Legal & info

Bidding Terms

Binding bids, minimum increments, anti-sniping extensions, and prohibited conduct.

Last updated: 8 October 2026

Version: 2026-10

In short: a confirmed Bid cannot be withdrawn. If you hold the highest Bid when the Auction closes, you must buy the whole Lot at that price.

These Bidding Terms explain how bidding works on uncrack (https://uncrack.auction), which is operated by EGGSTONE. They form part of the Terms of Service and apply to every Bid placed on uncrack, whether you place it yourself or Auto-bid places it for you. Capitalised terms such as uncrack, EGGSTONE, House, Buyer, Exporter, Producer, Lot, Auction, Auction Page, Winning bid, Confirmed weight, Lot value, Award, award invoice and Paddle have the meanings given in the Terms of Service, section 2. If these Bidding Terms conflict with the Terms of Service, the order in Terms of Service section 4.2 applies.

1. Definitions

Bid: an offer, in US dollars per kilogram (US$/kg), to buy a whole Lot.
Bidder: the holder of an approved uncrack account who places a Bid.
Auto-bid: the uncrack feature that bids for you up to a maximum price you set (section 6).
Opening price: the starting price the House sets for a Lot.
Increment: the minimum step, in US$/kg, between one Bid and the next on any Lot in an Auction.
Reserve: an undisclosed minimum price below which a Lot will not be sold.
Closing Time: the time an Auction ends, including any extension under section 7.
Winning Bidder: the Bidder who wins a Lot under section 10. The Winning Bidder is the Buyer of that Lot for the purposes of the Terms of Service and Shipping & Settlement.
Co-winner: a company or roastery that the Winning Bidder names as sharing the purchase of a Lot (section 9).

2. Who may bid

2.1 Approved account. You need an uncrack account that the House has approved. Accounts are registered as Buyer, Producer or Exporter accounts, and every new account is reviewed by the House before it can bid. The House approves an account only after verifying that the applicant is a business in the coffee trade. Review usually takes up to 2 business days. The House may decline an application and does not give reasons for doing so. You must also verify your email address before you bid.

2.2 Business use only. uncrack is a business-to-business auction. It is open to businesses only. You may bid only on behalf of a business in the coffee trade, and you must be at least 19 years old.

2.3 Authority. By bidding, you confirm that you are authorised to commit the company named on your account to buying the Lot at the price you bid. Bids placed through your login are treated as Bids of that company.

2.4 Account security. Terms of Service 5.10 applies. In particular, Bids accepted through your login before you report misuse to info@eggstone.co stand as your company's Bids, unless the misuse happened because EGGSTONE did not take reasonable care to secure uncrack, or applicable law provides otherwise.

2.5 Who may not bid.

(a) Accounts with House staff or Presenter roles (Presenters are partners who plan an Auction with the House) cannot place Bids, set Auto-bids or watch Lots. EGGSTONE staff and their related parties are also covered by 8.6.

(b) A Producer or Exporter cannot bid in an Auction that includes a Lot it submitted or a Lot linked to its Exporter. uncrack blocks these Bids automatically.

(c) You cannot bid while your account is suspended or after it has been closed (section 13). The House suspends or closes an account by withdrawing its approval.

2.6 One approval for all Auctions. Once approved, you may bid in any open Auction without registering for it or agreeing to separate conditions for it.

3. Before you bid

3.1 Each Lot page shows the Lot's details, its weight, the current price and the Increment. The Auction Page shows the Closing Time. Check them before bidding. Before you bid, the Lot page names the Exporter selling it, with its legal name, country, address and export registration number.

3.2 Lot information, including EGGSTONE's NIR-derived analysis and any score shown, is decision support. EGGSTONE's analysis data is a model-based estimate, not a warranty by EGGSTONE, and does not replace your own evaluation of the sample. The Exporter's obligation to deliver coffee that matches the Lot description and the samples is set out in Dispute Resolution section 2. See Terms of Service 8.3.

