What is a bid?

[Batz32]

I'm new to this forum and I'm wondering what is a bid?

[Rorschach]

A bid is when one side or the other gets X number of IPC's to spend and place BEFORE the game starts to "balance" the game out, as many feel the game is imbalanced.

There are a number of ways of doing a bid .. I don't do them myself so I can't explain the variations very well. 

[Hobbes]

There are several ways to bid. One is for players to write down secretely their bid and announce it at the same time. Another is for a player to start by announcing something like '9 for Axis' and then followed by counterbids from the other players.

Usually bidding is used on the Classic, Revised, AA50 and other games but not in Spring 1942 since most players consider the game balanced and without need for a bid.