Click here to watch a demo of bidding at the top level and subcategory level!

If you have opted to bid via the web interface, the “Place Bids” link at the header of any page will take you to the “Bidding Dashboard” screen where you can bid on top-level categories. Click here to learn how to bid via the web interface on top-level categories

Bidding in this screen allows you to quickly set bids for all your categories. The screen will only show those top-level categories where you have inventory. When you set a bid for a top-level category, that bid is applied to your products in every subcategory under that top-level category. All top-level categories will have the words “(and all subcategories)” attached to their names (e.g.: Apparel (and all subcategories).

This screen has the following columns:

• Category

This is the list of all top-level categories where you have inventory. You can have inventory in one or more subcategories for each displayed top-level category.

• Subcategory

Each "View All Subcategories" link attached to a top-level category will take you to a new page where you can view and bid on all its subcategories. Click here to learn more about Bidding on the subcategories of a selected top-level category

• My # of products

This is the cumulative count of your inventory (products) as categorized into one or more subcategories under each top-level category. Click the “View All Subcategories” link to see the number of products categorized at each subcategory level.

• My Min Bid

This is your minimum required bid for any top-level category or subcategory in order for your products to go live (appear in Yahoo! Shopping). Your minimum bid can be a range, depending on what your minimum bids are for subcategories within that top-level’s category.

For example, under the top level category “Clothing, Shoes & Accessories”, you may have products in three subcategories, “Dress Shoes” (minimum bid of $0.50), “Hiking Shoes” (minimum bid of $0.60), and “Running Shoes” (minimum bid of $0.75). In this case, your minimum bid range is $0.50-$0.75, because the lowest minimum bid for all subcategories under “Clothing, Shoes & Accessories” is $.50 and the highest minimum bid is $0.75. Click here to learn more about Minimum bids

• My Current Bid

This is your most current saved bid for each top-level category and its subcategories. The current bid can be a range, depending on what your current bids are for subcategories within that top level’s category.

For example, under the top-level category “Clothing, Shoes & Accessories”, you may have three subcategories, “Dress Shoes” (minimum bid of $0.50 & current bid of $0.50), “Hiking Shoes” (minimum bid of $0.50 and current bid of $0.60), and “Running Shoes” (minimum bid of $0.70 and current bid of $0.75). In this case, your current bid range is $0.50-$0.75, because the lowest current bid for all subcategories under “Clothing, Shoes & Accessories” is $.50 and the highest current bid is $0.75.

• My Cost

This is your actual cost for each bid. You’ll be charged one cent above the next highest competitive bid, up to your bid amount for all subcategories under each top-level category.

For example, under the top-level category “Clothing, Shoes & Accessories”, you may have three subcategories, “Dress Shoes” (minimum bid of $0.50, current bid of $0.50 and cost of $0.50), “Hiking Shoes” (minimum bid of $0.50, current bid of $0.60 and cost of $0.57), and “Running Shoes” minimum bid of $0.70, current bid of $0.75 and cost of $0.75). In this case, the range of your cost will be between $0.50 and $0.75 because the lowest amount you’ll be charged for all subcategories under “Clothing, Shoes & Accessories” is $.50 and the highest is $0.75. Click here to learn more about how you’ll be charged

• New Bid

This is the field where you enter your bid. Once your bid amount is entered (no dollar sign needed. Just a decimal point, e.g., 0.75 or 1.25), click “Update Bids” in the header of the table on the Bidding Dashboard page.

Please Note: When you change the top level bid for any category, it will affect the bids for all subcategories beneath it. Please ensure your bid is higher than your current minimum required bid for each category and its subcategories in order for your product(s) to go live in Yahoo! Shopping. To make bid management simple, a red color-coded indicator will appear when you have set a bid that is below your minimum in any subcategory under a given top-level category. A green color-coded indicator will appear when you have set a bid that is at or above your minimum in any subcategory under a given top-level category. Click “View all subcategories” to see any bidding changes, and to edit if you wish. Click here to learn more about Minimum bids

• All Bids

This link will open a popup Bid Landscape report that graphically displays the competitive bid landscape for a category and all its subcategories. For example, the report for the top level category “Clothing, Shoes & Accessories” will show the cumulative bid landscape for all the merchants with bids in “Clothing” and all its subcategories, “Shoes” and all its subcategories, and “Accessories” and all its subcategories.

The Bid Landscape Report is a useful tool in optimizing your bidding strategy. Click here to learn more about the Bid Landscape Report and Minimum bids

Click either of the two “Update Bids” buttons to submit your bid. The system will perform a series of checks and accept your bids. The system will display error messages if any errors are encountered. Once your bids are accepted, the screen will be refreshed with the latest bids you entered. However, All bid changes can take up to 24 hours to be reflected on the Yahoo! Shopping Consumer Site.

Please Note: While your bid is only one factor in determining your product placement, a higher bid increases your chance of appearing near the top of the search results in Yahoo! Shopping. Also, Competitive bid information provided in the Bid Landscape Report covers bids over the default minimum. It does not include merchants included in Yahoo! Shopping via free web crawl or other business relationships. Click here to learn more about Minimum bids