3.3 You bid per kg. The amount you pay for a won Lot is the Lot value: the Winning bid multiplied by the Lot's Confirmed weight in kg. The weight shown on the Lot page is an estimate. The Exporter confirms the final weight before shipment, and the Confirmed weight may differ from the estimate by up to 2% either way (see Shipping & Settlement 4.3). There is no buyer's premium. Freight, insurance, import duties, taxes and bank charges are not included in the Winning bid; see Shipping & Settlement and Fees & Charges.

3.4 Before bidding, make sure you can lawfully import the Lot into your destination country and meet its documentation requirements. Being unable to import a Lot does not release you from a winning Bid.

4. Prices and increments

4.1 Currency and unit. All Bids are in US dollars per kilogram, to two decimal places.

4.2 Increment. The House sets one Increment for each Auction. It applies to every Lot in that Auction, does not change with the price level, and is shown on the Auction and Lot pages. The House does not change the Increment once the Auction is live.

4.3 Valid amounts. A Bid must be at least the current price plus one Increment, and must equal the current price plus a whole number of Increments. For example, if the current price is US$18.00/kg and the Increment is US$0.50/kg, valid Bids are US$18.50, US$19.00, US$19.50 and so on. uncrack rejects any other amount.

4.4 First Bid. The House sets an Opening price for every Lot before the Auction opens. Until the first Bid is placed, the current price is the Opening price. The first Bid must therefore be at least the Opening price plus one Increment; a Bid equal to the Opening price is not accepted.

4.5 Leading Bidder. You cannot place a Bid on a Lot on which you already hold the highest Bid. You can still set or raise an Auto-bid (section 6).

4.6 Reserve. The House may set a Reserve on a Lot. The Reserve amount is not published; the Lot page shows only whether a Reserve applies. If the highest Bid at the Closing Time is below the Reserve, the Lot is not sold.

4.7 Repeated submissions. If the same Bid is submitted more than once, for example by a double click or an automatic retry after a network error, uncrack records it once.

5. Placing a binding Bid

5.1 Confirmation step. Before a Bid is sent, uncrack shows the Lot and the amount and asks you to confirm. Before your first Bid on uncrack, you must also tick a box acknowledging that Bids cannot be withdrawn and that you must buy the Lot if you win.

5.2 Bids are final. Pressing "Place binding bid" is the last step: from then on the Bid can be neither withdrawn nor lowered or edited, even if the amount or the Lot was chosen by mistake. The House does not cancel Bids at a Bidder's request, except as set out in 5.3.

5.3 Obvious errors. If you enter a Bid that is obviously wrong (for example at least 3 times the current price, or a misplaced decimal point), tell the House before the Closing Time. The House may cancel that Bid if doing so does not unfairly affect other Bidders; the previous highest Bid may then be reinstated as set out in 5.5.

5.4 When a Bid counts. A Bid is placed only when uncrack's server accepts it and it appears on the Lot. A Bid that reaches the server at or after the Closing Time is rejected, even if you sent it earlier. Delays on your side of the connection are your risk.

5.5 How long a Bid binds you. Your Bid binds you until another Bidder places a higher Bid on the same Lot. If the House cancels that higher Bid under section 5.3, 13 or 14, it may offer to reinstate your Bid; you may decline. If your Bid is the highest qualifying Bid at the Closing Time, you are committed to buying the whole Lot at that price (section 10).

6. Auto-bid

6.1 Setting a maximum. You can set an Auto-bid on a Lot by entering the highest price per kg you are willing to pay. The maximum must be at least the current minimum next Bid. Only you and House staff can see your maximum; other Bidders see only the resulting price.

6.2 How it bids. If you are not leading when you set an Auto-bid, uncrack immediately places the minimum next Bid for you. Whenever your lead is later taken, Auto-bid answers at once with the smallest valid raise (the new price plus one Increment), as long as that raise does not exceed your maximum. Once it would, Auto-bid stops and the other Bidder keeps the lead.

