NeoGrid Negotiations: ezMarket v9.2
Bidding in a Reverse Dutch Auction
A Bidder’s Quick Reference Guide
In a Reverse Dutch Auction, the price of an item is continually increased, according to a specified
increment, and at pre-set intervals. Suppliers bid on the entire line item quantity. The first supplier to
place a bid lower than the upper price limit of the auctioneer’s price range wins the entire market. The
auction may stop as soon as a winning bid is placed or at the end of the current bid interval. In the event
of a tie-break (two equal bid values) the bid placed first would win. If no one places a bid equal to or lower
than the reserve price, the auction automatically ends at the reserve price.
1 To access the ezmarket application, go to https://ezmarket.neogrid.com.
2 Enter the Logon and Password provided in the email sent to you when your account was created.
Notes:
 If you have not received the email with your login credentials, contact the auctioneer. Or


alternatively, contact Customer Support Services (CSS.)
If you have forgotten your password, click “Forgotten your password?” In order to receive the
forgotten password email with a new password, you will need to provide the correct answer to a
challenge question.
If you fail to enter the correct password credentials after 3 attempts the account will be become
disabled. If disabled you will need to contact your administrator to have the account enabled again.
Best Practice: It is highly recommended to click “System Check” and "Network Check" prior to
accessing the site to make sure that your computer has all necessary components for you to participate in a
market.
3 Click "Log In."”
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Bidding in a Reverse Dutch Auction
You are required to change your password upon your initial login and provide a Challenge Question &
Answer.
Notes:
 The auctioneer has the option to set your password to expire.

All existing users will have their Challenge question set to “Please confirm your email address?” and
the answer will be set to the value in the their user profile.

To change your password or update and manage your own Challenge Question and Answer click
“Update My Profile.”
Notes:
 The page lists all the markets to which you have been invited, sorted by Status. By default, the list
shows “active” auctions only (those with an Awaiting Start Time, Paused, or In Progress status.) Each
color represents a different auction status.

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Status
Color
Indicates that:
Awaiting Start Time
Purple
The market will start at the scheduled time.
In Progress
Yellow
The market is running.
In Progress - Extended
Green
The finish time has been extended and the market is
still running.
Paused
Blue
The market has halted.
The Countdown Clock indicates how much time is left to either the start of the market (for auctions
“Awaiting Start Time”) or to the end of the auction (for “In Progress” and “Paused” auctions.)
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
Mock markets have an asterisk * in front of the Market Name to differentiate them from live
markets.

If the auctioneer chooses to display this indicator, factored markets will have an (F) in front of the
Market Name to differentiate them from non-factored markets.
4 Locate the auction in which you were invited to participate.
5 
If the buyer requested that you accept the terms and conditions for participating in the online auction,
click “Accept T&C”.
Note: There are two types of terms and conditions: those specific to the auction, and those specific
to the auctioneer’s organization – you might need to agree to both.

If accepting terms and conditions is not required, click the Market Name to access the Market Summary
page. Skip Steps 6 and 7.
6 Click “Name of the T&C” to read the
terms and conditions.
7 Click “I accept” to participate in the market. The Market Summary page displays.
Note: If you decline, you will not be able to view or bid in the market.
Note: If the auction has started, you will see the message “In Progress”. If the auction is only in
preview, you will instead see the message “Await Start Time.”
8 Review the following Market header fields:


Market Design: Identifies if the auction is a Sealed or Open Reverse Dutch auction.
Market Starts: Starting time of the auction (in the time zone specified in the Status Bar below GMT
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Bidding in a Reverse Dutch Auction
time.)

Logs: Hover over the link to display the Market and Bidder logs.
9 If an auction preview is enabled, review the Preview Time Left section. It lists the remaining duration of the
preview period in terms of Days, Hours, Minutes, and Seconds.
Notes:
 If the auctioneer enabled proxy bidding during preview, you are able to place a proxy bid before the
auction starts. As soon as the auction starts, auto bids will be placed on your behalf. You will not
have any indication of whether you have met the reserve price (if it is displayed) until the market
starts.
Important: Depending on how the auctioneer configured the auction, you may not be able to
change or delete your bid placed during the preview period.
 If proxy bidding is not enabled in the preview period, you are only able to review the information
during the preview period and will not be able to place any bids until the market starts.
1 Exchange Rates: If the buyer has enabled
suppliers to see the exchange rates, they can
0
be seen by clicking on the Exchange Rates
information symbol.
Event level attachment can be found in the
Supplementary Information section.
This section element, will only display if event
level attachments are specified.
1 Review the following line header fields, which may or may not display depending on the auction rules set by
1 the auctioneer:






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Description: If the description is too long to display on the screen, click “(More)” link to view the full
description in a pop-up window.
Currency: Currency in which you must bid
Starting Price: Starting price, which sets the baseline of interval
Reserve Price: Maximum price reserved by the buyer to award market
Bid Incr/Decr: Minimum increment amount the system adds to interval
Attachments: If the line contains any attachments, you will see the attachment icon
with the
number of attachments indicated in parentheses. Hover over the icon to display the Attachment
Details and then click File Name to open attachment.
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1 Review the following fields in the Bidding Details section:
2  Time to End of Interval: Displays the remaining time of the bidding interval. You should monitor this
countdown clock at every interval to ensure you place your bid on time.
 Current Bidding Interval: Number of the current interval with <1> being first
 Current Bid Price Range: Minimum and maximum bid price limits being evaluated at the present
interval.
Note: You can place bids higher, lower, or within the price range; however, only those bids that fall
within or below the price range are considered for evaluation at the current interval. If your bid is
higher than the price range, you must wait for the system to reach the interval of your price to be
evaluated.
1 Enter the lowest amount you are willing to bid (your proxy limit) in the Bid Price field and click “Place Bid.”
3
Note: Manual bidding is not possible in reverse Dutch auctions. All bids placed are Proxy Bids. You
can enter a bid at the current price range and this may close the auction immediately or at the end
of that interval, depending on the rules. Proxy Bids above the current price range are stored in the
system until that interval is reached. So long as the quantity available has not been allocated at a
lower price, the business will be awarded when the proxy bid is reached.
1 Click “Yes” to confirm your selection.
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Bidding in a Reverse Dutch Auction
Notes:


