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Welcome to the Fifth Annual Holiday Gift Card Auction!

Monday, November 23 at noon to Sunday, November 29 at 9 p.m

Sootoday+ members receive early access to Buy Now deals on Mon, Nov 23. The auction opens to the public on Tues, Nov 24 at noon. 

Please READ THE RULES, particularly the part about credit card authorizations. In short, each time you place a bid, the system places a hold authorization for that amount on your card. When you are outbid, the hold is released. If you bid $50 on ten different items, this means $500 of your available balance will be unavailable until you're outbid. Any winning bids at the end of the auction are captured - meaning your card is charged. Buy Now items will be charged to your credit card at the time of purchase. We recommend you use a credit card, not a debit card for this auction. A released hold may take several days to reflect on your statement.

What happens if I win?
After the auction closes, it may take us a few days to process the results. If you have won an item, you will receive a confirmation email, which will contain pick up instructions. For any auction related questions, please email [email protected]

Rules

If you read one thing, read this:

  1. Each time you place a bid, the system places a hold authorization for that amount on your card.  When you are outbid, the hold is released.  If you bid $50 on ten different items, a total of $500 of your card balance will be held and unavailable to you until you’re outbid. Buy Now items will be charged to your credit card at the time of purchase. 
  2. Any winning bids at the end of the auction will be captured - meaning the corresponding hold authorization will be charged to your card.
  3. We strongly recommend NOT using a debit card. Banks handle these transactions differently, and will actually debit your account when you bid, and refund the amount when you’re outbid.
  4. All credit card charges will appear as VILLAGE MEDIA on your statement.
  5. A Sootoday account is required for participation in the Auction.
     

1.) Registration

You must register a SooToday.com user account in order to bid in this auction. If you have registered for a SooToday.com account previously, such as for the classifieds, please log in and use that account. Registration only takes a few moments. Register or log in here: https://www.sootoday.com/account

You must be logged in on SooToday.com in order to place bids. Please keep your login credentials safe. We highly recommend logging out of your account if anyone else will be using the same computer. At our sole discretion and for any reason, SooToday retains the right to revoke an account and cancel any bids placed by that account. In the event an account is suspended or bids are cancelled, the account holder will be notified by email.

If you have problems registering or logging in, please reach out to our customer service department at [email protected].

All registration and bidder information shall remain confidential within Village Media Inc. We will not share your information. 


2.) Bidding

i.) Location and Dates

This is an internet-only auction, operating on http://www.sootoday.com.

This auction commences at 12:00pm on Monday, November 23rd, 2020 and concludes at 9:00pm on Sunday, November 29th, 2020.

SooToday+ members will have exclusive access until Tuesday, November 24th at noon, when it will be opened to the public.

ii.) Bidding Mechanics

Bidding requires being logged in to a registered SooToday.com user account. SooToday accounts are free and can be created here: https://www.sootoday.com/account

To place a bid on an item: 1. Enter at least the minimum bid amount specified. 2. Enter your credit card information to pay for the item (see iv. below). 3. Check off the anonymous box if you wish to bid anonymously, otherwise your SooToday account username will be displayed publicly in the list of winning bids. 4. Finally, check off the "confirm bid" box to confirm the information entered is correct, and then click "Bid". This will place an authorized hold on your credit card as specified in section iv below.

In the event you are outbid by someone, you will be notified by email automatically.

The highest bid on each item, provided the reserve price (if set) was met, will be declared the winner of the item.

You must be prepared to pay for any item you commit to buying. Your credit card will be charged if you win the auction. Make sure you read the description and understand what the item is before placing a bid.

Bidders can bid multiple times on the same item over the course of the auction in an effort to achieve the highest bid. Bidders can bid on multiple items (although some retailers may have restrictions on the number of winning gift cards that can be used per transaction). Every bid placed could potentially be the winning bid, so please, participate carefully and mindfully. Every bid placed is binding and constitutes a legal agreement from the bidder to Village Media Inc. to purchase the item for the bid amount entered by the bidder.

iii.) Retraction

You can only retract a bid if it is obvious to Village Media Inc. that the bid was erroneous, like if you meant to bid $50 but bid $500 on a $100 item.  If this occurs, please contact us immediately at [email protected] or call 1-855-998-2464 ext. 0.

iv.) Credit Cards - Authorized Holds and Collection

Bidding on an item or purchasing a Buy Now item requires you to provide a valid credit card. Buy Now items will be charged to your credit card at the time of purchase. Winning bids will be charged at the conclusion of the auction. 

Placing a bid will authorize a transaction on your credit card and place a hold in that amount on the card. Subsequent bids on the same item will supersede and replace that authorized hold on the card.

Bids on separate items will result in multiple authorized holds on the credit card -- one for each of those bid amounts. It is important to note that an authorized hold on a credit card reduces your available credit. For example, bidding $50 on ten different items will result in ten $50 holds placed on the card, for a total of $500.

An authorized hold will be removed from your card if and when you are outbid on that item.  It may take up to a week for your bank to process the removing of an authorized hold.

Winning bid amounts will be charged to credit cards at the conclusion of the auction, and all outstanding authorized holds will be removed.

v.) Conclusion

Within 24 hours of the conclusion of the auction, all winning bids will be processed. Winners will be notified by email, and the winning bid amounts will be charged to the credit cards provided.
 

3.) Pick Up

At the conclusion of the auction, winning bidders will be notified of any items they have won. This email will include pick up instructions for the item(s).

Pick up of the item(s) varies by item. Some may need to be collected from participating businesses, while some may need to be collected from a predetermined location on a certain day.

All winning bidders will be required to complete a release form upon collecting their item(s) to confirm pick up of said item(s).
 

4.) Restrictions

Employees of Village Media Inc. and related companies are prohibited from participating in the auction.