Help and Support

Registering

  User Registration

In order to trade on our web site, you must first become a registered user. You can achieve this as follows:

• Click on Register, from the navigation menu.
• Fill out the registration form, selecting your own User ID and Password.
• You must agree to our terms and conditions.
• Upon registering, you will be sent an email with a summary of your login details for your records.

^ Top 

  User Login

Central to the process of buying through our web site is the process of 'logging in' as a registered user of the site every time you wish to bid or check your account.

Upon user registration, you will have chosen a User ID and Password. You will need these details to login.

You can login when you first visit the site by entering your User ID and Password under the 'Login' section, and clicking on the login button. Depending upon which option you chose at the time of registration, you will be taken to your 'My Account page', or selected web page.

When you log in, if you tick the "Remember Me" checkbox, the web site will store a 'cookie' on your computer that will remember your login details. When you subsequently return to the auction site, you will be automatically logged back in.

If you choose not to login when you first visit the site, you will have to do so when you wish to perform any of the following actions:

• Sell an item in auction
• Place a bid in an auction
• Manage your account

^ Top 

  Forgotten Passwords

If you have forgotten your login password, you will need to click on the Help tab, and then the Forgot Password link.

Enter your email address and your login details will be emailed to you immediately.

^ Top 

Buying & Browsing the Auctions

  Auction Formats

An exciting way to purchase goods and get the price you want. Auctions on this web site follow the traditional 'English' (Forward) auction format.

Some auctions will have a reserve price that must be met in order for a successful sale. An auction may also have a 'buy it now' price that allows you to secure the item immediately by paying a fixed price to the seller.

Other items may be sold a fixed price only. In this instance, only a 'buy it now' price will be displayed, and no bidding will be required to obtain the item.

^ Top 

  Sealed Tender Auctions & Sealed Bids

If you are bidding in a sealed tender auction, please pay careful attention to the following guidelines:

• A sealed tender listing may or may not have a guide price. If a guide price is specified by the seller, it is only to be used as a rough indication as to the price that the seller expects to achieve for the item.
• When placing your bid, you may specify any bid value above, below, or equal to the guide price.
• If you place a bid of the same value as a previous bidder, you will be warned of this, and asked to place a different bid. All bids must be unique in value, as this prevents 2 bidders placing the same winning bid!
• The bid history & current bid will not be displayed on the main auction page. You are bidding 'blind'!
• At the end of the auction, the highest bidder will be the winner.
• If more than one high bidder places the same bid value, the earliest high bidder will win the item.
• If the seller has specified a reserve price, a winning bid must be equal to, or higher than the reserve price. This is the same rule as per a standard auction.

^ Top 

  Methods of Browsing

There are various ways to find the auctions you are looking for. On the left-hand side of the auction site, you will find a list of auction categories. By clicking on these categories, you will be able to navigate down the 'category tree' to sub-categories and the auctions within. Against each auction category, you will see a number that indicates how many auctions are within that branch of the category tree.

Searching

Also on the left-hand side of the auction site, you will find a Quick Search box, where you can type in keywords to find the auctions you are seeking. For a more thorough method of searching, click on the Home tab on the top navigation bar, and then click on Search which will bring you to a more advanced search page, where you can enter more specific criteria for your search.

Auction Listings Pages

By clicking on the Browse tab at the top of the page, you will be presented with a list of auction categories on the web site. Clicking on these links will take you to the auction listings page for that category. There are other links on the 'Browse' navigation bar, described below:

New Auctions - displays a list of the latest auctions to have been posted to the auction site.

Most Popular - displays a list of auctions in which people have placed the most bids.

Featured Auctions - displays a list of featured auctions from the home and category pages.

Closing Soon - displays a list of auctions that are approaching their closing time.

Gallery - displays auctions that have photos of the auction item in a tabular form.

Search - presents an advanced search form, where more specific criteria can be used to search.

