atgPay: Autopay

This article describes the automatic payments process for applicable events using atgPay, including how to enable Autopay, when Autopay will run, and how to pause or delay Autopay. 

This article contains the following sections:

• What is Autopay?
• Enabling Autopay
• Eligibility
• Bidder Impact
• Pausing/Stopping Autopay

What is Autopay?

Autopay is a feature that an auction house can use to automatically charge a winning bidder for their purchase if they have not already paid their invoice within 24 or 72 hours. The auction house determines whether cards will be automatically charged 24 hours after invoices are sent, or 72 hours after invoices are sent.

Note: This feature continues to be built out and refined. In this first iteration, there are limits to which bidders will be eligible for Autopay. 

Enabling Autopay

Invoices that are sent to winning bidders prior to enabling Autopay will not be eligible for Autopay unless they are sent out again after Autopay is enabled.

1. atgPay must be enabled on the event in order to use Autopay.
2. The auction house must select either Local Shipping or Arranged by Bidder as one of the Shipping Methods in order to use Autopay.
   • Shipping fees are not eligible for Autopay.
3. Select one of the Enable Autopay options on the event's Payment & Terms page:
   1. No Autopay (this is the default selection)
   2. Enable Autopay: 24 hours (Autopay will run 24 hours after the invoice is sent)
   3. Enable Autopay: 72 hours (Autopay will run 72 hours after the invoice is sent)
4. Update the Payment Instructions to inform bidders that Autopay is being utilized for the event.

Please note, re-sending an invoice before Autopay runs will restart the 24/72 hour Autopay "clock" for that invoice.

Eligibility

This feature continues to be built out and refined. In this first iteration, the conditions below need to be met in order to utilize Autopay:

1. The winning bidder has a valid credit card on file.
   • Bank Transfer (ACH) payments are not currently eligible for Autopay.
2. The buyer has previously purchased an item via credit card using atgPay since February 2, 2023.
   • If the winning bidder has never made a purchase using atgPay, made a credit card purchase prior to February 2, 2023, or has only made a previous payment via Bank Transfer (ACH), they will need to manually pay their invoice. 
3. Shipping fees are not currently eligible for Autopay.
   • If Autopay runs, it will collect the hammer, taxes, and processing fees, but will not collect shipping fees (if they are applied).
4. The auction house must select either "Local Shipping" or "Arranged by Bidder" as one of the Shipping Methods under the event's Payment & Terms in order to use Autopay.
   • If an auction house offers "House Arranged" shipping and the bidder wishes to select that shipping method, the bidder will need to pay their invoice manually.

Bidder Impact

When invoices are sent to eligible winning bidders, the will see a notification at the top of their invoice stating that they will be automatically charged, along with the timeframe (ex. 24 hours) and the last 4 digits of the credit card to be charged.

If the bidder wishes to use a different method of payment, they will need to pay their invoice manually.

For more information relating to how Autopay impacts bidders, see atgPay: Automatic Payments.

Pausing/Stopping Autopay

The Autopay timeframe can be delayed/paused/stopped in three ways:

1. Marking an invoice as "Paid".
   
   • Manually marking an invoice as "Paid" in AuctionBuilder will prevent Autopay from running for that invoice.
   • If the invoice marked as "Unpaid" after Autopay runs, the bidder will be able to manually pay their invoice. 
   • If the invoice is marked as "Unpaid" before Autopay runs, Autopay will still run as scheduled, unless the invoice is re-sent to the bidder.
2. Re-sending the invoice.
   • Re-sending an invoice to a bidder re-sets the Autopay "clock" if the invoice is re-sent before Autopay runs.
   • This means that the 24/72 hour period will start again each time the invoice is re-sent to the bidder, as long as Autopay has not already run for that invoice.
3. Disabling Autopay for the event.
   • Going back into the event's Payment & Terms page and selecting No Autopay will turn off Autopay for the event.
   • Invoices sent before Autopay is re-enabled will not be eligible for Autopay unless they are sent again after Autopay is re-enabled for the event.