Guide · Updated 16 October 2026
What is ping/post?
Short answer
Ping/post is a two-step way to sell a lead. First the seller sends a small, non-identifying part of the lead (the ping) to several buyers. Buyers answer with a bid or a decline. Then the seller sends the full lead (the post) only to the winner.
The two steps
- Ping: the seller sends limited data, such as ZIP code, product interest or loan amount, but no name, phone or email.
- Bid: each buyer replies within a short timeout with a price, or declines. Buyers can bid a fixed price or a price that depends on the lead.
- Post: the full lead, with contact details, goes only to the winning buyer.
Because only the winner receives personal details, ping/post limits how widely each person's data is shared.
Why lead sellers use it
- Price discovery. Buyers price each lead, so strong leads earn more than weak ones.
- Less data shared. Losing bidders never see the contact details.
- Speed. Pings go out in parallel, so a sale can be settled in seconds.
What can go wrong
- Slow buyers. A buyer that answers after the timeout misses the lead, so response time matters.
- Duplicate pings. The same person can be pinged more than once, so duplicates need handling.
- Bids are not everything. A buyer with a strong record of keeping leads can be worth more than a higher bid from a buyer who returns many.
- Fraud. Fake or recycled leads still need filtering before the ping.
Ping/post in pingtype
pingtype supports ping/post bidding: a buyer offer can take its price from the buyer's reply, and the API has an "ask before posting" call for the ping step. You can combine bidding buyers with fixed-price buyers in the same cascade. OpenRTB support is coming soon.
Questions
What is the difference between ping/post and a ping tree?
A ping tree asks buyers one at a time in your order. Ping/post asks many buyers at once and takes the best bid. See our ping tree guide for a side-by-side table.
What data goes in the ping?
Only non-identifying details that let a buyer price the lead, such as location, product interest or loan amount. Names, phone numbers and emails are sent only in the post.
Does pingtype support ping/post?
Yes. A buyer offer can take its price from the buyer's response, and the API includes an ask-before-posting call. OpenRTB is coming soon.