Auction rules

Before the auction opens, one brand per spot can take that spot’s opening position. There is no pre-auction bidding. Submitting the form alone does not lock a spot: the position is held only once the 20% refundable deposit on the opening bid has actually been paid.

The form opens a checkout that holds the spot for a short window. An unpaid hold expires and the spot returns to the market. Other brands can outbid a confirmed opening position once the public auction opens.

Each of the eight spots can carry exactly one paid opening-bid reservation. The first deposit to succeed takes the position, and further pre-launch reservations for that spot are closed until the public auction starts. If a payment arrives for a position that has already gone, the position is not given twice: the payment is refunded in full.

A bid counts only once it is backed by a flat €10 refundable bid deposit — one payment per brand per spot, however high that spot’s bidding goes. Raising your own bid on a spot you have already deposited on takes no new payment; the same €10 still backs it. Deposits are held per spot: a deposit on one spot does not count toward another.

If you win, your €10 counts toward the winning amount and you pay only the remaining balance. If you do not win, it is refunded once the auction settles. Payment is handled by Dodo Payments as merchant of record, and a payment is confirmed by the provider rather than by returning to this site.

Buy now at the fixed price and the spot is yours today, out of the auction. Your sponsor page goes live within 24 hours of payment. Your logo is printed on the kit within one week and appears in training content from the next run. Or reserve the opening bid with a 20 percent deposit and take your chances when public bidding opens on 22 September.

A spot bought outright is removed from the auction permanently: once purchased, it is sold, final, and never re-listed for bidding. The buy-now price is fixed and final, no other brand can outbid it, and no auction is waited on or run for that spot. Every other campaign term, the deliverables, the guarantee and the timeline, is otherwise identical to a spot won through the auction.

During the auction window, brands can outbid the current leader on a spot. The minimum increase is a flat €10. The page always shows the exact next valid amount. One brand may bid on several spots; each spot needs its own €10 deposit and is decided separately.

A funded bid that takes the lead during the final 10 minutes extends the auction by 10 minutes.

When the countdown ends, including any anti-sniping extension, the highest funded bid wins the spot. The €10 deposit already paid on that spot counts toward the winning amount, and the winner is invoiced for the remaining balance. The winner has a limited window to pay it. If it passes unpaid, the bid can be invalidated and the placement offered to the next highest funded bidder.

A bidder who does not win owes nothing further: the €10 deposit paid on that spot is refunded in full after the auction closes. A deposit that succeeds for a position that can no longer be given, because the spot was taken or the auction had already closed, is refunded in full as well. If the auction does not launch or is cancelled, every deposit is refunded and nothing is owed.

Final placement and dimensions are confirmed after the physical shirt + bib + vest test. Where a hydration vest covers a shirt placement and it is technically feasible, that placement can be adapted to a visible position on the vest. A vest may cover much of the Runner Spot in particular; equivalent size or placement on the vest is not guaranteed, and any partner-product integration beyond that adaptation requires separate agreement. This is an independent personal sponsorship project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by PEAK LAKE GARDA 42.