# What happens if only one bidder shows up at a timber auction? > If only one bidder shows up at a public timber auction, the sale usually still goes ahead: one bid at or above the appraised minimum is valid, and the lone bidder wins at the price it offered. What a single bidder changes is the price, because nobody bids it up, so single-bidder sales on this site's board close far nearer their minimum than contested ones. _Updated Sep 24, 2026._ If only one bidder shows up at a public timber auction, the sale usually still goes ahead. A single bid at or above the appraised minimum is a valid bid under each agency's rules covered below, and the lone bidder wins the timber at the price it offered. No rule cited here voids a sale for lack of a second bidder. What one bidder changes is the price, and in a few places the checks the agency runs before it signs. ## One bid is enough if it meets the minimum Each of these agencies sells against an appraised minimum and none sells below it. Washington's statute says no valuable materials "shall be sold for less than the appraised value" ([RCW 79.15.010](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=79.15.010)), and Washington DNR builds the minimum into the deposit. The [Kalaloch Ridge notice of sale](https://dnr.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2026-05/psl_ts_2607_kalalochridge.pdf) set a $639,000 minimum, took sealed bids and said the $63,900 bid deposit "shall constitute an opening bid at the appraised price," as [RCW 79.15.110](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=79.15.110) allows. A bidder who posts that deposit has already bid the minimum. The Forest Service gets to the same place by rule. To join an oral auction a bidder must first submit a written sealed bid "at least equal to the minimum acceptable bid prices," and no oral bid below it is accepted ([36 CFR 223.88](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/36/223.88)). With one qualifier there is no one to bid against, so the written bid stands. The sale then goes to "the responsible bidder submitting the highest bid that conforms to the conditions of the sale" ([36 CFR 223.100](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/36/223.100)), and a lone bid is the highest one. ## Where a lone bid can still be refused Winning alone is not winning unchecked. Washington, Oregon and the Forest Service each keep a way to refuse a price they consider too low, which matters most when no competition set it. - **Washington DNR** confirms a sale only if it is satisfied the timber would not, "upon being readvertised and offered for sale, sell for at least ten percent more than the price submitted by the apparent high bidder," and only once ten days have passed since the auctioneer's report ([RCW 79.15.120](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=79.15.120)). - **Oregon** may reject all bids when "the price presented by the highest qualified bidder is, in the opinion of the STATE, too low to justify acceptance of the bid" ([OAR 629-029-0100](https://oregon.public.law/rules/oar_629-029-0100)). - **The Forest Service** can reject all bids ([36 CFR 223.100](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/36/223.100)) and cannot award at all without an affirmative finding that the purchaser is responsible ([36 CFR 223.101](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/36/223.101)). ## Two agencies name the single bidder outright BLM's rules write the lone bidder in. When a sale draws no bid, BLM may keep it open for up to 90 days. A written bid at or above the appraised value is then posted for seven days, and "if no other written bid is received during the seven day posting period, the sole bidder shall be deemed the high bidder." If others do bid that week, the sale goes to an oral auction among them ([43 CFR 5443.1](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/43/5443.1)). Montana lets DNRC negotiate a sale of up to 2 million board feet without putting it out for bid when it must act quickly on access granted by an adjoining landowner and "there is only one potential buyer with legal access," provided the sale is for fair market value ([MCA 77-5-201](https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0770/chapter_0050/part_0020/section_0010/0770-0050-0020-0010.html)). For sustained-yield units, where competition is "absent or reduced," the Forest Service Handbook tells appraisers to leave out the roll-back factor "if there is only one responsible operator since the sale will be a noncompetitive sale" ([FSH 2409.18, chapter 80](https://www.fs.usda.gov/spf/tribalrelations/documents/handbooks/wo_2409-18_80.pdf)). ## What one bidder does to the price [Chart: Green sawtimber bidding heat (%)](https://stumpage.news/board/recent-results) ([data](https://stumpage.news/board/recent-results.md) — chart image: https://stumpage.news/charts/board/recent-results/chart.png) Across the completed auctions this site tracks, 24 green sawtimber sales with a single bidder publish both an appraised minimum and a winning bid. Their median winning bid ran 10 percent over the minimum, a quarter finished within 3 percent of it, and three sold at exactly the minimum. The 90 sales with two or more bidders ran a median 51 percent over, a quarter of them more than 90 percent over, and none sold at exactly the minimum. Those are Stumpage's own tracked sales as of September 2026. The chart above keeps that read current. Across the last twelve months of green sawtimber results, the board now shows a +39% median premium. A lone bidder does not always bid the floor. Under sealed bidding no one knows how many envelopes are in the box, and four of the 24 single-bidder sales ran more than 50 percent over. ## One auction, three outcomes Washington DNR's July 2026 auction shows all three cases in one day ([results](https://dnr.