Auction rules

Version 2026-10-11.1

Who can bid

Anyone with a Swappies account and a confirmed email address. Swappies and its staff never bid on Swappies auctions - not to push the price up, not for any reason.

How bidding works

You enter the most you are willing to pay - your maximum. We bid for you, only as much as needed to keep you on top, up to that maximum. Nobody else ever sees your maximum. If two people enter the same maximum, the one who entered it first leads.

Bids go up in steps of R25. Bids are in whole rands.

The end time and sniping

Every auction shows when it ends. A bid in the last minute adds a minute to the end, so there is always time to answer - nobody can win by bidding in the final second.

Auction events and lots

Some auctions run as an event with several lots. Each lot has its own starting price, reserve (if any) and winner. The lots close one after another - the event page shows how many minutes apart - and a bid in a lot's last minute adds a minute to that lot only. Win more than one lot and you pay for them all in one checkout with one delivery fee, within 24 hours of the event's last lot closing.

Reserve prices

Every auction says up front whether it has a reserve. "No reserve" means it sells to the highest bidder, whatever the price. With a reserve, it only sells once the bidding reaches it; the page says whether the reserve has been met.

A bid is a promise to buy

If you win, you have bought the item at your winning bid. You get an email when the auction ends - for an event, once its last lot has closed. Pay within 24 hours of the end (of the last lot, for an event), by card, instant EFT, EFT or your Swappies wallet, plus delivery (PUDO, Paxi, or free collection in Benoni). A win that is not paid within 24 hours is cancelled, the item goes back on sale, and the account may be blocked from future auctions.

Delivery, cancellation and refunds

Once paid, an auction win is an order like any other and our delivery, cancellation and refund policy applies to it.

If we cancel an auction

Rarely, we may have to cancel an auction (for example if the item is found to be damaged). Every bidder is emailed and nobody owes anything.