^ Top

  Placing a Bid

To place a bid, first locate the auction in which you are interested. At the bottom of the page, you will see the 'Place a Bid' box. If you are not already logged in, you will be asked for your User ID and Password at this stage. This is so that we know who is placing the bid in our auction.

You will then be required to enter your bid. It will be clearly stated what the minimum bid is, and your bid must match, or be greater than this value.

On the bid confirmation page, you can check the bid value is correct. Upon submitting this page, you will be notified if your bid was successful. If your bid failed, this usually means that another user has placed a better bid whilst you were in the process of placing your bid. In this instance, go back to the auction page and look at the bid history to see the latest bids in the auction, and then place another bid if you wish to do so.

At any time, if you have placed a bid, and another user out-bids you, you will automatically receive an email stating this fact. This email will contain a link directly to the auction so that you can place a better bid if you wish to do so.

^ Top 

  At The End Of Auction

If you have been bidding in an auction, within 15 minutes of the end of auction, you will receive an automated email from the auction site telling you if you are the winning bidder.

At this point, you will need to sign-in to the auction site and go to your My Account page, where you will now see the auction listed under 'Recent Auctions I've Won'. If the auction was for a physical item that needs to be shipped to you, you will now need to click on the link to 'Select Shipping Method' and choose from the shipping options presented to you by the Seller from the drop-down menu. This will then notify the seller and the final auction costs will be calculated. You will then need to view the Auction Summary page by clicking on the 'View Summary' link, where you will see the payment methods accepted by the Seller. It is your responsibility to contact the Seller to arrange payment for the auction item and shipping. A green 'P' icon will appear against any auction where the Seller needs to be paid. When the Seller has received cleared payment, this icon will disappear.

If the auction site is charging a Buyer's Premium Fee (Bidder Closing Fee), this fee will be debited from your auction account and you will need to make a payment to the auction site. For a description of all auction site fees, please click on the 'Sell' tab at the top of the site and choose 'Site Fees'.

^ Top

Selling Your Item

  Listing Your Item For Sale

Before you begin listing your item on the auction site, it is a good idea to determine how much you wish to sell your item for. This will help you to determine a good starting price, and to specify a reserve price, should you wish to make sure that the item sells for a minimum amount. At this stage, it is also a good idea to gather any photographs that you may want to display to show the product in more detail and to help it to sell. Photos can be uploaded when creating your item listing, or afterwards if you don't have them to hand immediately.

To start listing your item, click on the 'Sell' tab at the top of the auction site. Listing an item for sale is a 5-step process, described below:

1. Select the Listing Type

Before you start entering the details of the item you wish to sell, you must select the type of listing you are going to use. There are upto 3 options:

a) Standard Auction Listing

• Select this option if you wish to sell your item via a traditional auction. Users will bid for your item, and you can specify an optional reserve price. You can also specify a Buy It Now price, to allow buyers to buy your item at a fixed price.

b) Fixed Price Listing (Buy It Now)

• Select this option if you wish to sell your item at a fixed price only, using Buy It Now. No bidding will take place.

c) Sealed Tender Listing

• Select this option to take advantage of our 'sealed tender' auction. Sometimes also known as a 'blind auction', bid values are not visible throughout the auction process. A seller will typically enter a 'guide price'. Bidders can use this price to help them determine the value of their bid, or they can totally disregard it, and place a bid of any value. The highest bid at the close of auction will be the winning bid. If two bids are of the same value, the earliest bid will win. You may also specify a reserve price.

2. Item Title, Description & Pricing

Start your listing by giving your item a descriptive title that will attract potential bidders, and select the category into which you wish to place your item. Continue by filling out the item description. The more information you provide in the description, the more likely your item is to sell. Provide as much relevant information about your item as you can - your potential bidders will appreciate it! If you wish, you can also enter a product reference number for your own records - this number will not be displayed to anybody else. Continue your listing by giving a description of the condition of your item and also specify where the item is located (this field will already be populated with the details you provided at the time of registration).

