Only winners pay
Bidding is free. You save a card or bank account when you bid, nothing is held on it, and you're charged your bid only if you win.
Placing a bid costs nothing. When you bid you save a card, or above $300 a US bank account, and tick one box that says what you'll be charged if you win. Nothing is held on it while bidding runs. If your bid wins a place in the shout-out, you're charged your bid, once, after bidding ends. If it doesn't, you're charged nothing at all.
How it works
- You bid and save how you'll pay. A card covers bids up to $300. Above that you pay from a US bank account. The first time you save a card your bank may ask you for a code, and may briefly show a $0 or $1 card check.
- You tick the box. It names the amount, the card or account, and until when you can cancel. That tick is your whole approval.
- Nothing is held while you wait. No pending charge sits on your card, however long bidding runs.
- Bidding ends. The bids in the slots are the winners. Everyone else is charged nothing.
- The creator checks the winners. For 2 days they say yes or no to each one. A yes charges that winner at once. A no removes them, uncharged. Anyone left unanswered is charged when the check ends.
- You're charged once, for the amount you ticked. Every winner is charged within 4 days after bidding ends, and never for more than they agreed to.
You can be charged in three ways, and only these three:
| Your bid... | You pay |
|---|---|
| Finishes in the slots | Your bid |
| Moves up into a slot when a winner drops out | Your bid |
| Is picked by the creator into the shout-out | Your bid |
| Finishes anywhere else | Nothing |
| Is turned down by the creator | Nothing |
A bank payment starts when bidding ends and takes about 4 business days to go through, so keep the money in the account. Older bids that put a pending hold on the card, and contract budgets, are still held on the card.
Why it works this way
Why bidding is free. A founder trying a new channel shouldn't have to pay to find out whether they win. "You only pay if you're in the video" means you can bid on every Orbit that fits and pay only for the shout-outs you get.
Why nothing is held. A hold ties up money on your card for days, for a bid that will usually lose. Saving the card instead means your available balance never moves unless you win.
Why you're never charged and then refunded. A losing bid is never charged in the first place, so there is nothing to give back and no refund to wait for.
Why the charge comes after a creator check. The creator is about to say these names to their audience. They get one look at the list before anyone is charged, so a sponsor they would have refused is never charged at all.
Why the charge is the amount you ticked. The sentence you tick is the whole agreement. If you raise your bid, you tick it again for the new amount. Nothing else can change what you're charged.
What can go wrong
- Your payment fails. You have 1 day to fix it. We email you, and your receipt lets you try again or use another card. Left unfixed, your place goes to the next in line. See Paying.
- You change your mind. You can cancel until 12 hours before bidding ends. After that your bid is final, though you can still raise it.
- You move up after bidding ends. You're charged your own bid, never the amount of the winner who left. Stepping out of the line is free.
- The content never goes up. Every sponsor who was charged is refunded in full. See Payout on delivery.
- The creator turns you down after you're charged. You're refunded in full, and we pay the processing cost.