A slot moves through a fixed set of states. Every time-based transition is driven by a scheduled sweep, and every step is idempotent — a double-fire cannot double-charge or double-award.
draft → accepting_offers → live → closed → awaiting_payment → settled
↓ ↓
unsold runner_up_offer → …Draft
The creator has created the slot but not published it. Not publicly visible to anyone.
Accepting offers
The page is live and reads "accepting offers · N received". Amounts stay sealed. A slotsbid page never displays "0 bids" — an empty auction looks worse than a rate card, so that state does not exist. Quiet weeks read as exclusive, not empty.
Live
The creator opens public bidding whenever they choose — pressing START LADDER, booking a window, or letting the first interested sponsor open it automatically. The ladder becomes visible, the clock starts, and sponsors bid against each other in the open. Sealed offers remain available throughout for sponsors who will not bid publicly.
Closed, then awaiting payment
Bidding ends. The creator selects the winner from approved bidders only — and since approval is what unlocks bidding in the first place, every bid on the ladder is already eligible to win. The winner is invoiced.
Runner-up offer
If the winner does not pay within 48 hours, the slot rolls automatically to the next approved bidder. No chasing required.
Settled, or unsold
On payment the auction settles, the payout is written with the fee rate frozen, and the slot runs. Losing bidders are charged nothing, because they never were. If there was no sale, the creator is charged nothing and the slot can be relisted.
The rules that make the ladder trustworthy
- No fake bids. Demo pages label every specimen entry as a specimen. Live ladders carry only binding offers from named sponsors the creator approved by hand.
- Bidders register first. A verified account, the name they bid under shown on the ladder, and the creator's approval before a first bid — no burner names.
- Nothing runs without the creator's approval. Sponsors file creative with their first bid, and the creator approves it before any money moves.
- The sealed envelope is always open. A sponsor who will not bid in public can always make a private offer.
- Whole amounts only, in the currency the creator priced the slot in. A rounded bid is a wrong bid, so partial units are refused rather than silently rounded.
- Bids are serialised. Placing a bid row-locks the auction, so two simultaneous bids can never both believe they won.
What counts as a slot
Anything a sponsor would pay to appear in. The platform does not care what you make:
- YouTube — a pre-roll, mid-roll or end-roll read on a specific upload, or the description link.
- Podcast — a host read on a named episode.
- Newsletter — the primary sponsor slot in a dated issue.
- Livestream — a segment sponsorship or an overlay for a scheduled stream.
- Anything else — if you can describe the placement and name a date, you can auction it.
Where a slot lives
- Creator directory at `/c/<your-slug>` — every public slot you are running, in one place.
- Auction page at `/a/<auction-id>` — one slot, its ladder, and the bid form.
- Your own site — one script tag embeds the same auction. The embed is deliberately session-free and carries no cookies.