THE CLOCK IS THE RULE
HOW A SCHEDULED SPOT IS WON.
1. Central Time controls the schedule
America/Chicago is the official timezone. Server time determines when bidding, settlement, and display begin and end. A late operational step never moves an advertised window.
2. Flash has one weekday window
Flash displays Monday through Friday from 12:00 PM to 12:42 PM Central. Bidding opens at 12:42 PM on the previous eligible weekday, new Checkout sessions stop at 11:29 AM, bidding closes at 11:30 AM, settlement becomes available at 11:35 AM, and new captures lock at 11:58 AM.
3. Main uses fixed every-other-day anchors
Main bidding opens every other Central calendar day at 9:00 AM and remains open for exactly 42 hours. Settlement becomes available five minutes after close and new captures lock two minutes before the scheduled 9:00 AM display. The display lasts exactly 42 hours. Calendar-day anchors preserve 9:00 AM through daylight-saving changes.
4. Flash homepage priority never changes Main delivery
From 12:00 PM to 12:42 PM Central on a Flash weekday, the homepage Top 42 gives Flash priority. If Main is live at the same time, its original interval and each verified Main sponsor’s company-page status continue until the fixed end. Flash priority never pauses, moves, restarts, shortens, or extends Main.
5. Minimum bids, increments, and authorization time
Flash — Minimum bid: $0.50. Main — Minimum bid: $4.20. Both boards accept bids in $0.01 increments. Starting Checkout is not a bid authorization. Stripe must authorize the exact amount at or after the opening and strictly before the bidding cutoff. Webhook delivery may arrive later without changing Stripe’s authorization time. Banks control how temporary holds appear and when released holds disappear.
6. Creative approval is required
Payment never bypasses human approval. Malware, adult content, deceptive claims, impersonation, illegal offers, URL shorteners, referral links, chat-only destinations, and content that creates unacceptable brand or safety risk may be rejected. Additional screenshots, images, logos, and profile fields require separate approval and never change payment eligibility.
7. Rank freezes before capture
Eligible approved bids rank by amount, highest first. Earlier Stripe authorization breaks an exact tie, followed by bid creation time and bid ID. Only the highest eligible bid for a normalized company domain can rank. Once human settlement begins, the ranking is frozen. Curated companies are never inserted into the bid or ranking tables.
8. The Top 42 preserves every frozen outcome
During a healthy live Flash window, a successfully captured frozen winner temporarily replaces the curated company at that same homepage rank and is labeled Sponsored. A rank without a verified captured sponsor may show its corresponding curated unpaid company, clearly labeled Curated. That company is not a sponsor, winner, or backfill. A failed winning capture displays as Unfilled at its original rank and is never replaced. While payment is reserved, under review, or indeterminate, the independent curated company may remain visible with a Verifying Auction Status notice; it does not imply availability or a failed sponsor. An available-position control can compete only in the fresh verified successor round. Lower-ranked bidders are never promoted after the freeze.
9. Missed and empty displays are distinct
If human settlement never begins before the scheduled display, the round is Missed, all authorizations enter release-only handling, and nobody is charged. The curated Top 42 may remain with a Missed notice, but no paid board appears. A healthy empty Flash window may show the curated Top 42 with a no-captured-sponsors notice. If schedule or auction evidence is unavailable during the Flash window, the entire Top 42 becomes neutral rather than guessing that the round is empty or missed.
10. Display time and delivery are fixed
Flash winners display only from 12:00 PM to 12:42 PM Central. Main winners display only from their scheduled start until exactly 42 elapsed hours later. Capture time does not start a new personal term. Every paid card is labeled Sponsored and its outbound link is qualified as sponsored.
11. Captured sponsors receive a company page
Each captured sponsor receives a continuing company directory page derived from the approved immutable name, destination, and pitch in its bid. The badge is Sponsored only while a fresh authoritative response confirms an active placement; otherwise it is Curated. The page does not expose bid amount, rank, payment details, settlement state, or sponsorship history. Optional approved profile enhancements may replace placeholders but never change the auction result. Rejected, losing, missed, and capture-failed submissions remain non-public.
12. No performance promise
A purchase does not guarantee impressions, traffic, clicks, leads, sales, search ranking, publicity, or endorsement. A continuing company page is not a guarantee that the service or any content will operate forever.
13. Corrections, removals, and disputes
We may correct, pause, or remove a placement, company page, or submitted asset for safety, legal, payment, accuracy, rights, or policy reasons. A paid placement removed solely by us during its fixed service window without advertiser breach may receive a proportional refund. Fraud, chargebacks, prohibited content, or material misrepresentation may end placement without refund. Owners and rights holders may request correction or removal.