# Hourbid rules: Rank is the bid

> Hourbid.lol is a public leaderboard. You pay for a URL or @handle. Opening checkout does nothing to the board. Rank moves only after a verified payment settles.

## Bidding

- Whole US dollars, $1 minimum, $1 steps.
- The board resets to empty at the top of every UTC hour. Rank is determined by the active bid amount (highest bid on top).
- All listings expire and drop off the board at the end of the hour. Bidding starts fresh every hour.
- A bid below first place lands at whatever rank that amount can buy during the active hour. Highest bidder at the end of the hour wins.
- To raise your existing listing within the active hour, enter the same URL or @handle and pay the difference to your current bid.
- Only the visitor who first paid a listing during the current hour can raise it before it expires.

## Page-one takeover

Takeover is a three-hour lock on the first page. It sits in front of the ranked list instead of replacing it. Only one can run at a time.

- The price is a falling auction. Right after a takeover ends — or if none has run yet — it costs four times current first place.
- Over the next 24 hours that price slides down to just above first place (1.2×).
- Then it sits there until someone buys. A new first-place bid raises the whole curve.
- If a takeover payment arrives while another is still live, it does not steal the slot.

## Identity and clicks

- Use a public URL or an X handle. Invite links are rejected. Query strings are stripped.
- Two apps on the same host stay separate. Paths do not share a bid.
- Clicks leave through a sponsored outbound and are counted on the board.

## Refunds

- A refund lowers that listing’s balance. We do not invent a new number.
- A listing refunded to zero leaves the board. Someone else can then bid that identity.
- A full refund on a takeover ends the lease early.

## Canonical pages

- [Rules](https://hourbid-lol.abhinavm16104.workers.dev/rules)
- [Board](https://hourbid-lol.abhinavm16104.workers.dev/)
- [Live stats](https://hourbid-lol.abhinavm16104.workers.dev/stats)