Bidding increments for online auctions

Bidding increments explained

To avoid confusion during an online auction, bids always increase by a set increment.

At first, the increments might look like a random series of numbers. However, if you look closely, you’ll notice a repeating pattern—especially after 100. The increments generally rise by about 10% each step, and the sequence repeats as more zeros are added.

Here’s how it works:

Numbers beginning with 1 (e.g., 100, 1,000, 10,000)
→ Increase in 1s
- Examples: 100 → 110 → 120, or 13,000 → 14,000 → 15,000
Numbers beginning with 2 (e.g., 200, 2,000, 20,000)
→ Increase in 2s
- Examples: 200 → 220 → 240 → 260, or 2,400 → 2,600 → 2,800
Numbers beginning with 3 or 4 (e.g., 300, 400, 3,000, 4,000)
→ Increase in 0 – 2 – 5 – 8 pattern
- Examples: 300 → 320 → 350 → 380, or 4,000 → 4,200 → 4,500 → 4,800
Numbers from 5 to 9 (e.g., 500–900, 5,000–9,000)
→ Increase in 5s
- Examples: 500 → 550 → 600 → 650, or 7,000 → 7,500 → 8,000 → 8,500

After 9, the cycle repeats, starting again with 1.

These increments form the standard bidding structure used by most auction houses around the world—a kind of universal auction language.

Top tip: You don’t need to memorize these increments when bidding. On every lot page, the bidding dropdown will automatically show the next 40 available increments.

The bidding increments are:

10	200	800	3,000	11,000	42,000
20	220	850	3,200	12,000	45,000
30	240	900	3,500	13,000	48,000
40	260	950	3,800	14,000	50,000
50	280	1,000	4,000	15,000	55,000
60	300	1,100	4,200	16,000	60,000
70	320	1,200	4,500	17,000	65,000
80	350	1,300	4,800	18,000	70,000
90	380	1,400	5,000	19,000	75,000
100	400	1,500	5,500	20,000	80,000
110	420	1,600	6,000	22,000	85,000
120	450	1,700	6,500	24,000	90,000
130	480	1,800	7,000	26,000	95,000
140	500	1,900	7,500	28,000	100,000
150	550	2,000	8,000	30,000	110,000
160	600	2,200	8,500	32,000	120,000
170	650	2,400	9,000	35,000	130,000
180	700	2,600	9,500	38,000	140,000
190	750	2,800	10,000	40,000	Etc.

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