When does the Holiday Auction start?
You can start placing your bids now. The first auction round ends on Monday Dec 15 at 7:45 AM PST with a new round ending every 45 minutes until the last auction round ends on Thursday Dec 18 10AM PST. One of each title will be awarded to the top bidder at the end of each round. That means 100 copies of nearly 2,000 titles are up for auction for a grand total of up to 200,000.
How do I win games/auctions?
Bid the most amount of Gems in an auction round between the dates above to win. Once the auction rounds start on Monday, every 45 minutes the top bidder wins a game and all other bids carry over to the next round.
How do I make Steam Gems?
You can make Gems by recycling Steam Community Items from
your Inventory. Go to your Inventory, select the Steam tab, and choose "Community" from the drop down to view eligible items. From there you can see the Gem value of each item and a button to recycle it. In addition to bidding, Gems can also be used to
create Steam Trading Card Booster Packs.
How do I bid?
You'll need Steam Gems to bid, which you can get by recycling Steam Community Items from
your Inventory. Select a game from the Auctions list and enter your bid. Gems are removed from your Inventory when they are used to bid and will be returned to your Inventory if the bid is canceled.
How do I increase or cancel my bid?
From the My Bids section above, click on the bid you want to cancel. This will take you to that games auction detail page where you have the options to increase or cancel your bid. Your bid can be canceled at any time unless it is the top bid.
How long is my bid good for?
Unless you cancel your bid or you are the top bidder and win the game, your bid will carry over after each auction round. After all auction rounds are completed on Thursday Dec 18 10AM PST, all outstanding bids are canceled and the Gems are returned to your Inventory.
How do I know if I have won?
You can track your current bids, top bids, and winning bids in the My Bids section above. If you win an auction, you'll receive it as a
Gift that you can add to your Library or Inventory. You'll also receive an email notification from Steam Support.
What can I bid on?
There are up to 2,000 different games up for auction. There's also a special profile item up for auction called the
2014 Holiday Profile.
What happens to Steam Gems after the Holiday Auction ends?
Gems will not disappear from your Inventory after the Holiday Auction event ends. You can continue making and using it to
create Booster Packs.
How do I get the 2014 Holiday Auction badge?
The Auction Badge has three levels that correspond to Auction participation. Create Gems to earn level 1, place a bid to earn level 2, and win an auction round to earn the final level.
Can I place a "max bid"?
Your bid should be the most you are willing to spend. Steam will automatically increase your bid up to that amount to keep yours the highest bid. Steam will never exceed your bid unless you increase it.
Can I transfer my Steam Gems and Booster Packs?
Yes, these are Steam Inventory items that are transferable in the normal ways:
trading or selling on the
Steam Community Market. Steam Gems can only be placed on the Community Market after being packed up into a Sack of Gems.
What if something goes wrong?
Valve won't be liable for bids or transactions that are late, misdirected, garbled, or otherwise invalid. Attempts to transact or bid by automated means may be blocked or otherwise rejected. If the Holiday Auction is disrupted for any reason, Valve may, in its sole discretion, reverse invalid transactions or provide an alternative for game auctions and/or other Steam Gem transactions.