The Current Proxy Bid Price field shows your most recent proxy bid.
If enabled by the auctioneer, you may be able to delete your current proxy bid price by clicking “Delete
Proxy Bid” and then clicking “Yes” on the confirmation window.
Note: The system automatically refreshes the data at the end of every interval. As long as you continue
to see the “Place Bid” button, you are still competing in the market.
Important: If using a slow Internet connection, the refresh latency could be up to 1 minute. It is
recommended that you place your bid before the last minute of the interval to ensure the system will
accept it.
If the buyer has provided the ability to control the bid currency, the currency menu is available to bidders on
the place bid page. The default is set to the currency on the bidder user profile.
When the currency is changed, the lot is updated to display the details on the currency selected.
1 To update your proxy bid, enter the revised limit in the Bid Price field, click “Place Bid,” and then click “Yes”
5 on the confirmation window.
Note: When the auction has finished, the message
“Pending Clear” appears on the upper right corner of
the screen.
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Note: The system displays the message: “Bids can no longer be accepted for the market” when the
auction has ended. The auction rules determine which of the two options below will trigger the market
close:
 First Bid: The auction closes as soon as the first bid is placed within the current price interval or
when the system reaches the price range of the lowest bid.
 End of Interval: The auction closes at the end of the interval in which the first bid (within the price
range) is placed. This option gives you time to enter a more competitive bid before the interval
ends.
1 Review the Allocated Bids section:
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 If your bid appears listed, the Total Quantity allocated field will equal the total amount of the
market. This means that you won the entire market.
 If your bid does not appear listed, the Total Quantity allocated field will equal <0.0000>. This means
that you did not win the market.
1 To view a log of all bids you have placed, click the “Bid History” link on the upper right corner of the line
7 item section.
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Bidding in a Reverse Dutch Auction
Notes:
 The Allocated Bids section displays information only if your company won the market.
 The Bid History section displays all proxy bids you set, as well as any proxy bids placed on your behalf.
Rejected bids are highlighted in red.
1 Click “Back to Market Summary” to return to the Market Summary.
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1 Click “Log Off” from the top menu to exit the application.
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Note: If you subsequently need to check your bid history, you must click “Search Filter” from the top
menu bar to locate the auction by selecting “Pending Clear” from the Market Status field.
Note: Support
Support link
linkprovides
providesaccess
accessto to
Support
&
Support
Training
& information.
Training information.
Receiving Broadcast Messages
When entering into an event, the system will display any broadcast messages that the event host has sent.
The number of messages is indicated within the message header, after the name of the hosting company.
(i.e. Message from User Admin (Training Company) - (1/3) – would indicate that there are 3 broadcast
messages and that you are viewing message 1).
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Broadcast messages are presented as a popup window and, while displayed, will prevent access to the
event until one of the following actions is taken. The options available will depend on what has been
configured by the event host when sending the broadcast. There may be options to either Close,
Acknowledge and/or Reply.
1.
While the message is displayed, access to other functionality is not available until one of the
following actions is taken.



Close: A message can be closed by clicking the X on the top right.
Reply: Depending on the nature of the broadcast message, the event host may
provide you with the option to respond to a broadcast message.
Acknowledge: The event host has requested to be notified that the message has been
received.
Notes: If both the Acknowledge and Reply button are available then either option will
result in the message being marked as received. If the message is closed using the close link
“X”, the message will be continue to pop-up, until either one of the actions is taken.
Replying to a Broadcast
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10
Bidding in a Reverse Dutch Auction
2.
The reply message window displays.
Click “Reply” after completing your
message.
3.
A split screen interface will be expanded. Continue on with the conversation.
Notes: The history of event related
broadcasted messages can be accessed
using the “Broadcasts” tab.
To reply to a broadcast message after having
either acknowledged or closed the original
message click “
” from within the
Broadcasts tab.
Depending on the nature of the broadcast message, the event host may provide you with the option to
respond to a broadcast message.
Starting Conversations
1.
2.
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Click “Messages (n)>>” from the top menu
bar to start a conversation or discussion.
A split screen interface will be expanded to
allow you to focus on both the event and
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discussion thread.
Click “
..” A conversation window
displays.
3.
Type a topic and message. Click “Send”
when complete.
Notes: Depending on the way the
buyer configured the event, users may
not have this option available.
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12
Bidding in a Reverse Dutch Auction
Within the “Conversations” tab:
The list of event related conversations will
be displayed. Click the conversation topic in
order to view the conversation and/or post
a message.
Note: If the event host has enabled file
sharing click “Share a File” to upload a file.
Replying to Messages
If the Message Side Bar is collapsed, hover over “Messages” to view new discussions / conversations.
1.
Updates to conversations will be notified
via the message indicator if the message
window is not already collapsed.
Click the “Topic” of the message.
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2.
After reviewing the message, you can
respond by typing in a message in the
“Post a message” window.
Click
“Reply.”
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Bidding in a Reverse Dutch Auction
3.
The conversation thread will display.
Notification via Emails
If a message is sent to you while you are not on-line and the event host has configured that email
notifications should be sent to off-line users, you will receive an email that will include a link which will
direct you to the event after signing in successfully.
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