Quote Originally Posted by Demonic_Duck
Actually мультилекс, which is the best online En-Ru/Ru-En dictionary I know of, doesn't list «ставка» under the translations of "bid", nor does it list "bid" under the translations of «ставка», so I have no idea whether this translation is actually correct.
It is correct to use the word "ставка" here "Я делаю ставки на аукционе" or "Я делаю ставки на аукционных торгах".

Quote Originally Posted by xcyte
So would "I bid" present tense.. as in I am someone who bids.. along the lines of "I dance".. be the same as "I bid" past tense, and also if it wasn't necessarily said by a male or a female what would apply regarding masculinity/feminity. (say it was the name of a website or book for example)
In the present tense there is no difference regarding masculinity/feminity. "Я делаю ставки на аукционных торгах".
But in the past tense the verb should be conjugated with the grammatical gender of the word which is used as a thing which made the bid. In Russian every noun has a grammatical gender: masculine, feminine or neuter. For example:

  • if it was a computer which bid for you: Компьютер сделал ставку на аукционе. (Компьютер is masculine).
  • if it was a company which bid for you: Компания сделала ставку на аукционе. (Компания is feminine).
  • if it was an unknown something which for you: Нечто сделало ставку на аукционе. (Нечто is neuter).