, you will be directed to our check out process, which is fast and easy. Just remember to purchase the item within 30 days of the end of the auction. If you still haven't purchased the item within 30 days, the item will be removed from your cart. All bids placed towards that item are non-refundable.
   
2. Pay for the item you won!
   Purchasing items is easy and follows the same process as purchasing bids. As with purchasing bids, you can use Pay Pal, Visa, MasterCard, Diner's Club, Discover or Maestro. We will confirm via email payments received and shipping information. Please contact us if the item has not arrived within 15 business days of our payment confirmation.

Retail Price
The retail price is the price you would pay if the item was purchased through a traditional retailer.

Auction end price
The auction end price is the price at which the auction ended. Only the winner of the auction can buy the item at that price.

We want everyone to have a good time at BidCactus! In the spirit of fairness, users are allowed a certain number of auction wins before hitting their limit. This allows more users to enjoy the site.

24-hour limit: Users are limited to 6 wins (3 item wins + 3 Bidpack wins) in any rolling 24-hour period.

30-day limit: Users are limited to 30 total wins in any rolling 30-day period.

Category limits: Users are limited to 1 Television, 1 Camera (including video cameras), 1 Computer System, and 2,000 bids won during any 30-day period.

"Items" are defined as physical items, gift cards, or gift certificates.

When calculating win limits, Combo Auctions (Item + Bidpack) will count as 1 item win.

A pop-up window will appear after your win, notifying you that you've hit your limit.

If you are close to your 30-day limit of 2,000 bids, you may get a warning pop-up if you try to bid on a Bidpack that would cause you to exceed the limit. You may still be able to bid on smaller Bidpacks.

Limits are calculated on a rolling basis, taken from the most recent 24 hours or 30 days of your history. As older wins drop off, you become eligible to bid again.

Shipping charges are located at the bottom of the details page. You can reach the details page by clicking on the item up for auction, then going to the bottom of the screen.

The charges shown upon winning an auction are for delivery to addresses within the continental United States only. Please note that if you live in Alaska or Hawaii, there will be additional shipping charges on items you win.

If you have a P.O. BOX, please contact customer service to make alternate shipping arrangements.

Important: We do not ship internationally.

Delivery times vary for the different items that we auction. Most of our items are shipped directly from our suppliers, with the majority of orders arriving within 15 business days of payment. We'll let you know as soon as your item has been shipped. If an item has not been received within 15 business days, please contact us at info@bidcactus.com or 1-800-BID-8711.

Important: We work hard to make sure that all items are shipped in a timely manner; however there are times when an item may be temporarily unavailable. In this case we will contact you when we have an estimated ship date.

We'll let you know via email as soon as your item has been shipped. If an item has not been received within 15 business days, please contact us at info@bidcactus.com or 1-(800)BID-8711.

Occasionally an item might not work or may get damaged in transit. If this has happened, our goal is to resolve your problem as quickly as possible.

If an item is not working, it can sometimes be useful to check the manufacturer's website or call their helpline for assistance. Many of the most common problems are easily solved without having to return the product.

For damaged items, please contact us at info@bidcactus.com or 1-800-BID-8711. Please give us the auction ID, as this will help us to deal with your problem more quickly.

We work with different suppliers who are happy to help identify any problems and to replace faulty items if necessary.

Important: Please don't return the item back to us without first contacting us - this is likely to delay the time it takes to replace your item if it is damaged.

Purchased items are subject to the warranty provided by the manufacturer. Most items have a 1-year limited warranty.

If within 7 days of delivery, you decide that you no longer want the item, we will be happy to refund the final auction price that you paid for that item. The item must be in its original packaging and must not be damaged. Please contact our customer service team for details of what to do, making sure to provide them with the auction ID and your user name. Please note that we cannot offer you a refund on the cost of the bids that you placed on that auction (bids are non refundable) nor the return shipping cost.

Please log onto BidCactus.com, then go to My Account > Personal Info and select Edit. You will be given an option to enter a new password.

