FAQ
Quick answers for common user, admin, and technical questions.
Product Usage
Why was my bid rejected?
Your bid must be greater than the current amount, the auction must be active, and your account must not be banned from that auction.
How often does chat update?
Chat uses polling, so updates are near-real-time but not instant under all network conditions.
Why do notifications appear delayed?
Notification delivery depends on event processing and polling intervals. Short delays are expected during load spikes.
Account And Auth
Why can I not sign in with Google?
Most issues come from redirect URI mismatch or environment configuration errors.
Why is the payment page blocked?
Only the computed auction winner can access winner payment routes.
Auction Rules
How is the winner selected?
The winner is the highest valid bidder at auction close after moderation effects are applied.
What happens if a bidder is banned?
Banned users cannot place new bids. Existing bids may be excluded by policy, and winner computation can change.
Payment
What happens if payment is canceled or fails?
The auction outcome remains incomplete until policy action occurs. Depending on rules, retry or penalty processing may apply.
Why does a payment callback not change status immediately?
Webhook delivery or idempotency checks can delay visible updates briefly.
Admin Operations
Why are admin routes denied for my account?
Your role is not admin, middleware denied access, or admin bootstrap configuration is missing/incorrect.
Can admins extend an auction timer?
Yes, if platform policy allows timer extension via moderation controls.
Technical Setup
What are the minimum local requirements?
Node.js LTS, PostgreSQL, OAuth credentials, Stripe test keys, and required environment variables.
Where should I start as a new contributor?
Start with Getting Started, then Developer Guide, then API Reference and Database Schema.