General Guidelines
Auctions
At the seller's option,
auctions last from 15 minutes to 14 days from the initial listing of
the item. Bidding
automatically terminates at the end of the auction.
When the auction
ends, the seller and high bidder are notified by email. Auction results
are
also available for everyone to examine. These results indicate the
final bid
price, and the seller's and high-bidder's email addresses.
Additionally, the
complete bidding history is available as a link from the item's
description
page.
After an auction ends, the high bidder and seller should
contact
each other within 3 business days to arrange payment and delivery. If
within
3 business days the seller is unable to conclude the transaction with
the
high-bidder, the seller may contact the next-highest bidder to purchase
the
item. In summary, if a high bidder does not contact the seller within 3
business days after the end of the auction, the high bidder may lose
his/her
place as winning bidder.
Bidding
Before you make a bid, you
should verify the particulars about the item you're bidding on, and as
best as
you can, investigate the seller's trading practices. If you have any
questions
about the item, email your questions to the seller. Make sure you
clearly
understand the shipping terms (who pays?), payment terms (can you pay
by
personal check? credit card? and so on) and other details.
When you are
viewing the item you would like to bid on, you can place a bid by using
the
form on the lower part of the page. Please bid the maximum
amount you
are willing to pay for the item. As other bidders increase the bid
price, your
bid will be increased to your maximum bid, or increased by the preset
bid
increment, to outbid other bidders. (Note: All bidding is done with bid
increments.)
By placing a bid, you are placing a legally-binding and
irrevocable offer to purchase the item at any price up to your maximum
bid
amount. If your bid is accepted by the seller, you are then legally
obligated
to complete the transaction. Your failure to complete the transaction
is a
breach of the User Agreement, and may be legally actionable by the
seller. You
must provide your Username with your bid.
Once you make and confirm a
bid, you may not be able to retract it (depending on the system
settings and only for extraordinary or unusual circumstances).
Exceptional circumstances include situations where the seller
materially
changes the description of an item after your bid, and clear
typographical
errors. Exceptional circumstances do not include bidding on or
winning a
bid on another (perhaps similar) item, not having the budget to pay for
an
item, changing your mind, and so on. Please bid carefully!
Our system
will automatically email you, subject to the reliability of email, if
your
maximum bid is outbid by another bidder. However, you might be outbid
minutes
or seconds before the close of an auction, in which case, you may not
have the
opportunity to place a new bid. Therefore, you should bid the maximum
amount
you would be willing to pay for the item when you make your first bid.
Proxy Bidding
When you place a bid,
enter the maximum amount you are willing to pay for that item.
This
amount will always be kept secret. Whenever someone else places a bid,
our
auction software will automatically enter the lowest possible bid for
you, up
to your maximum bid, until you are the winning bidder.
At the end of an
auction, if you are the high bidder, you are the winner. As the winner
of the
auction, you only pay the lowest possible winning bid, not necessarily
your
maximum bid.
Buying an Item
If you have not done so
before the bid, call or email the seller to clarify the terms of
shipping
and/or insurance. Negotiate with the seller for escrow, sales tax,
shipping
fees, and payment terms. Pay promptly!
Selling an Item
It's fun and easy to
start your own auction. Simply register, and then fill out the listing
form.
Provide a short, descriptive title, and provide a complete description
of the
item. You cannot use HTML tags in the title, but you may use HTML in
your
item's description. This means that you can link to pictures or
reference
pages, if you so choose. All content linked to the item description
must comply
with the User Agreement.
To grab attention and get the auction going,
you might consider setting the initial minimum bid a little lower than
you
think the item will eventually be sold for. If your minimum bid is too
high,
people may not bid on your item. However, keep in mind that the minimum
price
you specify indicates the minimum amount you will accept for the item,
so set
your initial minimum bid wisely.
