Frequently Asked Questions

Open Yacht Bid is an online marketplace bringing together luxury yachts for sale and at auction, focused on Türkiye and the Mediterranean. Every listing is verified and backed by Bella International Yacht Brokerage. Yacht charter is served separately on our Open Yacht Rental site.

Open Yacht Bid does not own or sell the vessels; it connects buyers with verified sellers. Payments are not made through the platform — sales are completed between the parties, coordinated by Open Yacht Bid.

An auction sets the price in the market rather than across a negotiating table: buyers compete transparently over what the yacht is really worth, and the seller reaches a result on a fixed timetable instead of months of back-and-forth. Every bid is visible to everyone throughout, and the winning bid forms on screen. For owners who are in no hurry — or who simply want to test the market — a direct sale is also an option; we handle both.

Yes. Registration, browsing and bidding are free. Commission applies only to successfully completed transactions; see the Commission Rates page for current rates.

On the registration page enter your name, email, phone and password, choose an account type (Buyer or Broker) and tick the box accepting the Privacy Notice and User Agreement. A verification link is then emailed to you; clicking it activates your account. If the email doesn't arrive, you can resend it from the banner at the top of the page after signing in.

Yes. From the My Account page you can change your name, phone and email address, and update your password. If you change your email address, you will be asked to verify the new address for security.

Click "Forgot password" on the sign-in page and enter your email address. A single-use reset link will be sent to you. When you reset your password, all open sessions are signed out for security and you will need to sign in again.

Yes. Notification preferences on the My Account page let you switch bid, auction-result and watchlist notifications on or off individually. Account-security emails (password reset, email verification) are always sent.

From the "Delete Account" section of the My Account page, after a two-step confirmation your account is closed immediately and your personal data is deleted under Turkish data-protection law (KVKK). If you are currently the highest bidder in a live auction, have an open transaction or have a live auction as seller, the request is reviewed first because those commitments are binding, and you are notified of the outcome by email. Transaction records subject to a statutory retention obligation (for example documents relating to a completed sale) cannot be deleted; in that case your account is anonymised instead.

Create an account, verify your email and bid on any live auction. Each auction has a starting price and a minimum increment; when time runs out, the highest bid wins — provided the reserve is met.

Click "Place Bid" on the auction page. Enter your bid amount in the window that opens — your bid, the auction fee and the total payable are broken down on screen instantly. The bid cannot be submitted until you tick the box confirming you accept the terms and the auction fee. Once confirmed, your bid appears on the page immediately and you receive an email confirmation.

You only need to be signed in with a verified email address; there is no separate approval or deposit step. The rules the system enforces are: your bid cannot be lower than the current highest bid plus the minimum increment, you cannot bid again while you already hold the highest bid, and a seller cannot bid on their own auction.

Yes. Every bid is binding and cannot be withdrawn. We recommend reviewing the listing carefully and requesting an inspection or sea trial before bidding.

A confidential minimum sale price set by the seller. If the highest bid does not meet the reserve, the seller is not obliged to sell. A "Reserve Met" badge appears once it is reached.

Yes — anti-sniping: any bid placed within the final 3 minutes extends the auction by 3 minutes, so everyone gets a fair last word.

Yes. Just press "Watch" on the auction page. You will be emailed when an auction you watch opens, when it has one hour left, and when it concludes. Your watchlist lives under My Account, and you can remove items at any time. Watching is not bidding and creates no obligation.

The My Bids page under My Account shows every bid you have placed, which auction it belongs to and its current status (won / outbid) on a single screen.

You receive an email notification and the Open Yacht Bid team contacts you promptly. An inspection and sea trial are arranged, and the transfer is completed safely.

An auction fee is added to the winning bid; the rate is shown on screen before you bid. See the Commission Rates page for all current rates.

Some listings offer a fixed purchase price as an alternative to the auction. To proceed at the Buy Now price, reach us via the contact options on the listing; the Open Yacht Bid team will guide you through the purchase.

It varies by listing — Euro, US Dollar or Turkish Lira. The applicable currency is clearly shown on every card and detail page.

Yes, and we recommend it. Before bidding you have the right to request an inspection and a sea trial, and you are welcome to bring your own independent surveyor. Contact us through the listing page to arrange it and our team will coordinate with the owner.

The winning bidder sees the yacht accompanied by our team before the transfer is completed, and it is checked together at handover. However, an inspection carried out after the auction has closed does not void a bid already placed — bids are binding. That is why it matters to inspect BEFORE you bid.

