People are sometimes confused when they see (2) bids, for the exact same bid amount, posted at the exact same time, in the bidding activity.
It's extremely rare, in CausePilot, for (2) people to actually place the exact same bid at the exact same time. Even in a rare case, there would be a second's difference and it would be clear who got the bid first.
When you see (2) bids that are the same, like in the example image blow of $200 and $110, it's because one of the bidders has placed a maximum bid. A maximum bid is an amount the user is willing to pay for the item. With a maximum bid, the system bids for the user until they are outbid at their maximum bid amount.
In a typical bidding scenario, bidder #1 would place a bid of $50, bidder #2 $55, then bidder #1 would have to place a bid of $60 to be the high bidder again. With a maximum bid, the user maintains the high bid, each time other people/users place bids. In this example, if bidder #1 entered a max bid of $100, and the starting bid is $50, then they'd have the first bid at $50. When bidder #2 placed a bid of $55, bidder #1 would automatically win at $55, and so on. Until bidder #2 places a bid or a maximum bid of $105 or more, the max bidder will retain their highest bidder position.
Here's another visual example. See the sequence of events listed below the image.
Incremental Bid Example:
Minimum bid is $50 with an incremental bid amount of $5.
User #1 bid must be $50, then next bid must be at least $55.
However, User #2 entered $100 in the bid field, raising the bid to $100.
Maximum Bid Example:
User #1: With User #2 with a high bid of $100 above, User #1 chooses to enter a max bid of $200. User #1's next bid is automatically $105 (next incremental bid).
User #2: Is Outbid by User #1 at $105.
User #2: Bids $110. User #2 is immediately Outbid by User #1's max bid.
User #1: Has the high bid at $110.
User #2: Sets a max bid of $200. They are Outbid immediately by User #1.
User #1: Has the high bid at $200.
User #2: Bids $205. User #2 now has the high bid and User #1 is Outbid.
In the bidding activity on the item's catalog page, when a max bid is placed, each bid against the max bid will appear as the same amount. In the scenario above, User #1 and User #2 would show that they both placed a bid of $110; however, User #1 with the max bid will be the high bidder.
NOTIFICATIONS
A maximum bidder will not receive a notification until they are outbid or win. At that time, they will receive a text notification so they can bid again or place a higher maximum bid.
When a bidder places a bid against a user with a maximum bid, they are outbid IMMEDIATELY, and are notified online IMMEDIATELY. They will not get an outbid text message until they first have the high bid and then someone outbids them.