Also called proxy bidding · max bid · automatic bidding
Proxy bid, explained
Your maximum stays hidden, and other bidders see only a current price just high enough to beat the next-highest bid. Dynadot, for example, documents that a new bid which merely matches the leader's maximum leaves the earlier bidder in front, and its expired-domain auctions add five minutes whenever a bid arrives in the final five minutes, which blunts last-second sniping. Increments, extensions, deposits and payment deadlines differ by platform, so read the rules before you bid.
Set your maximum once, from your own valuation and comparable sales, before the auction gets busy. The classic mistake is raising your proxy again and again in the closing minutes, which is how auctions turn into overpayment. Round numbers are another trap: a maximum of exactly five thousand loses to anyone who chose a little more, so many bidders set odd amounts just above round figures. If you lose at your limit, someone valued the name more than you did, and that is a result, not a failure.
Example. A proxy bid in the low four figures let the bidder skip the closing minutes; the system answered each rival bid up to that ceiling and no further.
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Education, not financial, legal or tax advice. Domain investing is speculative and most domain names never sell. Read the disclaimer.