6.3 Competing Auto-bids. When two or more Auto-bids are active on a Lot, uncrack resolves them at once:

(a) the higher maximum takes the lead;

(b) if two maximums are equal, the Auto-bid first set on that Lot takes the lead. This is decided by the time each Bidder first set an Auto-bid on that Lot; raising or replacing it, or removing it and setting it again, does not change that time;

(c) the leading price is set no higher than one Increment above the next-highest maximum, and never above the leader's own maximum.

6.4 Manual Bid equal to a maximum. An Auto-bid responds only when it can beat the current price by a full Increment without exceeding its maximum. A manual Bid equal to another Bidder's Auto-bid maximum therefore takes the lead.

6.5 Changing or removing an Auto-bid. You can raise, replace or remove your Auto-bid at any time before the Closing Time. Removing or lowering it does not withdraw Bids it has already placed.

6.6 Same effect as your own Bids. Bids placed by Auto-bid bind you in the same way as Bids you place yourself, and extend the Closing Time in the same way (section 7.3).

6.7 Account status. Auto-bids stop operating while your account is suspended or no longer approved.

7. Closing Time and extensions

7.1 One closing time per Auction. All Lots in an Auction close together at the Auction's Closing Time, which is shown on the Auction Page. Where the Closing Time is shown in more than one time zone, all of them refer to the same moment. uncrack's server clock decides whether a Bid arrived before the Closing Time.

7.2 Opening. The published start time is the planned opening time. Bidding begins when the House opens the Auction. If the opening is delayed, the House posts a notice on the Auction Page and emails those who have asked to be notified when the Auction opens.

7.3 Last-minute extension. If any Bid, whether you place it yourself or Auto-bid places it for you, is accepted when 60 seconds or less remain before the Closing Time, the Closing Time of the whole Auction moves 5 minutes later. The 5 minutes are added to the Closing Time in force at that moment; the countdown does not reset to 5:00. Example: an Auction is due to close at 15:00:00. A Bid accepted at 14:59:30 moves the Closing Time to 15:05:00, leaving 5 minutes 30 seconds. A further Bid accepted at 15:04:10 moves it to 15:10:00.

7.4 One extension per action. A single Bid, together with any Auto-bid responses it triggers at once, extends the Auction at most once, because each extension is measured against the Closing Time then in force. Setting or raising an Auto-bid in the final minute extends the Auction if it places a Bid for you; raising an Auto-bid while you already lead places no Bid and does not extend it.

7.5 No limit on extensions. There is no limit on the number of extensions under this section. The Auction closes when the Closing Time in force passes with no Bid accepted in its final 60 seconds. The House may also extend the Auction under section 14.

7.6 All Lots stay open together. Because every Lot shares one Closing Time, a last-minute Bid on any Lot keeps all Lots in the Auction open.

8. Anonymous Paddles and what others can see

8.1 During an Auction, anyone visiting uncrack, including visitors who are not logged in, can see for each Lot the current price, the number of Bids, the leading Bidder's Paddle, recent Bids (Paddle, amount and time) and how many people are watching the Lot. Bidders' names and companies are not shown during the Auction.

8.2 Your Paddle. A Paddle is issued to each Buyer account when the House approves it, and stays with that account. Producer and Exporter accounts that bid appear without a Paddle number; in either case other Bidders never see a company name while an Auction is live. Once your company name appears in published results, your earlier and later Bids under the same Paddle can be attributed to your company.

8.3 Who can see more. House staff can see every Bid, the account behind every Paddle and every Auto-bid maximum, and use this information to run and supervise Auctions. After an Award, the Exporter of the Lot receives the Winning Bidder's name, company, country, email address and Paddle so that the sale can be completed. See the Privacy Policy.

8.4 After results are published, each Winning Bidder's company name is shown with its Paddle and the Winning bid (section 10.5). If no company name is on the account, the Winning Bidder is shown by Paddle only. By bidding, you agree to your company name being published in this way if you win.

8.5 House confidentiality. EGGSTONE and its staff will not disclose any Auto-bid maximum, Reserve or the identity behind a Paddle to any Exporter, Producer, Presenter or other Bidder, and will not use that information to bid or to advise anyone on bidding. Access is limited to authorised House staff.

