Bidding
You bid a monthly rate for a run on one panel, with your artwork attached. Bidding runs on the auction contract on Arc.
What you bid
A bid is a monthly rate and a run length: 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, whichever the owner accepts. Bids are ranked by monthly rate, not by total, so one month and twelve months compare honestly. The rules are in the contract:
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest floor an owner can set | 50 USDC a month |
| A new bid must beat the leader by | At least 5% |
| Largest campaign total (rate times months) | 500 USDC |
| A bid in the last 15 minutes | Extends the auction by 15 minutes |
The deposit
Each bid locks a deposit in the auction contract: 10% of the bid’s total, never less than 10 USDC. If you raise your own bid on the same panel, only the difference is taken. There is no fee on a bid or a deposit.
Masked names
The listing shows the bids so far, with each brand name partly hidden: the first two letters and the last, like Ac•••e. Rates are shown. Artwork is never shown publicly. The owner sees your full name and artwork when deciding.
Outbid notices
When someone outbids you, you are told by email and in the bell, with a link back to the listing. Your dashboard lists every auction you are in: leading, outbid, waiting for the owner, won or lost.
Withdrawing a credit
When you are outbid, or your bid is declined, or the auction expires, your deposit becomes a credit in the auction contract. It does not come back on its own: you withdraw it when you choose, from the listing page or your dashboard, with one transaction.
The artwork check
Before your bid is placed, the artwork goes through two checks. The print check measures it against the panel’s real size and tells you if it will print soft or have the wrong shape. An AI-assisted check then looks for things pixels cannot show: body text too small to read on the object, colours that will not read from a distance, or content the terms do not allow.
It gives you up to three things to fix, and you can still bid. Only artwork the terms do not allow is held, and a held bid waits for a person, not a verdict. The owner still decides on every bid.