Registration is simple, free and only takes a few minutes. To start the signup process, click on the “register” link at the top of this page. Only users aged 16 years or over are able to register. The next step is to fill in all your information. Failure to supply all the required information will result in an error. By clicking on the “Register” button on the bottom of the page, you will be redirected to a confirmation page. You will then be sent a registration email to your given email address. Once you have followed the instructions from there your account will be activated. Please note that the registration email may be directed to the junk mail folder of your email provider depending on its settings. It is therefore recommended to check the junk mail folder if you do not receive your confirmation email.
How To Bid
If you have spotted an item you would like to place a bid on you can do so quickly and easily by following these steps:-
(1) Login to your account – If you have not registered you can do so within minutes
(2) Visit the auction page
(3) Towards the bottom of the auction description page you will see a “bidding box”, you can use the shortcut link to the bidding box if you wish.
(4) Enter in your bid, note you must bid above the minimum bid required
(5) Click on the “place bid” button
(6) You will then be asked to confirm your bid, once you have done so your bid will be entered, if successful you will receive a confirmation message.
If your bid fails to outbid the current high bidder you will be offered the option to place a higher bid. Proxy bidding can aid your chances of winning an auction and help avoid you being outbid at the last moment. To place a proxy bid enter in the maximum price you are willing to pay for the item. If another user places a bid on the same auction the proxy bidding system will automaticaly place bids on your behalf up to your maximum bid amount. With proxy bidding you will pay the lowest possible price until someone else places a higher bid.
Buy it now auctions: -There is another way of bidding by using "by now" auctions. In these auctions a "Buy Now" price is set by the seller. If you would like to buy the product at that price, you can click on the “Buy Now” button which is displayed on the auction details page. After clicking on the button you will be re-directed to a confirmation page. On a standard auction that auction will end instantly as the item has been sold via Buy it now.
On a Dutch auction, you can enter the amount of items you wish to buy (depending the quantity available). In Dutch auctions, if you purchase less than there are available in total, the auction will remain open with the number of items left available after you have purchased the amount you want.
How To Sell
Once you have signed up for an account, you will be able to sell items through the site. In order to do that, you will have to click on the “Sell” link, and you will be redirected to a page where you can then select the main category of the product or service you want to sell. This feature has been made in order to ease the subcategory choosing process. No items can be sold by choosing only the main category; you will have to choose a subcategory for it. The second step is entering the auction details, settings and payment methods available. The auction system allows you to list one image for free and only charge you a fee for any additional pictures. On the Auction Settings tab, you can choose the type of the auction, the start price, whether to activate "buy now" or set a reserve price. Also, you will be able to choose what type of bid increment to use, the site default bid increments or a custom one. If you choose the custom one, you will have to enter an increment value. You will also be able to choose the duration of the auction. After setting the location, shipping, payment and subcategory, and by clicking on the “Next Step” button, you will be redirected to Step Three, where you can review the auction before submitting. If everything is in order, you can click on the “Submit” button, and you will then be redirected to the payment page, or a confirmation page, if no fees have to be paid. The auction is activated once the payment is confirmed by the payment gateway, or instantly, if no fees need to be paid.
Payment Options
Ecocecentra is set up to allow automatic and immediate payment via the paypal payments system.
If you would like to use other forms of payment (for example via a different website, via telephone, via cheque, etc.) you will have to arrange for these outside of ecocentra. It helps to state your method of payments system in the description of your product. Once you make a sale you can then get in touch with the buyer via the intenal message board.
Auction Durations
For classic auctions ecocentra recommends using a short timeframe -such as one week or less. This is because a week is long enough for a buyer to find an auction listing but it also short enough for a buyer to return fast turn around of products.
For "buy-it-now" items we recommend you use a long timeframe -such as three months. This is because "buy-it-now" auctions offer a fixed price and as such a seller will wait until that figure is offered. In this way the long relisting time of three months that ecocentra offers helps the seller reduce work in relisting items.