8.6 No bidding by the House. EGGSTONE, its staff and their related parties must not bid on uncrack, and EGGSTONE never bids on behalf of an Exporter or to reach a Reserve.

9. Co-winners

9.1 While an Auction is live and you have a Bid or an active Auto-bid on a Lot, you can list up to 20 Co-winners (company or roastery names, up to 60 characters each) who are buying the Lot with you. Only you can see the list during the Auction.

9.2 If you win the Lot, the list is copied to the Award. You can edit it on My Page, up to 20 names. The names are published next to your company name in the public results.

9.3 Name only companies that have agreed to be named publicly; obtaining that agreement is your responsibility. By adding a name, you confirm that the company has agreed. The House may remove a name on request, or if it appears inaccurate or inappropriate.

9.4 Naming Co-winners does not change who the Buyer is. The Winning Bidder alone is responsible to the Exporter for payment and every other obligation for the Lot. Any arrangement between you and your Co-winners is a matter between you.

10. Winning, Award notice and results

10.1 Winning. At the Closing Time, each Lot is won by the Bidder holding the highest Bid, provided any Reserve is met. A Lot with no Bids, or whose highest Bid is below the Reserve, is not sold.

10.2 Contract. When a Lot is won, a binding contract for the sale of the whole Lot at the Winning bid forms between the Winning Bidder and the Exporter of the Lot. EGGSTONE runs the Auction and keeps its records but is not the seller of the Lot.

10.3 Award notice. The Winning Bidder is notified on uncrack and, if email alerts are switched on, by email. My Page lists every Lot you have won. A missing or late email does not affect the Award.

10.4 Award invoice. For each Award, uncrack shows the Winning Bidder an award invoice with the Winning bid, the weight, the Lot value, the invoice number to quote as the payment reference and the Exporter's contact details. The Exporter's bank details are shown once the Exporter has been verified. The invoice is issued by uncrack on behalf of the Exporter, from the auction record. Payment is made directly to the Exporter; uncrack does not receive or hold payment for Lots. Until the final weight is confirmed, the total is shown as pending.

10.5 Results confirmation. Results are published when the House confirms them, which it may do at any time after the Closing Time, or otherwise automatically 24 hours after the Closing Time unless the House places them on hold. The House may review the results before they are published, and may hold publication for longer while it looks into a problem. Until then, uncrack shows the Auction as finalising results. Published results show, for each Lot, the Winning bid, the winning Paddle, the Winning Bidder's company name and any Co-winners; Lots that were not sold are shown as Unsold.

10.6 Corrections. The House may correct or cancel an Award, before or after publication, only for the reasons in sections 5.3, 13 and 14 of these Bidding Terms and section 6 of Shipping & Settlement. It will tell the affected Bidders and update the published results.

11. Payment and non-payment

11.1 Where the rules are. The Winning Bidder pays the Lot value shown on the award invoice directly to the Exporter, by bank transfer in US dollars only, quoting the invoice number. Payment deadlines, late payment and non-payment are governed by Shipping & Settlement sections 5 and 6. uncrack does not take bidding deposits.

11.2 Recording payment. The Exporter or the House records on uncrack when payment has been received.

12. Prohibited conduct

12.1 You must not:

(a) bid, or arrange for anyone to bid, on a Lot that you, your company or a related company supplies or sells, or that is presented by a Presenter you are related to, in order to raise its price or test demand (shill bidding);

(b) agree with other Bidders not to bid, to hold prices down or to share out Lots between you. Buying a Lot jointly through a single Bidder and naming the others as Co-winners is allowed;

(c) use another person's account or Paddle, or let anyone else use yours. Several employees of the same company may each hold their own account, but accounts of the same company must not bid against each other on the same Lot, as this only raises its price;

(d) bid under a false identity, or on behalf of anyone who is suspended or not approved;

(e) bid without the intention or the means to pay;

(f) bid on, or collect data from, Auctions with bots, scripts or other automated tools, other than uncrack's Auto-bid;

(g) take advantage of an obvious system error, such as a wrongly displayed price, or interfere with the operation of uncrack; or

(h) use non-public information about an Auction, such as a Reserve or another Bidder's Auto-bid maximum, to bid, or pass it to any Bidder.