Standard Auction Listing

The next step is to enter your starting price. Select a starting price that you think will initially attract people to bid in your auction. You may wish to look at how other, similar auctions are priced to get an idea of a good starting point. Also remember to look at the bid history of other similar auctions to see how the auction has progressed from a particular starting price. If you want to set a minimum sale price value, enter this figure as the reserve price. If you do not want to use the reserve price feature, leave this set to zero. Enter the bid increment value for each successive bid. You can also specify a 'buy it now' price that will allow buyers to buy your item immediately at a fixed price.

Fixed Price Listing (Buy It Now)

If selling at a fixed price only, simply enter the sale price of the item in the Buy It Now Price box.

Sealed Tender Listing

If you have chosen this listing type, you will need to enter a guide price to give bidders an idea of how much you expect for the item. You can also specify a reserve price, which can be above, below, or the same value as the guide price.

Next, select if you wish for your auction to start immediately once you have finished listing your item by putting a tick in the box 'Auction Starts Immediately'. If you would prefer your auction to start on a specific future date/time, simply select the date and time from the drop-down menus. You will then need to specify how long you want your listing to run for from the 'Auction Duration' section. Depending on how the auction site is setup to run, there may be additional listing fees associated will some, or all auction durations.

Finally, we come to promotional options. If you will want to upload photos of your auction item, please select 'Yes' to Upload Photos. There are then 3 options to help your listing stand out from others. Select the options you wish to use to promote your listing. Some of these options may be charged at an additional cost.

3. Payment & Shipping

These options determine how the end of auction will be handled and how the winning bidder will pay you the final sale price of your item. Please select the payment methods that you will accept from the winning bidder at the end of auction. In the case of Paypal, please enter the email address you have registered with Paypal. If you wish to make bidders aware of any other information related to making a payment to you, please enter this information in the box provided.

Next, select the shipping options and cost that you will offer at the end of auction. Domestic shipping relates to shipping your item within your country of origin. If you require the winning bidder to come to your location to pickup the item, please tick the box 'Local Pickup Only'. This will then prevent any other shipping options being selected and there will be no costs associated with this option.

If you will ship the item to the winning bidder, please select upto 3 shipping services from the drop-down menus and enter the cost associated with each service. It is the responsibility of the seller to investigate how much their item will cost to ship.

Important: All shipping costs specified must include all packaging costs.

If you are prepared to ship your item internationally, please tick the relevant box, and again select upto 3 shipping services and enter the associated costs of shipping and packaging.

If there is any other information you wish to make bidders aware of with regard to shipping, please enter this information in the box provided. All of this information, including shipping options and costs will be displayed on your item listing page for all bidders to see.

If you will allow your item to be returned to you in the case of damage or a faulty item having being shipped, please tick the 'Returns Accepted' box under the Return Policy section. You will then need to specify how many days the damaged/faulty item must be returned within, as well as giving full details of your returns procedure in the box provided.

4. Uploading Photos

This is the fun part! If you wish to display photos of your item for bidders to view, this is where you upload them. Your photos will need to be located on your computer and be in JPG format. This is the only photo file format that we accept. Upload each photo individually by locating your photo using the "Browse" button. After you have selected the photo to upload, click on the 'Upload Photo' button. Be patient at this point, and only press the upload button once. If your original photo file size is large, this process may take a few moments depending on the speed of your internet connection. As soon as the photo is uploaded, you will see a thumbnail image of your photo displayed on the right-hand side of the page. At this point you can upload another photo if you wish to do so.

Important: All photos uploaded must be in JPG format.

As you upload more photos, they will be displayed as thumbnails in a vertical list on the right-hand side of the page. The top thumbnail is your primary photo associated with your item. Next to each of the other thumbnails you will see an icon with a green arrow on it. Clicking this icon will make that thumbnail the primary image for your auction item. The primary image will be the image displayed in browse and search result pages on the auction site. Next to each thumbnail, you will also see a small red X icon. Click this icon to delete the associated image.

