While some auctions are traditionally designed to benefit the seller or organiser, since bidders are raising item prices by competing with each other, there are some ways you can win every auction item face-off you enter. And for a lower price, too.

You know what they say: forewarned is forearmed. With Oktion, that means making sure your mobile notifications are on. Oktion will let you know when something happens with an auction item that you’re interested in. Once you’ve bid on an item, Oktion will notify you every time you are outbid. Then you can log into the app and raise your amount.

Bidding on auction items is easy, but sometimes your chances of winning an item will depend on when the bidding ends for that item. Make sure you check this before you make your first bid! For example, if bidding closes at 5pm, you might be commuting home and therefore unable to bid. The winning bids are usually made within the final minutes of a sale, so don’t get into a bidding war that you can’t see to the end. But if you’re serious about winning that item – there’s a way around this that we’ll explain in the next point.

If the current bid on an item is $50, you might be tempted to bid just a little more, even if you are happy to pay a lot more. If you’re prepared to pay $100 for that item, it might be a better idea to bid that amount right away. If the bid increments are $10, this will bump the current bid to $60. When another bidder enters a higher offer, Oktion will up your bid automatically, up to your maximum bid of $100. It’s important that you understand that bidding your maximum amount right away doesn’t mean you have to pay that amount. If someone else’s max bid is $70, then Oktion will enter a bid of $80 on your behalf.

Interested in finding out more ways you can win at an auction? Read our blog on Sniping in an Auction.