By auctioning an item, you are
irrevocably (except as described below) and legally committed to accept
the
high bid for the item (or the highest bidder's bid who does not
renege). If you
receive one or more bids above the minimum price you stated you would
be
willing to accept, then you are legally obligated to complete the
transaction.
Your failure to complete the transaction is a breach of the User
Agreement, and
may be legally actionable by one or more of the bidders.
Note: The
seller has the right to cancel a transaction with any user with whom
they are
uncomfortable completing a transaction.
You may place any merchandise
up for auction that you have the right to sell, so long as it complies
with the
User Agreement, and all federal, state, and local ordinances. Please
list your
item in its appropriate category.
You can advertise your auction by
using the auction URL sent to you in the confirmation email.
In the
description of your item, you should clarify any additional terms or
expenses
associated with the item, such as who will bear shipping and insurance
expenses.
We, and your bidders, expect you to be truthful in your
listings. Disappointed buyers are likely to leave you negative feedback.
Bidders or potential bidders may email you during the course of the
auction. It's good business to respond to all inquiries promptly.
Notice of End of Auction/Account Status
Once the auction
is over, you will be notified via email. However, if you are bidding on
an
item, you are responsible for checking back at Northwest Flea Mart to
see if you have won. If you do not receive notice, and think you may be
the top
bidder, you need to check the auction status at Northwest Flea Mart.
After the auction has ended, the top bidder needs to contact the seller
within
three business days. Likewise, you can check your account at any time
online. The notice
is provided as a courtesy to you, but does not invalidate your
responsibility
to check the auction results, directly. Note: If your account
is past due, you
may incur late fees, or find your account on suspension. Keep your
account
payments current!
Pricing
Some guidelines regarding
pricing:
- First, we encourage sellers to set the minimum bid for
their
auction at the lowest fair price at which they are willing to sell
their
item.
- Second, a seller may employ a reserve price auction. This
allows the seller to set a price below which he or she does not agree
to sell
the item.
Reserve Prices
At the seller's option,
auctions may be conducted with reserve prices. The reserve price is the
lowest
price at which a seller is willing to sell an item. The reserve price
is not
disclosed to bidders. A seller might specify a reserve price if he or
she is
unsure of the real value of the item, and would like to be able to
refuse to
sell the item below a certain price. If the seller has specified a
reserve
price, an annotation will be displayed on the item's information screen
indicating a reserve price has been set.
The seller specifies the
reserve price when he or she lists an item. This price should be above
the
minimum bid price. The auction begins at the minimum bid price. When a
bidder's
maximum bid is equal to or greater than the reserve price, the item's
current
price is raised to the reserve price. At this time, the item's
information page
will indicate that the reserve price has been met. The bidder is also
notified
that his or her bid met the reserve price.
Feedback
We encourage everyone to
leave feedback about experiences with other trading partners. However,
please
do not abuse the privilege. If posting negative feedback, stick to the
facts,
and avoid inflammatory speech.
User Information
During your
transactions, take the time to record the member information you obtain
permission to use. That way, should you have questions regarding your
transaction, you can contact that member at a later date. For the
safety of our
members, Northwest Flea Mart only gives out contact information to
registered users.
Registration
When registering to
become a member of Northwest Flea Mart, you must enter complete and
correct contact information. This information is only available to
other
registered users, enabling them to contact you regarding transactions.
Fraud
Most fraud complaints tend to
be misunderstandings about the product, shipping terms, or shipping
addresses.
Therefore, you should clarify all of these elements before you bid, and
definitely before you send money. However, fraud is a reality of doing
business, both on and off the Web. You should report it to the
authorities
if it happens in our community.
Illegal Items
Some items are not
legal to sell at Northwest Flea Mart. Please do not list an item that
is illegal to sell.
Spam
Members of Northwest Flea Mart do not tolerate spam. Do not add a
member's email address to your
address book unless you have permission from that member. Spam is
unsolicited,
commercial email.
Defamation
Please be careful of what
you say about other people online. Again, stick to the facts, and don't
post
slanderous comments.
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