Selling Multiple Items
There are two ways to sell multiple products - “buy now” or “auction”. In either case you have to select "Dutch Auction" during the selling procedure (under “Auction Settings” in Step 4 of the selling procedure). The difference between the two ways of selling is outlined below:
“Buy now” For Multiple Items
Under the “buy it now” system a buyer can buy all, some or one of the multiple items. They click to buy the product and then specify the number of products they would like to buy. That part of the multiple items that was not bought will continue to be listed on the market place until the selling period ends or all the items have been bought.
Auctioning Multiple Items
When auctioning multiple items this is operated as a Dutch Auction. For details of how this works please see the “Dutch Auctions” help section
Dutch Auctions
On a Dutch Auction, the auctioneer has more items of the same product for sale. The bidder will enter a maximum bid he is willing to pay for an item, and the number of items he wants to purchase. The highest bidder(s) will receive the number of items they have bid on, and the remaining bidders will receive the number of items still available. Buyers are able to bid more than once for the same item.
Members Area
Members Area Once you have successfully logged in using the login forms from the main page or from the login page (click on the “login” button from the page header), you will be redirected to the members area page. This page is divided into four tabs: a. Bidding On this page, you will be able to see the items your currently bidding on, as well as the status of the bids, items you have won, and watched items. By clicking on the “Auction Watch” link, you will be able to add keywords for auctions your interested in. An email will be sent to your email address every time an auction is submitted that contains the keyword in its name or description. By clicking on the “View Details” link from the Won Items area, you will be able to see the details of the seller, and make contact with him in order to complete the sale. b. Selling There are three areas available on this page. The “My Opened Auctions” area, where you will see details of auctions that you currently have open; if no bids have yet been submitted on an open auction, you are able to edit the auction. The “My Closed Auctions” area, where you will see auctions submitted by yourself that have closed. You can choose to edit, delete or re-list a closed auction. On the “Sold Items” area, you will see the items you have sold, and by clicking on the “View Details” link, you will be redirected to a page where you will see the details of the buyer. If an end of auction fee is set from the admin area, then the seller will have to pay for the end of auction fee in order for you to see the buyer details. If, after the seller has contacted the bidder, and no sale has been made, you can claim back the end of auction fee. By clicking on the “Claim back end of auction fee”, a claim back request will be sent to the site’s administrator, and will be evaluated for fee refunding. c. Feedback From this page, you will be able to see feedback you have received, and leave feedback for other users. d. Personal Info You can edit your personal information using this page, except for your username. You can also change the password for the account. If the password and confirm password fields are left empty the password will remain the same.
Auction watch
The auction watch features notifies you of newly listed auctions which contain “keywords” you have chosen. For example if you are looking for a “Organic Jeans” you could enter in those keywords from within your member’s area. Each time a new auction is listed containing the term “Organic Jeans” you will be notified via this web-site. You can enter in as many keywords as you like.
Item watching
The item watch feature 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.
Feedback system
Once a sale has been processed, both the seller and the buyer will be able to leave feedback for each other. The feedback rating is from one star to five stars, and a feedback comment can also be left. The feedback can be left from the “Feedback” tab from the Members Area. The feedback can only be left once, and it cannot be edited afterwards. The site admin will reserve its right to delete malicious or untrue feedback.
Wanted Ads
Wanted ads are a new and increasingly popular feature. As an advertiser you can list adverts for items you want and sellers can submit offers for items they are selling. It’s a quick, simple and hassle free way of sellers being able to meet buyers demands.
Advertiser (Buyer)
List a new wanted ad and wait for sellers to contact you with offers. If you receive an offer you are happy with you can bid on the item!
Sellers
Browse the wanted ads and if you see one that matches an item your selling make an offer and tell the buyer you have just what they are looking for!
Stores
Stores are a good way to build a presence. They allow you to customise standard information as well as give your products a sense of coherence. You can list items as standard auction items or as shop items.
