Frequently asked
questions
Need to speak to us? Call us on +254 111 005 111
Need to speak to us? Call us on +254 111 005 111
How Low is a new and exciting type of reverse auction that utilises the concept of 'lowest unique bid' to determine the successful bidder, now offered to the Kenyan market; whereby bidders can buy a range of consumer goods at discounts of 90% or more on the recommended retail price
A bid is the amount in Kenya Shillings that a Bidder has entered or intends to enter into the Auction for a specific item.
Bidding is a process through which a product is sold by auction in the presence of multiple buyers. A bid is simply a fixed offer at a specific price. In a traditional auction, the buyers bid for a particular product and the person making the highest bid generally becomes the successful bidder. However, unlike traditional auctions, the concept of reverse bidding in a lowest unique bid auction is somewhat different from the traditional form. The key difference with this style of reverse bidding is that the successful bid must be both unique and the lowest bid price.
The products on offer can include mobile phones, tablets, laptops, TVs and other consumer electronics; motorbikes, cars, vans and other vehicles; water tanks, generators and DIY tools; Playstations; pool tables; appliances and kitchenware; shopping vouchers; and a myriad of other exciting consumer products!
Some auctions have a fixed time limit, others can end at any time. If there’s a fixed time limit, full details of the duration of the auction will be available on our Site. For auctions that can end at any minute, we will notify you via SMS in advance of the close of the auction, giving ample time for final bids.
The likelihood of being the successful bidder varies based on a number of factors, including the number of bidders, the number of individual bids placed by the bidder, the total number of bids placed by all bidders in the auction, and the duration of the auction where applicable.
You will be notified via SMS at the close of the auction if you are the successful bidder. You will also be contacted soon after by our customer care team with instructions and information relating to delivery and to verify your identity.
Anyone can be the successful bidder in an auction if they have the lowest unique bid at the close of the auction.
If you are the successful bidder, you’ll receive a confirmation text. You’ll also receive a call from us soon after. The call will be to verify details and may, at our sole discretion, arrange a shipping service nationwide to your nearest post office. In the case of larger items, you will likely be required to come to collect the item, but don’t worry, full details and assistance will be provided by our customer care team.
For more information about our successful bidders and previous completed auctions kindly visit our website at howlow.co.ke to see a variety of our happy customers.
Kindly dial 456*9*5# and follow instructions to check if you stopped our promotional messages. If yes, kindly proceed to activate the promotional messages. For further assistance kindly share with us your phone number and the date and time you placed your bid. You can also call us on +254 111 005 111 for assistance.
To stop receiving promotional messages please dial *456*9*5# and follow the instructions.
Bidding with How Low couldn’t be easier - simply send the fixed entry fee to the advertised Mpesa paybill number, typically 777892 using your Safaricom paybill function. You don’t even need a smart phone to play. Put your bid amount in the paybill account field together with the keyword (be sure to double check you are using the exact keyword advertised), enter the fixed entry fee followed by your pin; then wait for updates. For example, if you want to place of a bid of Ksh3000 and the keyword is BIKE, put 3000 BIKE in the account field, followed by the bid entry fee as the amount, followed by your pin. And that’s it! Bidders have the opportunity to place multiple bids of different bid amounts to maximise their likelihood of being the successful bidder.
1. Bidders may participate in the usual way by entering their bids via Mpesa.
2. Bidders may participate by entering their bids via the Website with following process:
Go to howlow.co.ke. Select the auction that you wish to bid on and follow the instructions in the fields below. Select the option to bid online. Enter your phone number and bid amount (the relevant keyword is automatically assigned when bidding online). Await the STK prompt on your phone and enter your Mpesa pin to complete the bidding process.
3. Bidders may also participate by entering their bids via SMS to 40452 using funds in their How Low Wallet. The text must include the keyword and the bid amount.
You may additionally bid using funds in your wallet by sending your bid by SMS to 40452. A wallet account is automatically created with How Low once a bidder sends money to How Low via paybill. Any price paid above the official entry fee for any auction is held in your wallet. You may also deposit money into your wallet by sending money to our paybill with:
- the word DEPOSIT in the account field
- with an empty account field
- an invalid entry in the account field.
You can then use your wallet by sending your bid by SMS to 40452. If you want to check the balance on your wallet, text BAL to 40452. A wallet account handling fee of Ksh100 is charged per month from the date of registration for this service in any month that there is a balance held so be sure to keep bidding. You can cash out your wallet at any time by calling our customer service team.
Each How Low auction has a unique keyword that must be included by the bidder in the account name field of Mpesa together with the bid amount, or included in the body of the text message when bidding via SMS. At any given time, there is a default auction where bid entries lacking a keyword as outlined above will be entered. The default auction at any time is chosen by How Low and will be indicated as such on the website. Bidding using unrecognised keywords, i.e. keywords that do not exactly match those communicated on the website for the various auction listings will lead to those bids being entered into the current default auction. Remember - How Low accepts no liability for any mistakes made by bidders who do not follow the clear instructions provided and enter incorrect information into the account field or SMS when bidding.
You’ll receive updates from us confirming whether or not your bid is unique. Some clues may be provided in the event that your bid is not unique, and you may be advised if your bid is unique but not the lowest unique bid. If your bid is the lowest and unique, then another bidder places a bid at the same bid price as your bid, you’ll be advised that your bid is no longer unique, giving you an opportunity to choose another potentially lowest unique bid price. All communications are done via SMS. If you are the successful bidder, i.e. if at the conclusion of the auction, your bid is the lowest unique bid, you’ll receive a confirmation and further instructions.
You can bid as many times as you choose in a day. However, we do advise all our bidders to bid responsibly.
This means that at the time of entry, no other bidder has selected to bid the same bid amount that you have selected. It does not mean that you are the successful bidder but does indicate that at the time of entry there is a possibility that you could be the lowest unique bidder at the close of the auction. If before the auction closes, another bidder enters the same bid amount, your bid will no longer be unique.
This means that another bidder has entered the same bid amount. Please try bidding again with a different bid amount.
© 2020-2022 How Low Enterprises Ltd. All rights reserved. Auctioneers licence no 006660 held by Mr George Gitonga Muchiri, Auctioneer, trading under the name Fantasy Auctioneers duly authorized and regulated by the Auctioneers Board of Kenya. Liquor Licence Number LID18904 held by Tipsy Corner LLP.