Last Updated 03.11.2025

Please Note: Facebook IS NOT eBay and was not designed to handle live online auctions, especially ones with a lot of last-minute bidding. The Site Admins were asked to investigate other online auction options, but all require additional logins, etc. That being the case, live online auctions are offered on The Patch Page site to the patch collector community as a COURTESY.

The poster of an auction is referred to as the “Auctioneer” in this document. Those participating in the auction are referred to as the “Bidder”.

BIDDING: Since the bidding process is handled through comments, both bidding and checking all bids can be difficult due to Facebook’s embedded comments and hidden view functionality. Please keep this in mind when you are bidding.

Remember, all bidding needs to be done in $1 increments (the exception is for David and his signature .01 at the end of his bid - This does not imply that David can win an auction by a penny).

This doesn’t mean you can’t bid more than $1 at a time. It means you can’t win by just bidding a penny over the previous bid. You must bid at least $1 more than the previous bid.

As the Auctioneer, you are responsible for your posting and the rules listed here – please manage your auction accordingly.

AUCTION POST ON FACEBOOK:

The Auctioneer should include the following information in their auction post, as well as a photo of the item:

***AUCTION*** (right at the beginning of the post)

Item and Description:

Starting Opening Bid:

Auction End Date and Time (including Time Zone):

Any Payment/Shipping Notes:

Note: Due to changes in Facebook, it’s helpful to include the Auction End Date and Time (including Time Zone) directly in the photo description. The “View Original Post” button may not always appear.

BID TYPE: You must choose either public commented bids or private bids via Instant Messenger—not both. Clearly state which method you're using. (See Private Auctions.)

If using private bidding via Instant Messenger, the Auctioneer is responsible for all aspects of the auction (taking bids, verifying the winner, notifying them, etc.). Admins do not manage private auctions. Still, the winner should be posted in a comment on the auction post.

The Auctioneer decides whether to offer international shipping. Be sure to state this clearly in the original auction post.

RESERVE BIDS: There are NO Reserve Bids allowed. If you must have a reserve bid, then list it as your starting bid. Example: if you feel you need a reserve bid of $50, then your starting bid should be listed as $50.

AUCTION FORMAT: It is recommended to turn off the “Selling Format” option since it causes issues with posting auction bids in the comments section and does not allow you to view photo descriptions and comments.

BID WINNER: When the auction is officially over, the auctioneer should announce the winner in the comment section, including for Private Auctions.

SOLD or CLOSED: Add ***SOLD*** or ***CLOSED*** to the beginning of the main post once the item is no longer available.

COMMENTS: You can also turn off commenting once the auction is finalized.

AUCTION WINNER: There has been some confusion in the past about what is considered the final bid ending time. To keep it consistent, the bid closest to the end time without going over is the winner. Example: For an auction ending at 7:00 PM EST, the highest bid posted closest to 6:59 PM EST would win.

Some auctioneers like to have Site Admins confirm the winner. You can always check with a Site Admin if an auction is too close to call. To get their attention, tag the Admins or Moderators in a comment and request assistance. Please allow time for Admins to review close auctions, especially those ending late at night (keep time zones in mind). Do not accept payment until the winner is confirmed.

Please Note: The winner of a live online auction is determined by the comment timestamp. Anyone can check the timestamp on a comment from a computer (not from a phone) by hovering over the time field to view the full date and time of posting.

ENFORCING PAYMENT/SHIPPING: The Site Admin cannot enforce the payment from a bidder to an auctioneer or enforce the shipping of an item from the Auctioneer. This is handled between the Auctioneer and the Bidder directly.

NOTE: eBay allows payment up to 4 days (96 hours) on an auction. The Patch Page recommends that 2 days (48 hours) is more than ample time to receive a payment for an auctioned item. If payment is not received within a reasonable time-frame, the Auctioneer should inform the bidder that he is moving onto the next bidder of the item or putting the item back up for auction.

COMMENT SHUTDOWN: The Site Admins only shut down commenting on an auction when it seems the discussion is getting out of hand and needs to be formally addressed.

DELETING AUCTIONS: The Site Admins can delete an auction if the auction item does not meet the page criteria (items that are not patches or not considered memorabilia). The Auctioneer will be contacted as to why the auction was deleted.

OT RULE (Last Minute Rule) NO LONGER VALID AS OF AUGUST 2024

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