To create your account choose the “Register” link on the header navigational bar or use any of the links available on the home page.
When registering you will be asked to complete a short form which includes standard information such as your contact details, preferred login credentials etc.
Mandatory fields include:-
· Name
· City
· State/Province/county
· Zip/Post Code
· Phone Number
· Birthday
· Username & Password
· E-Mail address
· Confirmation of terms an conditions acceptance
Once registered you will receive E-Mail confirmation.
Should you encounter any registration difficulties please contact us.
Placing a bid on an item you are interested in couldn’t be easier, when viewing the item details page you will have two areas from where you can place your bid, one next to the item details and a second at the bottom of the page.
To place your bid simply enter the amount you wish to bid e.g. 50.00. Please note no currency symbols are required. The bid will be placed in the auction currency.
Once done you will be asked to review your bid and you will also be able to view vital item details such as the shipping conditions before confirming your bid. To submit your bid simply press the “Place Bid” button.
If your bid is high enough to take the lead in the auction a confirmation message will be displayed to you, however if your bid has not taken the lead be it due to a higher proxy bid or not meeting the reserve price you will be invited to make a further bid.
Should you decide to retract your bid this can be done via the “Current Bids” section of the member’s area.
You can also place a proxy bid, proxy bidding allows you to place your “High Bid”. At all times you will only pay the lowest required bid should you win the auction. For example, if the current bid on an auction is 500.00 you can place a proxy bid of 2,000. Should you remain the only bidder you will only pay 500.00. However should the item receive other bids the site will automatically re-bid for you (upto 2,000 in this scenario) to ensure you remain in the lead.
To list your item simply click on the “Sell” link found on the header navigational bar. The listing process is split up into several main sections, notably:-
- Category selection
- Item Details
- Auction Settings
- Shipping and Payment
- Listing preview
- Listing confirmation
The listing process is developed in such a way that you are guided through every step seamlessly.
The first part of the process is to choose the category you wish to list your item in, this can be revised at any time by using the “Previous Step” navigation button.
Step two enables you to enter your item title and description, a full wysiwyg editor is in place to enable you to use HTML descriptions.
If you have a voucher code to redeem this can be entered just below the description field.
Moving on to step three, this is the biggest stage of the listing process. On this step you can set the following:-
· Auction type:-
Standard Auction
This is a single quantity auction
Dutch Auction
Dutch auction enables you to list a multiple quantity auction, for example if you have 100 pens to sell you can list all of these together in a single lot. Bidders will be able to select how many they wish to bid for.
· Currency:-
You can select your preferred auction currency using the drop down menu available
· Quantity:-
This field is only active if listing a Dutch auction, please see above for an explanation of this listing type
· Auction Starts At:-
This requires you to enter the minimum bid you are willing to accept, you can also set a reserve price to ensure you do not sell the item for this amount. Please see below for more information on this.
· Reserve Price:-
Enabling a reserve price affectively means you will not sell the item for less than the amount set, for example you can set the start price at 5.00 but only accept winning bids over 50.00, should a bid be placed for 49.99 the item will close without a winner.
· Buy out (if available):-
Buy out allows you to set an amount you are willing to sell the item for – straight out. For example you can set the start price to 10.00 but offer interested parties the option to buy the item immediately for 100.00.
You can also list buy out only auctions, these auctions remove all bidding options meaning the listing can only be purchased for a set amount. To set a buy out only auction you need to set the buy out value to be exactly equal with the start bid.
· Offer-Range (if available):-
You can set a price bracket in which you are willing to listing to offer, for example if you set the price brackets from 15.00 to 100.00 interested parties will be able to offer you an amount within these brackets, you can opt whether to accept or decline these offers at any time via the members area.
· Bid increment:-
This option can be used to set your own custom bid increment if preferred.
· Item featuring (if available):-
The following options are available to you (fees may apply), these will highlight your item on site to ensure they reach more visitors:-
§ Home page featured
§ Category featured
§ Bold text
§ Highlighted background
· Set start/end time:-
You can either opt to list your item right away and set a defined number of days for it to be live for or you also have the option to define your own custom start/end time.