Once you have finished uploading your item photos, click on the "I have finished uploading photos" button. You will then be taken to a page where you can submit your auction.

5. Submitting Your Item

In this final step, you will see a summary of any listing fees that are due for listing your item. If you selected any promotional options to increase the visibility of your item, they will be listed here along with any associated charges. At this point you can simply click on "Submit You Auction Now" and your item will be listed as a live item on the auction site.

^ Top 

  The Auction Process

As soon as you have submitted you item listing, the auction begins (unless you scheduled your auction for a date/time in the future!). You item will now be visible in your chosen category and on a multitude of 'browse' pages. Users of the auction site will also be able to find your listing by searching on words present in your item title and description.

Your auction will run for the duration you selected, and during this time registered users of the auction will be able to place bids for your item. When a bid is placed, you will be notified immediately by an email that is automatically generated by the auction site. This email will detail who placed the bid in which auction, when they placed the bid, and the bid value. You don't need to take any action at this point. When multiple users start placing bids for your items and start bidding against each other, each time the best bidder is out-bid, they will also receive an automated email telling them that somebody has placed a better bid and will be welcomed back to your auction to place another bid. This way, the auction process is dynamic and will hopefully lead to a better sale price for your item.

At all times, you can monitor the progress of your auction by signing into the auction site and viewing your 'My Account' page under the Selling section. Here you will see a list of all your live auctions, along with any of your past auctions that have been sold/unsold (successful/unsuccessful) in the past 30 days.

^ Top 

  At The End Of Auction

Within 15 minutes of the end of auction, you will receive an automated email from the auction site telling you whether or not your item has sold. If it has not sold, the auction is deemed as 'unsuccessful' and will appear under the 'Recent Unsuccessful Auctions' list in the Selling section of your My Account page. If the reserve price was met, or if there was no reserve and 1 or more bids were placed, the auction will be deemed as successful and will appear under the 'Recent Successful Auctions' list in the Selling section of your My Account page. The winning bidder, if there was one, will also have received an email stating that their bid was successful.

Depending on how the auction site is setup, you may have incurred a commission fee . Commission and listing fees will accrue in your auction account and you will need to make a payment to the auction site weekly on an invoiced basis. Any invoices that remain outstanding for 7 days after the invoice date will automatically prevent you from listing any further items. For a description of all auction site fees, please click on the 'Sell' tab at the top of the site and choose 'Site Fees'.

Assuming your auction was for the sale of a physical item that you will ship to the winning bidder, the winning bidder will have received an email asking them to come back to the auction site to select a method of shipping from the options you provided when you first listed your auction item. They will select a shipping method and the total fee from you, the Seller, will be calculated for the item. At this point, when you view your auction summary page, you will see the selection they have made and a summary of the fees. The winning bidder will then need to get in contact with you to arrange for payment of the total amount due.

Once you have received a cleared payment from the winning bidder, you must then go to the auction summary page, and click on the 'Payment Received from Winning Bidder' button. This completes the whole auction transaction and the winning bidder's My Account page will then show that the auction has been paid for and that the auction process is complete. All that remains for you to do is then to ship the item to the winning bidder!

^ Top 

  Relisting Your Items

Once your item listing has ended, you have the option to relist the same item for sale again. Both sold and unsold items can be relisted. To relist, simply go to your My Account - Items For Sale page. By selecting 'sold' or 'unsold' items you will see the 'Relist' option next to each item.

Relisting your item is intended to be a rapid way to get your item for sale again. Upon clicking the 'Relist' link, you will be taken to a page whereby you can edit pricing and duration options for your item. So, for example, if your item didn't sell the first time around, you may wish to reduce the price slightly, or extend the duration of the listing. At this point you also have the ability to select promotional options for the item to make the item stand out from others in the listings.

