In this guide
· Step 1 — Create Your Account
· Step 2 — Verify Your Email
· Step 3 — Verify Your Phone
· Step 4 — Provide Your Address
· Step 5 — Verify Your Identity (When Required)
· Step 6 — Add a Payment Method
· Step 7 — Review Your Notification Preferences
· Step 8 — Save Your First Search
· Bid Limits and Expanded Access
· About Buying Power
· What to Do Next
· Need Help?
Before You Start
To create your account, you will need:
· A valid email address and US mobile phone number
· A business or personal mailing address
· A government-issued ID (for identity verification, if a seller you want to bid with requires it)
· Bank account details or a credit/debit card (for Autura Verified Payments enrollment)
Step 1 — Create Your Account
1. Go to Autura Marketplace and select Let's get started.
2. Select Individual or Business at the top of the form.
3. Enter your first name and last name.
4. If you selected Business: enter your company name, select your company role, and select your business type.
1. Under Seller Access, select "Yes, sign me up if you also plan to sell vehicles on Autura Marketplace", or "No, thanks if you only want to buy". Selecting Yes registers your interest in selling; selling on Autura Marketplace is subject to qualification and approval, and selecting Yes does not guarantee approval.
2. Enter your email address and create a password.
3. Enter your US mobile phone number.
4. Optional: tell us how you heard about us.
5. Optional: check the box to subscribe to SMS marketing notifications from Autura Marketplace.
6. Check the box to certify you are legally allowed to purchase a vehicle in the state where you reside.
7. Check the box to accept the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
8. Select Sign Up to complete account creation.
NOTE Choosing No, thanks for Seller Access just means your account is buyer-only. If you decide later that you want to sell, contact your Buyer Account Manager or Autura support — seller access is a qualification-based add-on, not a self-serve setting today. |
WATCH OUT Both certification checkboxes must be checked for the Sign Up button to activate. If the button is grayed out, scroll down and make sure both boxes are checked. |
SUCCESS CHECK Account created. You will be taken to the Almost done! page to verify your email, phone, and address, and to set up your payment method. |
Step 2 — Verify Your Email
After signup, the Almost done! page walks you through the remaining setup steps. Email verification is the first.
1. From the Almost done! page, at the Verify email step, select the send icon next to the email field to trigger the verification code.
2. Open the verification email and note the one-time code.
3. Enter the code on screen and select Verify.
4. If you do not receive the code, check your spam folder or select Resend.
NOTE The send action is a small icon next to the email field, not a full-width button. Look for it once you reach the Verify email step. |
WATCH OUT Once you trigger the send, a 120-second countdown starts. The verification code expires when the timer reaches zero. If the code expires before you enter it, select Resend to generate a new one. |
SUCCESS CHECK Email verified. Proceed to phone verification. |
Step 3 — Verify Your Phone
1. Enter your US mobile phone number.
2. Select the send icon next to the phone field to trigger the SMS verification code.
3. Enter the SMS verification code you receive.
4. Select Resend if you do not receive the code.
NOTE As with email verification, the send action is a small icon next to the phone field. Look for it once your phone number is entered. |
WATCH OUT Once you trigger the send, a 60-second countdown starts. The SMS code expires when the timer reaches zero. If the code expires before you enter it, select Resend to generate a new one. |
NOTE If you use a VoIP or international number and do not receive the code, contact Autura support to complete phone verification manually. |
SUCCESS CHECK Phone verified. Proceed to address collection. |
Step 4 — Provide Your Address
Your address is required for DMV compliance and is used on receipts and vehicle paperwork.
1. Enter your street address, city, state, and ZIP code.
2. Select Continue.
SUCCESS CHECK Address saved. Your account is now active. You can browse and save vehicles right away. To place bids, complete the next steps. |
Step 5 — Verify Your Identity (When Required)
Identity verification is required for some auctions. It is a one-time check, not a per-auction or per-seller step. Once verified, you do not need to verify again.
1. When prompted by a listing that requires identity verification, follow the on-screen steps.
2. Have your government-issued ID ready.
3. Upload a photo of your ID and a selfie when prompted (verification is handled through a Stripe-hosted flow).
4. Verification typically completes within a few minutes.
NOTE You can skip identity verification during initial signup. You will be prompted to complete it when you try to bid on an auction that requires it. |
WATCH OUT Complete identity verification before you find a vehicle you want. You do not want to be doing it while an auction clock is ticking. |
SUCCESS CHECK Identity verified. You are eligible to bid on auctions that require verification. |
Step 6 — Add a Payment Method
Autura Verified Payments (AVP) is the platform's payment system. AVP secures the full balance at time of sale and is powered by Stripe, the same payment infrastructure used by Amazon, Shopify, Lyft, Instacart, and millions of other businesses.
