Upgrade Bids

I just booked a flight in the "O" fare bucket and for the first time ever, I saw that I had the option to bid for an upgrade. I thought, "this is nice" until I clicked on the button and saw that the lowest bid was about the same price as the fare difference between the "O" and "K" (or was it "H"?) Anyway, my question is what's the point of bidding if the fare is available outright?

Hi Tinkus,
I had the exact same experience. The cost to upgrade normally both ways was the same cost as the "Max Bid" offer for one-way.
I made a quick call to VS as I thought this may have been an IT gremlin.
It seems not, the upgrade system, so I was told, is automatic and based on the standard fare. Any sales or reduced fares will make the upgrade cost seem large in comparison.
Not much help I'm afraid.
J

Anyway, my question is what's the point of bidding if the fare is available outright?

This has happened to me, and in some cases the fare difference has been rather lower than the minimum bid. Pretty cynical...

I thought it was just me this happened to as a way of taunting me but I guess it's a regular occurrence.

I'm not a genius, but I don't think the way of tempting someone who just bought the lowest fare available is offering them a price that's at par with the actual upgrade. It just doesn't compute.

I had the option of this recently, and the lowest bid price was MORE than the upgrade your flight offer.