To bid for bandwidth from the Express agent, follow these steps:

Make sure the spot market is selected in the Resource field.
Select your bidding strategy in the Strategy field, Auto or Manual.
Select a valuation in the Valuation View field. (For a description of the methods of valuation, see Merkato User Reference for Buyers, “Valuation Overview.”)

§ If you change the valuation view from the default, click Apply. The Valuation Parameters fields change.

In the Units fields, you may make changes to money, time, or bandwidth units. Changing units doesn’t change your bid—it converts the displayed values to the ones you choose.
In the Min Qty field, enter the Minimum bandwidth you want to buy. (A line through this field means that no entry is necessary.)
In the Max Qty field, enter the maximum bandwidth you want to buy. (A line through this field means that no entry is necessary.) If the maximum quantity is the all the seller is selling, check the Max Qty = All check box.
In the Budget Max/Value field, enter the maximum amount of money you have to spend on the bandwidth you want to buy.
When you are satisfied with all entries, click the active radio button.
Click Apply to begin bidding. The amount you bid appears in a new field, the Bid field.
In five to ten minutes, click on Apply again. A new field, the Allocation field appears. It displays the bandwidth you have won, and its cost, in the completed auction.

The Express interface after you complete these procedures appears below.