How long do/should reverse auctions go for?

Auction times are variable.

The Request author sets the start date and time, and the end date and time for the reverse auction. PERSUIT recommends an auction period of 1 hour. This is typically plenty of time for firms to respond to competitor bids and revise their price accordingly. Firms will then be able to make themselves available for that period so that they can participate and respond to all price revisions.

Automatic extensions

The reverse auction end time automatically extends for 5 minutes if there is a firm bid in the last 5 minutes of the auction. There can be multiple 5 minute extensions of the auction end time.

When can a bid be accepted?

A client can accept a bid at any stage of the reverse auction process, they do not have to wait until the auction deadline. After accepting a bid the client has the option to continue the reverse auction until the deadline expires (and accept multiple bids), or to close the Request once they have accepted a bid.