Exclusive job auction — full rules

1 · Ownership

What is being auctioned

The winning bidder purchases exclusive job rights for one term only (monthly or quarterly). They do not purchase or lease the brand, domain, Google Business Profile, reviews, tracking phone number, or GHL account.

• NAP stays ours: Name, address (as published), and phone on the site / GBP remain controlled by the site owner.
• Phone stays with the site: Homeowners call the site tracking number; jobs are routed to the term winner via GHL.
• Tenant gets jobs only: For the winning term, inbound jobs from this nameplate route to the winner’s crew.

Eligibility

• Active South Carolina plumbing license required.
• Current certificate of insurance (COI) required before term start (and may be requested at bid time).
• Must be able to serve Powdersville and nearby Upstate SC neighborhoods.
• Site owner may disqualify incomplete, fraudulent, or non-compliant bids.

2 · Terms & reserves

Monthly or quarterly

• Monthly reserve: $499 (placeholder — edit in js/auction.js).
• Quarterly reserve: $1,299 (placeholder — edit in js/auction.js).
• Bids below the published reserve for that term are not winning bids.
• Quarterly is the default highlighted option in the UI; both are available when live.

3 · Bidding model

Sealed + anonymous proxy max bid

• Sealed: Bidders never see the current high amount.
• Anonymous: Bidders never see who else is bidding.
• Proxy max bid: You set the maximum you will pay. The system advances your bid only as needed up to that max.
• Status only: You may see leading or outbid — never rival names or rival amounts.
• You may raise your max during the open window. Lowering mid-window may be restricted when live (operator policy).

4 · Bid window

Opens 20th · closes 25th at 5:00pm ET

• Window opens on the 20th (calendar day in America/New_York).
• Window closes on the 25th at 5:00pm America/New_York.
• Until GHL setup is complete, dates are placeholders. Status: Coming soon — waitlist only.
• Next window label: Next bid window: 20th–25th (dates TBD after GHL setup).

5 · No renewal preference

Rebid every term

• There is no incumbent preference and no automatic renewal.
• The prior winner must rebid and win again like any other eligible plumber.
• Gaps between terms may be covered by backup / spill policy at the owner’s discretion.

6 · Payment & forfeit

Winner pays within 24 hours

• At close, the highest valid bid at or above reserve wins.
• Winner must pay the winning amount within 24 hours of notice (payment processor TBD — Stripe planned).
• Failure to pay on time = forfeit. The term rolls to the next eligible bidder (#2), then #3, etc., under the same 24h rule.
• Forfeiting without good cause may result in waitlist / future-bid restrictions.

7 · Jobs, declines & backup spill

During the winning term

• Exclusive routing: site-generated jobs for the area go to the term winner first via GHL.
• Job decline: If the winner declines or fails to respond within the agreed SLA, the job may spill to a backup plumber (or return to the owner’s overflow list).
• Backup spill: Declines do not transfer brand rights. Repeated declines may void exclusivity for the remainder of the term (owner discretion, with notice).
• Homeowner experience and safety come first — the owner may intervene on emergency or quality issues.

8 · Conduct

Fair play

• No collusion, shill bidding, or attempts to discover other bidders’ identities or amounts.
• Do not represent yourself as the brand owner, GBP manager, or phone number owner.
• Marketing during the term must not claim ownership of Powdersville Plumbing reviews or the domain.

9 · Not live yet

Waitlist only

The entire bid flow is gated until GHL plumbing routing is set up. Do not treat any UI as a live auction. Interest is collected via waitlist / mailto to [email protected].