Generally, the active auction is for a bid period between 10 to 14 days, at which time any registered bidder and/or buyer's agent can place a bid on RealtyBid.com. The Seller's (banks, financial institutions, government agencies, etc) of the properties on this site have assigned to their property an undisclosed minmimun acceptable price, or a "reserve price". The reserve prices are undiclosed and programmed into the site.

Once the reserve price is met for a specific proerty during the active auction, the property's bid page will clearly display "Reserve Met: YES". However, the property is still open for bids until the scheduled "end date" which is located under the countdown timer. All auctions end at 7 pm Central time. If the Seller's minimum reserve is met at the end of the active auction, then the property is cloded as Sold to the highest bidder and the auction is over.

If the website states "Reserve Met: NO at the end of the active auction however, then the property immediately goes into "Post Auction" and is still open for additional bidding.

At the end of an auction, if the property's reserve price has not been met, the property will often enter into the Post Auction process, and bidders have an opportunity to continue to make offers to purchase the property.

It is important to note that although Post Auction properties often includes a countdown (i.e. , , etc.), these countdowns are intended to explain the longest possible amount of time the property will remain on the website and available to receive Post Auction offers; the countdown clock is that the property will remain on the site for that entire amount of time. Post Auction offers are presented to the seller daily; a seller may elect to accept any offer at any time resulting in a deal being made with a bidder and the property being removed from the site.

Time is of the essence during the Post Auction process, because once the property's reserve is met, the property is considered sold, and no more offers will be accepted regardless of the number of Post Auction days initially indicated on the Post Auction countdown clock. The first bid meeting or exceeding the reserve price wins the property!

If the seller decides to accept the highest bid/offer during the Post Auction process, the bidder will receive a telephone call or email notifying him of the acceptance of his offer. Instructions will be given at that time of the next steps for the completion of their paperwork to purchase the property.