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2026-07/psl_ts_2607_results.pdf)): - [Kalaloch Ridge](/region/wadnr-olympic#sale-kalaloch-ridge), 5,492 MBF in Jefferson County on a $639,000 minimum, drew one bid. It sold for $651,125, 2 percent over the minimum, or $118.56 per MBF. - [Buttercup](/region/wadnr-northwest#sale-buttercup), 1,229 MBF in Snohomish County on a $357,000 minimum, drew three bids and sold for $730,086, 105 percent over. - [Elk Mill](/region/wadnr-olympic#sale-elk-mill), 10,740 MBF in Clallam County on a $1,850,000 minimum, drew no bid and did not sell. The two sold tracts carry different timber and logging, so their prices per MBF are not comparable. The premium over each tract's own minimum is: 2 percent with one bidder, 105 percent with three. DNR's summary of the July board: 8 of 9 sales sold, at an average of 2.19 bids and 55 percent over the minimum. ## When nobody shows up Zero bids is a different outcome with its own rules. Washington may reoffer a sale that drew no bids ([RCW 79.15.150](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=79.15.150)), and DNR's list of [unsold sales available at minimum value](https://dnr.wa.gov/product-sales-and-leasing/timber-sales/timber-auction-packets/unsold-timber-sales-available-minimum-value) says those sales are typically open to bids at their minimum appraised value at the region's next scheduled auction. In September 2026 that list carried [Country Boy](/region/wadnr-pacific-cascade#sale-country-boy), 5,238 MBF in Cowlitz County at $870,000, which drew no bid in the August 27 auction. A board-set minimum normally lapses after 180 days ([RCW 79.15.060](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=79.15.060)), so an older one can go back for reappraisal first. The Forest Service may sell advertised timber that drew no bids without advertising it again, at not less than appraised value, unless there is evidence of competitive interest ([36 CFR 223.85](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/36/223.85)). Oregon may sell within six months by other means, never below the advertised minimum or the highest bid received ([ORS 530.059](https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_530.059)), and ODF's [September 2026 schedule book](https://www.oregon.gov/odf/working/Documents/schedule-book-september-2026.pdf) lists Cronin Too, 6,092 MBF in Clatsop County, as available at minimum price. [The board's no-bid table](/board/recent-results#no-bids) lists every tracked sale that drew no bid in the last two years, with its minimum and, when the same sale came back to auction, what happened to it. ## Related data + guides - [Timber sales that drew no bids](https://stumpage.news/board/recent-results#no-bids) - [The public timber board](https://stumpage.news/board/recent-results) - [Bid intensity: what bidder counts tell you](https://stumpage.news/guides/bid-intensity-what-bidder-counts-tell-you) - [How stumpage is appraised](https://stumpage.news/guides/how-stumpage-is-appraised) - [What successful bidder means](https://stumpage.news/guides/successful-bidder-meaning-public-timber-sale) ## Common questions ### What happens if only one person bids at a timber auction? The sale normally goes ahead. One bid at or above the appraised minimum is valid, and the lone bidder wins at its own price. Agencies keep the right to refuse a price they consider too low: Oregon can reject all bids on that ground, and Washington DNR will not confirm a sale if it believes re-advertising would bring at least 10 percent more. ### Does a public timber sale need more than one bidder? No. None of the Washington, Oregon, Montana, Forest Service or BLM rules cited on this page sets a minimum number of bidders. BLM's rules name the case directly: in a sale kept open after drawing no bid, if no other written bid arrives during the seven-day posting period, "the sole bidder shall be deemed the high bidder." ### How much do single-bidder timber sales sell for? Close to the minimum, as a rule. Across 24 single-bidder green sawtimber sales this site tracks, the median winning bid ran 10 percent over the appraised minimum, against 51 percent for sales with two or more bidders. Those are the site's own tracked sales as of September 2026; [the public timber board](/board/recent-results) carries the bidder count beside every current result. ### What happens to a timber sale that gets no bids? It goes unsold and can be offered again. Washington DNR can reoffer it and typically opens it to bids at its minimum appraised value at the region's next auction; the Forest Service can sell it without re-advertising at not less than appraised value; Oregon can sell it within six months at not less than the advertised minimum. [The board's no-bid table](/board/recent-results#no-bids) lists every tracked sale that drew no bid in the last two years. --- Canonical URL: https://stumpage.news/guides/what-happens-only-one-bidder-shows-up