Paying for a bid

You choose how you'd pay when you bid, but nothing is charged then. Your card or bank account is saved, nothing is held on it, and only a winning bid is ever charged: once, after bidding ends, for the amount you agreed to.

How it works

1. Pick a card or a bank account. A card covers a bid up to $300. Above that you pay from a US bank account, up to $2,000. The bid box tells you which one an amount needs before you get to the payment step: a quote above the card limit says "Pay by bank".

2. Save it. 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. That check is your bank confirming the card works. It is not a charge.

3. Tick the box. It reads like this, with your own amount, card and time:

   If I win, charge $40 to my Visa ending 4242. I can cancel until Thu Oct 22, 6:00 AM EDT.

   The line under it says how you win (in the top slots when bidding ends, by moving up when someone drops out, or by the creator picking your pitch) and that ShoutOrbit charges it once, within 4 days after bidding ends. That tick is your whole approval. There is no second "confirm to pay".

4. Bidding ends. If your bid is outside the slots, nothing happens to your card, ever.

5. The creator checks the winners. For 2 days they go through the list. A yes charges you at once. If they don't answer, you're charged when the 2 days are up. A no means you're removed and not charged.

6. You get a receipt by email, with a link to see your bid, your charge and anything you can still do about it.

Paying by bank

A bid above $300 is paid from a US bank account. A winning bank payment starts when bidding ends and takes about 4 business days to go through. Keep the money in the account until it does. While it's on its way, the creator's list shows you as "payment clearing", and you're mentioned like any other winner.

What it looks like on your statement

SHOUTORBIT* followed by a short form of the creator's handle, like SHOUTORBIT* sambakes. If you see one you don't recognise, look it up here.

If a payment fails

Cards get declined and banks don't always answer. When a winning payment fails:

1. We email you what went wrong and the time you have to fix it: 1 day from the failure.
2. Your receipt lets you try again or use another card. You get 3 tries; after that, write to support before the day is up.
3. Fix it in time and you keep your place. Leave it and your place goes to the next in line, and you're not charged.

Strikes

A winning bid left unpaid after a failure that was yours to fix is a strike:

• the first is a warning
• the second stops you bidding for a week
• the third stops you bidding for a year

Strikes are remembered for 6 months. While you can't bid, the card or bank account behind the unpaid bid can't be used for bids either, on any account.

A strike only counts if you were told in time. You get none when:

• the failure wasn't yours: our error, a limit on our side, our payment provider blocking the payment, a bank that didn't answer, or a saved card we lost on our side
• the failure email reached you less than 12 hours before your time to fix it ran out
• the creator couldn't be paid, so there was nothing to fix it for

Failures that happen together share a strike. If one dead card was behind three winning bids the same week, that's one step up the ladder, not three, because the warning could not have reached you before the other two failed.

Why it works this way

Why nothing is held while you wait. Most bids don't win. Holding money on every one of them would tie up your card for days over bids that end up costing nothing.

Why one tick and no second confirmation. The sentence you tick names the amount, the card and the deadline to cancel. Once you've agreed to that, a second step would only be a chance to miss a charge you already said yes to.

Why bigger bids go through a bank account. A large card payment is the kind a stolen card makes. A bank debit is harder to fake, which protects both you and the creator who is about to say your name.

Why strikes exist at all. When a winner doesn't pay, a creator has planned their video around a sponsor who isn't coming, and somebody next in line waited for nothing. Strikes stop the same person doing it again. They are slow to bite on purpose: we'd rather miss a strike someone deserved than give one to someone who was never told.

What can go wrong

• Your card expires before the charge. It's refused when you bid ("This card expires before you could be charged. Add another.") so you find out now, not after you've won.
• The creator says no. You're not charged, or you're refunded in full if you already were.
• Your bank account doesn't have the money. The payment fails and you have 1 day to fix it, like any other failure.
• A bank payment is returned after it went through. That counts as a strike, and the account can't be used for bids for at least a week, even if it's your first.
• You see a charge you don't recognise. Check your receipt emails, or look it up at what is this charge. Please ask us before your bank: see Refunds.

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