Public record

The rules

The operating rules for bids, rankings, traffic, clicks, and refunds. When HOTSEAT changes, this list changes with it.

Back to HOTSEAT
  1. 01

    One posted price

    HOTSEAT opens at $1.00. Each new bid is exactly $1.00 above the current champion. Bidders cannot skip ahead with a larger amount.

  2. 02

    Confirmation decides

    A bid joins the board only after payment is confirmed. Starting checkout or returning to HOTSEAT does not reserve a rank.

  3. 03

    Your rank is honored

    There is no scheduled leaderboard reset. A confirmed seat remains on the board for as long as HOTSEAT operates. New confirmed bids may move it down, but they do not remove it.

  4. 04

    Every paid seat receives traffic

    Confirmed won and outbid seats remain eligible for outbound traffic. Pending, failed, stale, and refunded payments receive none.

  5. 05

    Traffic is rank-weighted

    With N seats, rank 1 has weight N, rank 2 has weight N−1, continuing down to weight 1. The champion therefore receives the largest share.

  6. 06

    The champion is featured

    Rank 1 receives the large featured placement. A higher confirmed bid becomes the new champion and moves prior confirmed seats down the board.

  7. 07

    Clicks are counted

    HOTSEAT records a click for the selected seat when its outbound redirect is used. Public counts reflect recorded redirects, not guaranteed visits or outcomes.

  8. 08

    Outbid bids are not refunded

    A valid confirmed payment remains ranked and traffic-eligible after being outbid, so later rank changes do not trigger a refund.

  9. 09

    Only stale racing payments are refunded

    If another checkout confirms first and makes a competing payment stale before it can join the board, that stale charge is refunded automatically.

  10. 10

    Funds support more visibility

    A portion of confirmed payment revenue is reinvested into promoting HOTSEAT and its ranked seats on X.

  11. 11

    No performance guarantee

    HOTSEAT honors confirmed seats while the site operates, but does not promise a fixed rank or a minimum number of clicks, impressions, visits, or conversions. Your position can move down as new bids are confirmed.