12.2 If you become aware of such conduct or of a system error, please tell the House at info@eggstone.co.

13. What the House may do about breaches

13.1 If there are reasonable grounds to suspect a breach of these Bidding Terms, the House may reject Bids that have not yet been accepted, hold publication of results, and restrict the account temporarily while it investigates, for up to 14 days. The House may cancel accepted Bids or Awards and re-offer the Lot, correct published results, suspend or close accounts, and inform the Exporter concerned only for a material breach that it has established after giving you the chance to respond under 13.2. It will give its reasons in writing.

13.2 Before suspending or closing your account, the House will tell you what it intends to do and why, and give you a chance to respond, unless urgent action is needed to protect a live Auction. In that case it will tell you promptly afterwards.

13.3 These measures do not limit any other rights that the House or an Exporter has under the law, including a claim for damages.

13.4 Your obligations for Lots you have already won continue after your account is suspended or closed.

14. System problems and changes by the House

14.1 Reasons for changes. The House may postpone, reschedule, extend or cancel an Auction, or, before it opens, change its Lots (including withdrawing a Lot), only for one of these reasons:

(a) the Exporter can no longer supply or export the Lot;

(b) the Lot has not passed review;

(d) a suspected breach of Terms of Service section 6 or of these Bidding Terms.

14.2 Before an Auction opens, changes are announced on the Auction Page at least 24 hours before the planned opening time and emailed to those who have asked to be notified about that Auction. If the reason for a change arises later, the House announces it as soon as it can.

14.3 During a live Auction, if a fault in uncrack or in a service it relies on prevents fair bidding (for example, an outage, Bids not being recorded or prices being displayed wrongly), the House may extend the Closing Time, or cancel all or part of the Auction, including the Bids and Awards in it, and run it again later. The House will decide promptly, choose the option that best restores a fair result and tell all Bidders in the Auction what it has decided.

14.4 No withdrawal during an Auction. The House does not withdraw a Lot once an Auction is live.

14.5 No re-opening. A closed Auction is not re-opened. If a system fault under 14.3 affected the close, the House may cancel the affected Awards under 10.6 and offer the Lots again in a later Auction; it will tell the Winning Bidders and Exporters concerned and all Bidders in that Auction.

14.6 Your own connection. Problems with your device, browser or internet connection, or emails that do not reach you, are not system faults under this section. They do not entitle you to have a Bid accepted or cancelled, or the Auction extended.

14.7 Liability. Except where caused by EGGSTONE's intent or gross negligence, EGGSTONE is not liable for a lost opportunity to bid, or for a Bid that Auto-bid could not place, because of a system fault. The limits of liability in the Terms of Service also apply.

15. Records

The House keeps a record of every Bid, Auto-bid setting, extension and Award, time-stamped by uncrack's server. The auction log cannot be altered once written. The House's server records are evidence of what happened. On request, the House will give an affected Bidder the records relating to its Bids. The House keeps these records for 5 years after the Auction ends.

16. Changes to these Bidding Terms

16.1 Changes to these Bidding Terms follow Terms of Service section 16, including its notice periods. Each version of these Bidding Terms is identified by the year and month of its publication, and uncrack records the version each account has agreed to. Where a change materially affects Bidders, uncrack asks you to agree to the new version the next time you log in, and you cannot bid until you do. Accounts that registered before these Bidding Terms were first published must accept them before their next Bid (Terms of Service 16.5).

16.2 An Auction that has already opened runs to its end under the version of these Bidding Terms in force when it opened.

17. Contact and governing law

Questions about bidding: info@eggstone.co. For urgent matters during a live Auction, email the same address; the House aims to reply within 15 minutes while the Auction is live.

Governing law and dispute resolution are set out in the Terms of Service and Dispute Resolution.