The form is designed to be very quick to fill out. Most values are already pre-filled for you from the original item you are relisting. Other information such at the item title, description, and shipping information is automatically taken from the original item, and you can edit these attributes after you have relisted the item. Any photographs of the item that were uploaded originally will also be copied across to the newly relisted item.

Please bear in mind that relisting items incurs the usual item listing fee.

^ Top 

Managing Your Account

  My Account

When you login with your User ID and Password, you will be able to view your account page by clicking on the My Account tab at the top of the site. This is your own personal part of the auction site where you can view all activities you have performed on the site. You will see a summary of your auction account, detailing the number of auctions you are bidding for, the number of auctions you are 'watching', as well as a summary of any payments that are due at the current time. At the bottom of the page, you will see a list of your current bids, and your current auction 'watchlist'.

The My Account tab has the following links, which are explained below:

  Items For Sale

Displays a list of your items in their various states:

^ Top

  Bids

Displays a list of you current bids in the auctions. You will only see bids displayed here for auctions which are still running, or have recently closed.

^ Top 

  Buying History

Displays a historical list of items in which you have placed bids in the past, or purchased. Clicking on Items I've Won will display a list of items that you were successful in purchasing. Clicking on Items I've Lost will show you a list of auctions in which you placed bids, but were not the winning bidder.

^ Top 

  Watchlist

Your watchlist is a list of items that you are currently 'monitoring'. You do not necessarily have to be bidding for an item on your watchlist. You can add an item to your watchlist by going to the item page, and clicking on the Add to My Watchlist link.

^ Top 

  Summary

Clicking on the Summary link will take you to a page that displays a summary of your account. If a payment is due at the current time, then the Make a Payment button will be visible. Click on this button and you will be presented with a list of methods by which you can pay the amount due. Simply follow the instructions presented to you at this stage.

You will also see a list of buttons under the Account History section:

• View Fees - shows a list of all fees incurred throughout the auction process, per item.
• View Debits - shows the manual debits that have been applied to your account.
• View Credits - shows the manual credits that have been applied to your account.
• View Payments - shows a list of payments made into your account along with the amount and payment method
• View Invoices - shows the invoices generated due to account activity such as fees, debits and credits.

^ Top 

  Personal Info

From time to time, your personal details may change. You can notify us of these changes on-line by simply clicking on the Personal Info link and amending the appropriate fields and clicking on the Update your Details button.

^ Top 

  Preferences

Clicking on the Preferences link will enable you to subscribe/unsubscribe from our mailing list. You can also specify which page you will be taken to in the auction site when you log into the site with your User ID and Password.

Selling Preferences

When you sell an item, you will be asked for the payment methods that you will accept from the buyer at the end of the auction. You can speed up the process of listing your items by setting the default payment methods that you will accept. Once you have saved these settings, the 'Payment Methods Accepted' section of the item listing form will be pre-populated for you, with these settings. These defaults can be changed at the time of listing your item, if necessary.

Click the Update Preferences button to save your changes.

^ Top 

  Change Password

You can change your login password at any time by clicking on the Change Password link. You will need to type in your new password two times to verify that you have spelt it correctly.

^ Top 

Favourite Sellers

The favourite sellers feature allows you to build up a personal list of sellers that you have either traded with in the past, or whom you may wish to trade with in the future.

You can find your Favourite Seller list by clicking on:

• My Account
• Favourite Sellers

If you have already added a seller to your list, you will see them listed, along with any notes you may have added about this seller.

From this point, you will be able to edit your notes about a seller, remove them from your favourites list, or view the items that they are currently selling.

  Adding a Seller to your Favourites

You can add a seller to your list of favourites from various points throughout the auction site. On an auction page, you will see a link at the bottom of the page to 'add to my favourite sellers' in the Meet the Seller section. You can also add a favourite seller by clicking on the 'Add to Favourite Sellers' on a Feedback Profile page.

When you add a new seller to your list of favourites, you will have the opportunity to add a note about this seller for your future reference. These notes will only be visible to you.