No. Sales made through auction carry no right of return or withdrawal; bids are binding and the sale is made on an "as is, where is" basis. This is precisely why we strongly recommend exercising your inspection and sea-trial rights before bidding. See the Auction Terms page for details.

Yachts are offered on an "as is, where is" basis with no warranty given. Listings are prepared carefully, but the information in a listing is not a warranty. Assessing the condition of the yacht independently is the buyer's responsibility — which is what the inspection and sea-trial rights are for. See the Auction Terms page for details.

Once the auction concludes, the sale price is invoiced on behalf of the yacht's owner and the auction fee on behalf of the Company. Payment is made by bank transfer within 5 business days of the invoice date. Payments are not taken online through the platform. See the Payment Terms page for details.

Transfer and handover do not begin until payment is complete. If the deadline passes, a written notice is sent to you; if payment is still not made, the sale may be terminated, your liability for the auction fee continues and the yacht may be relisted. See the Payment Terms page for details.

Payments are not currently taken online through the platform; they are made between the parties by bank transfer against a signed contract and an invoice. The whole process runs under Open Yacht Bid's coordination: the contract is prepared, payment is confirmed, and only then does the transfer begin. We never request card details or payment by email at any stage — if you receive such a message, please contact us.

Once payment is complete, transfer formalities are handled with Open Yacht Bid and the broker present, and handover takes place where the yacht lies. Unless agreed otherwise in writing, transfer, marina and transport costs are borne by the buyer. See the Payment Terms page for details.

Simply get in touch. Our team assesses the yacht and proposes a price range and a sales method (auction or direct sale) based on current market conditions. Once agreed, photographs and technical details are prepared, the Listing Agreement is signed and your listing goes live. We publish the listing for you — you do not need to operate a panel yourself.

If your reserve is not met you are under no obligation to sell and you pay nothing. If you would like to explore a deal below reserve with the highest bidder, we will mediate; if not, the yacht can be relisted or moved to a direct sale. Commission only arises when a sale completes.

Three things make the difference: photography, honesty and preparation. Photographs of a clean, tidy yacht taken in daylight with wide angles measurably increase interest. Maintenance records, engine hours and recent refits presented with documentation raise buyer confidence. And disclosing known faults up front prevents a sale collapsing at the last moment — the buyer will exercise their inspection right anyway.

Preparing the listing (photography, technical details, contract) usually takes a few days. The auction duration is set per yacht. After the auction closes there are 5 business days for payment, followed by transfer and handover. For a direct sale the timetable follows whatever buyer and seller agree.

The broker is responsible for pricing the yacht realistically, presenting it properly (photography, technical details, documentation), qualifying prospective buyers, organising the inspection and sea trial, and completing the transfer paperwork in full. In short, they run the process on the owner's behalf and protect both sides.

Selling a yacht is not just publishing a listing: there is flag and registration, checks for outstanding debts or liens, survey, transfer documentation and handover coordination. An experienced broker gets these steps right and keeps the yacht from selling below its true value.

If you would like to continue working with your existing broker, get in touch and we will review the arrangements together. Brokers who wish to publish listings on the platform can select the "Broker" account type at registration and go through the approval process.

Of course. The Bella International Yacht Brokerage team can run the entire process on your behalf — valuation, listing preparation, buyer discussions, arranging inspections and the transfer itself. Just reach us through the contact page.

Choose the "Broker" account type during registration. Your application is reviewed by an administrator; once approved you can publish listings and run auctions.

No — publishing listings, photos and auction setup are free. Commission applies only to successfully completed transactions.

From your broker panel you can view your listings, set them active/inactive and create new auction, sale or charter listings with the listing wizard.

Three things protect it. First, every lister is a verified broker and listings are reviewed before going live. Second, the system blocks a seller from bidding on their own auction — so the price cannot be inflated artificially. Third, any bid in the final 3 minutes extends the clock, so nobody gains an advantage with a last-second bid. All bids and their timestamps are public on the auction page.

Listings aim to be as accurate as possible; still, we recommend using your inspection and sea-trial rights before bidding, and commissioning an independent survey if you wish. All listers are verified brokers.

Your data is processed under Turkish data-protection law (KVKK) and shared only with the parties a transaction requires. See our Privacy & Data Protection Notice for details.

You receive an email when you place a bid, when you are outbid, and when an auction you joined concludes. For auctions you watch, you also get opening, final-hour and result notifications. All of these can be managed from the notification preferences on your My Account page.

The site works fully in a phone or tablet browser — you can do everything, including bidding, from mobile. Our iOS and Android apps are in preparation; we'll announce them on this page and by email once they are published.