After bidding ends

When the deadline passes, the bids in the slots are the winners. Over the next few days the creator checks them, the winners are charged, and anyone who drops out is replaced from the next in line. 74 hours after the deadline the list is settled and nobody else moves up.

How it works

1. Bidding ends. Whatever the slots hold at the deadline are the winners. The Orbit's page now shows only the shout-out, with no amounts. If your bid wasn't in the slots and you aren't next in line, it's closed and you're not charged.
2. The creator check. For 2 days the creator goes through the winners. A yes charges that sponsor at once. A no removes them, uncharged. Anyone left unanswered is charged when the 2 days end, and the creator can end the check early with "Charge all now". The creator may also pick bids into the shout-out during the check. A pick adds a place and charges that bid.
3. Winners are charged. Once, for the amount each of them agreed to. A bank payment starts when bidding ends and takes a few business days to land. See Paying for a bid.
4. Places that free up are refilled from the next in line.
5. The line closes 74 hours after the deadline. The creator gets their final list, and the preview and the video follow. See Your shout-out.

Next in line

The 3 highest bids just below the winners are next in line. Picks don't count towards it, since they're already in.

• You're told. We email you that you're next in line, your position, and the time the line closes.
• You move up if a place frees. A place frees when a winner is removed by the creator, or their payment fails and isn't fixed within 1 day. The highest in the line moves up first.
• Never sooner than 2 hours after you were told. You always get that long to step out before you can be moved up.
• You're charged your own bid, not the bid of the winner you replace. Moving up makes your bid final, and we email you to say you're in.
• Stepping out is free. Use the link in the email or on your receipt, any time before you move up or the line closes. You're not charged and you leave the line.

If the line closes and you never moved up, your bid is closed and you're not charged.

The fix day

If you won and your payment fails, you have 1 day to fix it from your receipt. If you don't, your place goes to the next in line and you may get a strike. Paying for a bid has the details.

The line close

The line closes 74 hours after the deadline: the 2-day check, plus 1 day to fix a failed payment, plus two hours. A place that frees after it stays empty. One that freed just before it is still refilled.

Why it works this way

Why the creator checks first. They're about to say these names to their audience. One look before anyone is charged means they never have to read out a sponsor they'd have refused, and you're never charged for a shout-out that won't happen.

Why there's a line. A winner dropping out shouldn't leave an empty slot when someone just below would gladly take it. The line gives the creator a full shout-out and gives you a second chance.

Why you get time after being told. Nobody should be charged for a bid they had no chance to rethink after bidding ended. The wait gives you time to see the email and step out.

Why you pay your own bid. It's the amount you agreed to. You're never charged a winner's higher bid.

Why the line closes. The creator needs a list that won't change before they record.

What can go wrong

• "Only the next in line can step out. Your bid is final." Your bid is below the line. It won't move up, and you won't be charged unless the creator picks it.
• "You've moved up — you're in, and your bid is final." You can't step out once you've moved up.
• The line has closed but a place is still being filled. A place that freed just before the close is still being refilled, so you may still move up. We email you either way.
• The creator removes a winner after the line closes. That place stays empty. Nobody is moved up and charged for a video that's about to be recorded.

Next step