Feedback

Feedback represents your permanent reputation as a user of the auction site. It’s made up of comments and ratings left by other auction site users you’ve bought from and sold to. All comments and ratings, including your overall Feedback Score, are available in your Feedback Profile.

  How Feedback Works

For each transaction, buyers and sellers can rate each other by leaving feedback. Feedback consists of a rating (positive, neutral, or negative), and a short comment.

These ratings are used to determine your Feedback Score.

• A positive rating increases your feedback score by one point.
• A neutral rating has no effect on your feedback score.
• A negative rating decreases your feedback score by one point.

A user of the auction site can only leave one rating and comment per transaction with you.

Please remember that once you have left feedback, it cannot be removed, so make sure that you only leave fair and factual comments that relate to a specific transaction with your trading partner.

  Leaving Feedback

At the end of an auction, you will have the opportunity to leave feedback for your trading partner.

You should wait until the transaction is complete before leaving feedback, i.e. after the seller has received payment and the buyer has received the item.

If you are the seller:

• Click on My Account
• Click on the Selling tab
• Under Recent Successful Auctions, against each auction, you will see a link to 'Leave Feedback'. Clicking this link will allow you to leave a rating and a short comment about the transaction.

If you are the buyer:

• Click on My Account
• Under Recent Auctions I’ve Won, will see a link to 'Leave Feedback'. Clicking this link will allow you to leave a rating and a short comment about the transaction.

As soon as you have left feedback, you will then see a link to 'View Feedback' against the auction. Clicking this link will enable you to view the feedback you have left, and also to see any feedback left by your trading partner.

  Feedback Scores

The Feedback Score is one of the most important parts of a feedback profile. The score is the number in brackets next to a User ID, and is also located at the top of the feedback profile. You may also see an icon next to the score. An icon is awarded to a user when they have achieved 10 or more feedback points.

Here's what the different icons mean:

() = 10 to 49 points
() = 50 to 99 points
() = 100 to 499 points
() = 500 to 999 points
() = 1,000 to 4,999 points
() = 5,000 to 9,999 points
() = 10,000 to 24,999 points
() = 25,000 to 49,999 points
() = 50,000 to 99,999 points
() = 100,000 or more points

Usually a high Feedback Score is a good sign, but you should always check your trading partner's Feedback Profile to read comments and look for negative remarks before placing bids for their items.

  The Feedback Profile

The feedback profile gives you an overview of a User's rating on the auction site. You can see, at a glance, how many users have left positive, neutral, or negative ratings.

You will also see how much positive feedback they have received, as a percentage of their overall ratings, which will give you a quick indicator of what other users think about this particular user.

Comments left as feedback can be viewed by clicking on the appropriate tab, as below:

• Feedback as a Seller – comments left by buyers who bought from this user
• Feedback as a Buyer – comments left by sellers who this user bought from
• Feedback left for Others – comments left for other users, by this user

Messaging System

The auction site enables communication between buyers and sellers throughout the auction process. This is achieved by the ability to send messages to other users. On the auction page, you will see a link under the 'Meet the Seller' section, to Ask a Question to the seller about the item they are selling.

Messages between users are private. You can also contact a user from their Feedback Profile page, to ask any general questions you may have.

At the top of the auction site, you will see a link to 'My Messages'. This is your central point for managing communication with other users. When you receive a new message, the My Messages link will show the number of new messages in brackets, as well as an email icon for easy recognition.

  My Messages

When you click on this link at the top of any auction site page, you will see a list of message folders on the left-hand side and a list of messages on the right-hand side. New messages appear in your inbox, just as they would with any email program. When you send a message to another user, a copy of the message will automatically be placed in your Sent Items folder, for future reference.

The following icons are used in the list of messages to indicate different things:

	A new, unopened message
	Message has been read
	You have replied to this message
	You have flagged this message

Please Note:

If you require any further assistance in using this auction web site, please don't hesitate to contact us.