Bidding online is simpler than it looks: you make a free account on HiBid, find an item you want, and enter the most you’re willing to pay. HiBid bids on your behalf up to that amount, and if you’re the high bidder when the auction closes, the item is Sold to you. That’s the whole thing. Below we’ll walk through each step so you can bid with confidence.
We’re Matt and Dawn Ramsey, and we run online auctions Hermosa SD folks and buyers across the region use to find shop tools, estate items, equipment, and more. If you’re near Hermosa or Rapid City and curious but a little nervous, this one’s for you.
How do I set up an account to bid?
All our auctions run on HiBid, a nationwide platform that handles the bidding and payments. You’ll head to our auctions on HiBid and create a free account with your name, email, and a password. The first time you bid in one of our sales, HiBid will ask you to register for that specific auction, which usually means confirming a credit card so we know you’re a real buyer. Once you’re approved, you’re set.
A few things worth knowing up front. Registration is per auction house, so after your first time bidding with Matt Ramsey Auctions, you won’t have to re-register every sale. And your card is on file for the auctions you join, not charged just for signing up. If any of this feels fuzzy, you’re welcome to reach out to us and we’ll walk you through it.
How does placing a bid actually work?
Once you find something you like, you’ve got two ways to bid. You can bump the price up one increment at a time, the same way you’d raise your hand at a live auction. Or you can set a max bid, which is the more relaxed way to do it.
Here’s how a max bid works. Say a tool box has a current bid of $20 and you’re willing to go as high as $75. You enter $75 as your max. HiBid keeps you at the lowest price needed to stay on top, so it might show you leading at $25. If someone else bids $40, the system automatically raises you to $45 on your behalf, still under your $75 ceiling. You only pay more if someone pushes you there, and you never pay more than the max you set. Nobody sees your top number.
One more thing to watch for. Many online auctions use a soft close, where the clock extends a little each time a last-second bid comes in. That keeps things fair and gives everyone a fair shake, so an item won’t slip away in the final blink.
What happens after I win?
When an auction closes and you’re the high bidder, the item is Sold to you and you’ll get an email invoice. Payment and pickup details are listed right in each auction’s terms, so read those before you bid. We’re big on giving people extended pickup times and a hand loading the heavy stuff, because we know not everyone can drop everything the next morning.
You can look through what’s live right now on our current auctions page, and if you’d like to know more about us before you jump in, our about us page tells you who we are and how we got started back in 2018. Whether you’re buying a single item or an entire estate, we’re happy to have you.