If you forget your username and password, click on the green arrow to the right of the login box. The login window will pop up. Enter your e-mail address in the last section to have password reset information e-mailed to you.

Unfortunately, your username cannot be changed. When registering, please be careful not to select a user name that could cause offense or that abuses the rights of third parties. If you notice such a user name, please contact customer service.

Please log in to BidCactus.com, then click My Account in the top navigation bar. Under your account options, you can select Personal Info or Addresses to view and edit this information.

Select "My Account" from the top navigation bar to view your auction wins and manage the items in your checkout cart.

It is strictly against BidCactus policy to have more than 1 account. If you are operating more than one account, your account(s) will be closed. Any items won through a multiple account will be deemed null and void.

If you have more than one user in your household, please contact customer support at 1-800-BID-8711 to assist you in setting up a second account.

You can buy bids using either your credit or debit card, or via PayPal. At this time, we accept Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Discover and Maestro cards.

As with purchasing bids, you can purchase items you've won using either your credit or debit card, or via PayPal. At this time, we accept Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Discover and Maestro cards.

Important: We do not accept Vanilla Visa Gift Cards. However, if you would like to use a Vanilla Visa Gift Card, you can register and use it through Paypal.

Your privacy and security are important to us. We use high-security encoding (SSL) to protect your payment details when processing your online payments.

Most credit card companies will place a pre-authorization hold on your card when you make a purchase. If you attempt to make a purchase and get an error, you may see a pending charge on your card. It will drop in a few days. If you experience an error at checkout but are unsure why, please contact someone from customer support at 1-800-BID-8711 MON-FRI 9 am to 5 pm EST so that we can assist you.

You can participate in BidCactus auctions with nearly all PCs or Macs that allow you to access the internet:
Supported system software:

• Windows 7 / Windows Vista / Windows XP / Windows 2000
• Mac OS X 10.3 or higher
• Linux

Recommended browser:

• Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher
• Firefox 3.0 or higher
• Opera 8.0 or higher
• Safari 4.0 or higher

Recommended internet connection:

• DSL connection or faster

Plugins:

• Flash 9.0

BidCactus uses for authenticating, session tracking (state maintenance), and user information maintenance, such as site preferences or the contents of your auctions. As a result, cookies must be enabled on your web browser:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 / 8.0:

• Select Tools from the pull-down menu in your browser
• Select Internet Options. The Internet Options dialog will appear
• Select the Privacy tab. Under Settings, click Advanced
• Check Override automatic cookie handling under Cookies section
• Under First-party Cookies, select Accept
• Under Third-party Cookies, select Accept. Check Always allow session cookies

Mozilla Firefox 2.0+

• Go to the "Tools" menu
• Select "Options"
• Select the Privacy tab
• Make sure that the Accept cookies from sites under Cookies is ticked
• Click "OK" to save changes

Mozilla Firefox (1.0 final release and earlier)

• Go to the "Tools" menu
• Select "Options"
• Select the "Privacy" icon in the left panel
• Check the box corresponding to "Allow sites to set cookies"
• Click "OK" to save changes

Netscape 7.1/Mozilla 5.0

• Select "Preferences" from the Edit menu
• Click on the arrow next to "Privacy & Security" in the scrolling window to expand
• Under "Privacy & Security", select "Cookies"
• Select "Enable all cookies"
• Click "OK"

Safari

• Choose Safari "Preferences"
• Click Security
• In the Accept Cookies section, choose how you want Safari to handle cookies

A downtime, or outage, is an occasional and unforeseeable problem with the internet, and means that bids cannot be placed during this short period when we are offline. If we experience downtime at any point, we automatically add ten minutes on to the auction end time so that our bidders are not left at a disadvantage. It is impossible to place any bids while the system is experiencing downtime, so any bids attempted during this period will not be accepted or debited from your account. If this situation does occur, we advise you to refresh your screen regularly, either by pressing F5 or the refresh button on your browser.

In the event that an auction ends prematurely due to a system outage or an unforeseeable disruption in service, all ended auctions will be reviewed on a case by case basis. BidCactus reserves the right to deem any won auction as null and void during a system outage.