· Private Auction:-
Private auction will hide the bidders identity on the item details page
· Image upload:-
To accompany your item you can either upload images from your local computer or enter the URL of an image(s) hosted elsewhere
· Media upload:-
In addition to images you can also upload media files, please note only .avi/.mpeg/.mov are supported.
· Auto Re-List
For convenience you can opt to have your items automatically re-listed for you, options are available to allow you to select whether the item should be re-listed if sold and how many re-list attempts should be made.
On the next step you can set your shipping and payment preferences including your shipping rates and available methods of delivery.
Proceeding on, you can then review the listing and make changes if required, please note you can still edit your listing once live via the members area.
The final step provides you with listing confirmation.
The auction watch features notifies you of newly listed auctions which contain keywords you have chosen. For example if you are looking for a new Digital Camera you could enter in those keywords from within your members area area. Each time a new auction is listed containing those keywords you will be notified via email.
The item watch features lets you keep a close eye on any auction without having to place a bid on it. This feature means you can be kept up to date on how an auction is doing and prepares you to place a winning last minute bid. You can watch any auction by clicking on the “Watch this item” link on any auction page.
If the option is available you can use “Buy Out” to purchase the item immediately without having to place a bid. Some sellers offer such an option which can be used at any time until a bid has been placed over any applicable reserve price.
The “Buy Out” option will appear on the item details page, you will be asked to confirm your intention to buy out the item before the sale is concluded. Buy out’s cannot be retracted.
Item Quality Gradings
The most common system in use to describe items this way uses the
following terms to indicate to buyers what sort of condition the item
is in. Appending a plus (+) or a minus (-) to the end of the
abbreviation indicates that the item is ever so slightly more (+) or
less (-) nice than the abbreviation indicates.
- New or NIB—The item is factory new (i.e.
“New In Box”). This is generally taken to mean not only unused, but
store-ready, still in all original and factory sealed packaging.
- Unu or Unused—The item is brand new, never used, but its box has been opened and/or is not still factory sealed.
- MIB—Short for “Mint In Box,” this abbreviation
indicates to buyers that the item is completely indistinguishable from
a factory new item and that all packaging is included. The item may,
however, have been used (though not enough to make such use apparent in
any way).
- Mint—The item is completely indistinguishable from a
factory new item despite its potentially having had some light use. No
packaging, however, is included. Nothing on it but fingerprint grease?
Then it's not mint. Look to LN (below) instead.
- LN—Short for “Like New,” this abbreviation indicates that the item, while not quite in absolute mint
condition, is close enough to factory perfection to escape all but the
most discerning eye, though original factory packaging may or may not
be included (remember to be explicit on this point in your listing).
Common variations include “LNIB” (“Like New In Box”) and “As New.”
Remember that a single scratch or scuff disqualifies an item from being
considered "Like New."
- EX—Short for “Excellent,” this abbreviation indicates
that while the item has clearly been used, its condition is such that
it promises to offer all of the pleasure or utility to its owner that a
new item might have; it’s useful life should not have been shortened,
nor should there be any visible or functional defects beyond very
slight normal wear. This is "just one scratch" or "only a couple of
months use" territory.
- Good—The item is clearly used and its useful lifespan
will not be as long as that of a factory new item. However, there are
no major defects, either visible or functional and the item remains in
full working condition.
- Fair—The item suffers from some amount of wear and
appears clearly to be a well-used item. Nonetheless, it continues to
function generally as was originally intended and should be expected to
do so for some minimal amount of time.
- Bargain Grade or BGN—The item remains functional
and free from defects that would hamper its utility, but it is
obviously used and may have a significantly shortened lifespan. It can
be regarded as being near or at the end of its useful life and/or it is
significantly visually damaged to such an extent that a significant
discount and an explicitly low grade are indicated.
- Poor or AS/IS—The item should not be purchased
by anyone intending to use it for its originally conceived purpose, as
it is unlikely to be able to fill the function reliably and/or it is so
ugly or aesthetically compromised as to render it undesirable to most
buyers.