Auction rules

Each drop is a timed auction for one hand-painted binder, run while we paint it. Every lot shows its opening and closing time in IST, and its starting bid.

The starting bid is the lowest price the studio accepts. There is no hidden reserve: if anyone bids, the lot sells.

Every price includes GST and shipping within India.

You enter the most you're willing to pay. We bid for you only as much as it takes to lead, one increment at a time, up to your maximum, and nobody sees your maximum while you lead.

If two bidders enter the same maximum, the one who entered it first leads. Raising your own maximum while you lead never changes the price or your place.

Increments are ₹100 while the price is under ₹5,000, and ₹250 from ₹5,000 up. A maximum can be at most ₹10,00,000.

A bid is a promise to buy if you win. If you change your mind, message the studio on WhatsApp before bidding closes and we'll retract your bid, as the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, section 64(2) allows. The price then goes back to what the other bids set it at. A message that reaches us before the close counts, even if we act on it after: we won't hold you to that bid, and it isn't a strike.

Once bidding has closed, a bid can't be retracted. If you win, you've agreed to buy the binder at the winning price.

If a bid moves the price in the last 2 minutes, the auction is extended to 2 minutes after that bid, so nobody wins by sniping.

Numbers on the drop list can bid 24 hours before a lot opens to everyone.

Before your first bid we verify your Indian mobile number once, with a code by WhatsApp or SMS. Outbid alerts on WhatsApp are optional and off unless you tick the box.

When bidding closes, the winner gets a payment link and has 24 hours to pay; we tell you the exact time to pay by. We message you on WhatsApp, and by email if you gave one.

If the winner doesn't pay in time, the next-highest bidder is offered the binder at their own maximum, with the same 24 hours, and so on down the list. There's a 15-minute pause between one offer closing and the next.

A second-chance offer is optional: if you'd rather not buy, just let it lapse.

A payment that arrives after its window still counts until the binder is offered to the next bidder, and the binder is yours. If a payment arrives after the binder has gone to someone else, we refund it in full.

If you win and don't pay in time, that's a strike. A strike only counts if we were able to tell you. A message from the studio on WhatsApp or email counts as telling you. Letting a second-chance offer lapse isn't a strike, and neither is a payment we accept late. At 2 strikes, bidding is paused on that number. Message us if you think that's a mistake.

A pause stops new bids only. A maximum you entered before the pause still stands in a drop that's open. If it's the highest when bidding closes, the binder is offered to the next-highest bidder at their own maximum, the same as when a winner doesn't pay.

The studio, and anyone on its behalf, never bids on its own lots (Sale of Goods Act, 1930, section 64). Every bid, bidder count and timer you see is real.

The bid history shows each bidder as the first and last letter of their first name and their city, for example "A***v, Pune". The winner's first name and city appear on the finished lot, for example "Won by Aarav, Pune". You agree to this when you verify.

When someone outbids you, the price usually lands one step above your maximum, so the bid history can show what your maximum was. That's normal for proxy bidding: your maximum stays private only while you're leading.

We ship your binder across India with a tracked courier, as in our Shipping policy: within 3 working days of payment if it's finished, or when painting is complete if we're still painting it.

Every drop is one of one, painted by hand, so there are no change-of-mind returns. If your binder arrives defective, damaged in transit, or different from the photos and description on its lot page, tell us within 48 hours of delivery with photos, and we'll repaint, replace or refund it, as our Refunds policy says.

Message us on WhatsApp any time. Our seller details and Grievance Officer are on the Contact & grievance page.