NOTE Your payment information is entered through Stripe's PCI-compliant payment form. Stripe is one of the most widely used payment infrastructures in commerce, processing payments for businesses across more than 50 countries. |
From the Almost done! page:
1. At the Payment method step, enter your credit or debit card number, expiration date, and security code.
2. Confirm your country and enter your ZIP code.
3. Select Add credit card.
You can add or change payment methods at any time after onboarding. Go to Settings, select Wallet, and under Payment methods select the + tile to add another method.
NOTE ACH payment access is enabled on a per-account basis. If you do not see an ACH option, your account is currently set up for credit/debit card payments only. Contact your Buyer Account Manager if you want to discuss ACH access. |
NOTE A valid payment method on file is required before you can complete payment on a winning bid. You can defer this step and add a payment method later, but you will not be able to complete checkout without one. |
SUCCESS CHECK Payment method on file. You are set up for AVP. |
Step 7 — Review Your Notification Preferences
Account-critical notifications (win confirmations, payment reminders, pickup-ready alerts) are sent automatically and cannot be turned off. SMS preferences are managed from your User Profile, where you have two independent toggles:
Marketing notifications — promotional and account SMS from Autura Marketplace.
Auction go live SMS — a reminder text sent shortly before an auction you have pre-bid on goes live. Useful for active pre-bidders.
1. Open your User Profile from the top menu.
2. Scroll to Notification Preferences and review the Marketing notifications and Auction go live SMS toggles.
3. Leave each toggle on or off as suits you. You can change these any time from Profile.
NOTE Both toggles are on by default at signup so you do not miss anything time-sensitive. The two toggles are independent — turning off Marketing notifications does not affect Auction go live SMS, and vice versa. |
NOTE If you reply STOP to a marketing SMS, the carrier-level unsubscribe overrides your Marketing notifications toggle and you will need to reply START to re-enable. STOP does not affect your Auction go live SMS toggle — that is controlled only from your Profile. |
WATCH OUT We send timely notifications, not literally instant ones. Check your account at least once a day during active bidding to make sure you do not miss anything time-sensitive. |
SUCCESS CHECK Notifications reviewed. |
Step 8 — Save Your First Search
Saved searches are one of the most useful features for active buyers. A saved search remembers your filter and sort selections so you can return to the same view quickly.
1. Go to the Auctions page and use the search and filters to narrow inventory to your criteria: make, model, year range, current bid range, and your My Vehicles preferences.
2. Once you have narrowed the inventory the way you want, select Save Search.
3. In the Save search modal, enter a Nickname for the search, add any Keyword you want stored with it, review your Filters applied (shown as chips), confirm your Sort by selection, and select Save.
NOTE Buyers with three or more active saved searches consistently find more vehicles and spend less time browsing. |
SUCCESS CHECK Saved search created. You can return to it from your saved searches list to re-run the same filters. |
Bid Limits and Expanded Access
As you build a track record on the platform (consistent payment, on-time pickup, completed wins), you may become eligible for higher bid limits. Contact your Buyer Account Manager to discuss your bid limits or any other ways to expand your access.
About Buying Power
Some auctions require buyers to fund Buying Power before bidding. Buying Power is a deposit that demonstrates financial commitment and unlocks bidding capacity at a configurable ratio. In the current platform configuration, every $250 you deposit unlocks $4,000 in bidding capacity.
Whether Buying Power is required depends on your account standing and the auction. If you are unsure whether Buying Power applies to your account, contact your Buyer Account Manager.
See Buying Power & Deposits for the full guide on how to fund Buying Power, how it is applied at checkout, and the rules around withdrawals.
What to Do Next
Once your account is active and your payment method is on file, you are ready to find and bid on vehicles.
· See Buying Power & Deposits for funding Buying Power if required by an auction you want to bid on.
· See Finding Vehicles on Autura Marketplace for browsing, saved searches, and reading listings.
· See Bidding on Autura Marketplace for placing bids, proxy bidding, and live auctions.
· See Winning and Paying for the payment window and how AVP payment works.
Need Help?
For onboarding questions — account creation, identity verification, AVP enrollment — the in-platform chat is the fastest way to contact support but alternatively, you can use the following:
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: (888) 998-6085
• Hours: Monday–Friday, 7 AM – 5 PM Pacific Time