How does an If-Sale work?

If you have ever bid in an auction, you might have heard the auctioneer say "If-Sale" instead of sold. What is the difference and what does it mean? First, an If-Sale happens when the vehicle has not met the seller's reserve price. When this happens it means the highest bidder has secured the right to negotiate the reserve price with the seller. So how does that work for the bidder? Once the bidder has "won" the If-Sale vehicle, they are alerted by email and, or text. The email will will let the bidder know what the seller's minimum price to buy the vehicle will be. The bidder can either; buy the car at the minimum price, offer a lower price to the seller, or decide not to take the vehicle for anything higher than their bid price. The seller can then either lower their price to match the bid and sell the vehicle, or they can stay at the minimum reserve. If the seller will not go down on their price, the bidder may elect to withdraw the bid. No deposit is taken and no sale is made. The idea of an If-Sale is to allow for further negotiations on the cars after the auction.