Online mart bidding: how to register, bid and pay safely

Bidding from your phone is now a normal part of mart day. Here is a quick guide to how it works, who you should pay, and how to keep your money safe.

How does online mart bidding work?

Most marts now stream their sales and let buyers bid remotely alongside the ringside crowd, usually through a platform such as MartBids. You can follow sales as they happen on our Live Marts page. Before you can bid, you normally need to register with the mart itself and be approved, which involves providing your herd number and contact details and agreeing to the mart’s terms of sale. Approval can take time, so register well ahead of the sale you are interested in rather than on the morning.

Once approved, you bid in real time as each lot enters the ring. A successful online bid is just as binding as a nod from the rail, so be sure of the lot, the weights and the price before you press the button.

Who do you pay, and how?

You pay the mart, not the seller, and you pay it the way the mart’s terms set out, whether that is bank transfer, card or another method it accepts. Stock is released once the mart confirms payment. If you are buying at a mart for the first time, the contact details for every mart are listed in our Marts in Ireland directory, so you can confirm payment details directly with the office.

Why checking payment details matters

Payment fraud is rising fast. Central Bank of Ireland figures highlighted by FraudSMART, the fraud awareness initiative run by the banking industry, show losses of €179 million in 2025, up 27% on the year before. Almost half of that came from scams where people were tricked into sending a payment themselves, and fraud on account-to-account transfers almost doubled.

Farmers are firmly in the firing line. Bank of Ireland has warned about fake machinery ads leading to bogus websites, and the same tactics can be used to send a fake invoice or a message claiming a mart’s bank details have changed. If anything about a payment request looks different from usual, ring the mart on a number you already know before sending money. A transfer sent to a fraudster is very hard to get back.

Where does PayPal fit in for farm purchases?

PayPal is not how you pay for stock at the mart, but it is useful for much of what goes on around it. For parts, tack, dosing equipment and other items bought from online shops, paying through PayPal as goods and services gives you Buyer Protection on eligible purchases if an item never arrives or is not as described. Payments sent as “friends and family” are not covered, and some categories such as vehicles are excluded, so check the terms before paying for anything expensive.

PayPal for other online payments

Outside the farm, PayPal is widely used for subscriptions, online shopping and entertainment, and that includes online casino sites. It has become more relevant there since Ireland’s new gambling rules came in: licensed operators can no longer accept credit card payments, and that covers e-wallets topped up from a credit card too, so a PayPal account funded from a current account is one of the options that remains. Not every casino accepts it, and Online-Casinos.com keeps a list of the online casinos that take PayPal in Ireland, along with their licensing details. Gambling is for over-18s only and is best treated as entertainment with a fixed budget. Anyone who feels it is getting out of hand can get free, confidential help from Gambling Care Ireland.

Quick checklist before mart day

Register early. Approval for online bidding can take a few days.

Know the terms. Check how and when the mart expects payment before you bid.

Pay the mart only. Never pay a seller or a third party directly for stock bought at a mart.

Verify any changes. Ring the mart on a known number if payment details look different.

Use protected methods online. For parts and equipment, card or PayPal goods and services gives you a route to recover your money.

Keep records. Save invoices, confirmations and messages until the stock or goods are home.