Bitcoin Forum

Introduction

This guide contains guidelines intended to reduce the number of threads in the wrong section as well as arguments regarding vague auction terms and imprecise descriptions. You do not have to follow all of the guidelines in this guide, but they will all help you in some way or another.

What is the Auctions board for?

Forum description:

If you are selling a good or service for a fixed price, you should not use the Auctions board to place your thread! Instead, post in the appropriate board. A list of Marketplace boards can be found at the top of this page: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=5.0

Marketplace Rules and Guidelines

The Marketplace Rules and Guidelines apply to all areas of the marketplace, including Auctions. You can read them here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3629.0

Make sure you know who you are dealing with!

Whether you are the buyer or seller, you should always make sure the person you are dealing with can be trusted. Factors to consider include marketplace trust, successful trades, and reputation (on or off-site). Search the person's username to see if he/she has been labeled a scammer in the past. If you feel uncertain about a deal, it is better to cancel the deal than to be scammed. Use a trusted escrow or middleman to protect both parties!

What should you include in your auction?

• Thread subject
  A good thread subject mentions the item(s) being sold and the quantity clearly. Price and other information can also be included.

• Description
  Describe what you are selling in detail, so that buyers know exactly what they are bidding on. You can include images of the item, or proof of ownership (a signed message for example).
• Starting bid
  The lowest price you will sell the item for.
• Buy it now
  The price you will sell the item for immediately.
• End date and time
  When writing the end date and time, be sure to include the time zone.
• Payment methods accepted
  If you accept payment methods other than Bitcoin, mention them here. Beware of PayPal and other reversible transfer services! (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=14632.0)
• Additional information
  You can include information about payment, shipping costs, escrow, and auction rules here.

You can copy this code into your auction to get started right away:
[/list]
Auctioning shares

When auctioning shares, there are some pieces of infomation that you should include in your thread. You should sign a message with your dividend address as proof of ownership. You can also guarantee a date for share transfers to be finished, to avoid arguments regarding dividends.

Seller Tips

• Add a countdown timer to your auction by following this tutorial: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=285166.0
• Give a brief description of the auction goods and terms in the thread subject.
• Don't be vague in your description. The more details, the better!
• Give buyers an idea on how much shipping will cost (if it is a physical item).
• Keep track of your auction regularly to respond to questions.
• Set up your auction to end at a convenient time, so you can contact the winning bidder and arrange delivery promptly.

Buyer Tips

• Ask the seller any questions you have about the items being auctioned. If you are not sure about the item's condition or if you want more information, you can post your question in the auction thread.
• Replies in the Auctions section cannot be deleted or modified. Choose your bid wisely!
• To keep track of bids in an auction, click the 'Watch' button at the top or bottom of the auction thread. The thread will show up in your watchlist (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=watchlist).

Conclusion

Sellers: Be precise in your auction description and terms, keep track of your auction and make sure the bidders are always informed.
Buyers: Ask questions about what you are bidding on, and make sure you agree with the auction terms.
Everyone: Exercise caution when trading with strangers, and always use an escrow when in doubt.

Stay safe, and happy trading!

Nice guide! Very helpful for new members.

Thanks! I'm glad it is helpful to other people.

Thanks for putting this together B!z

I was thinking that it might be useful to add a section with a step-by-step guide for the escrow process as most Auctions will probably be using it.  PM's that need to be sent, who the funds are transferred to and when, etc.

Yes, that could be useful. I think most escrows would explain the process to you individually based on what is being escrowed though.

good work very helpful for all old and new members thanks for this work

I'm glad I helped you. Do you want to suggest anything I can add to this guide?

I am first time in this section and reading all your Guidelines I am very impressed with this thanks for this all information about this system good work  :)

how do you set a timer on your Auctions?

Visit this website: http://gifcountdown.com/

Once you set up all the details (ending date, time, timezone), copy the URL and paste it on the forum between tags.

Very useful post. I amazed with orderness. thanks.

Whoa, a whole new world here.

Nice sticky :D

One thing i should point out tho, tried recommended counter but it doesn't seem to display correctly.

It only seems to display the top bit of the gif and doesn't refresh.


Any alternate counter you can recommend?

Cheers,
QG

you should make a new section for domains auctions , its very annoying to see all these domains auctions like this is a domains forum ...

is there some price difference between the auction and buying/selling in the intnet?
and how to trade with auction?

very effective way of explaining the rules and tips to take maximum benefit of auctions. thanx.

Great suggestions. I love the explanation. I'm gonna use the format now

Hopefully Admin will find an acceptable solution for images soon. :(

Well to be honest I solved that one a while ago just thought someone else would notice by now

Set it as needed have it set to tomorrow
Can also do it date format
http://blog.seanja.com/2012/11/dynamic-animated-countdown-clock-gif/
http://seanja.com/secret/countdown/gif.php?time=tomorrow

http://seanja.com/secret/countdown/gif.php?time=2015-01-01

Thanks , These guidelines and tips of online auction are really very useful to me as I am interested in online auction.

 I am very impressed with this good job :)

I got a question. say I only have BTC1 on my wallet and bid that exact amount on an auction, is it against the rule to bid another BTC1 while the first auction is still running?

It isn't against forum rules. I have seen such bids and there was no problem. All you have to do is pay the money if you win or loose it by not paying. Anyway, I suggest you not to bid if you don't have enough balance as we can't be sure whether you will receive the amount or not.

alright, thanks.
of course, I wouldn't bid unless I already have that much money in my wallet

Auctions should end timer  ???

Any thoughts on https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1141637.0 ? I only read the OP just now after un-ignoring the Auctions board, and maybe I can't hold the auction here the way I envisioned it.

I can sell anything?

I have a question to the auction rules, that was not mentioned in the guidelines:

If I win an auction, do I have a sales contract with the seller, like .. at ebay, wich means that the seller had to sell the good to me, even if he likes the end price or not?
There a serveral sellers that starts an auction and set the auction end by themself in their description ( like it ends 24 hours after the last bid). 
They get bids.. the auction ends .... you never here from them again... >:(

Are there any rules for this? Are there any trusted forum members caring about this?

yes unless the seller set a hidden reserve price. you know about ebay so I guess I won't need to explain what a reserve price is.
but there's also nothing stopping a newly made account from disappearing if they don't like the end bid. unlike ebay, you don't need to verify your paypal and credit card info to make a new account here. so avoid threads made by newbies if you don't want that to happen.

P.S
ignore my post above I've reported it. forgot to add the last bit and I can't edit it.

My latea
In an attempt to shut this down, I add variations of the contract below to my auctions. Of course, nobody bids.

are you allowed to trade bitcointalk accounts on auction threads
i wanted to trade my account for another one on here

you mean like trading one account for another?
that's more suited for digital goods (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=93.0). but I don't think many people would want to exchange accounts instead of selling/buying them. especially when the account have negative feedback.

I am very interested in online auction and these guidesline are vrry useful to me..

Thanks Bro!

Thanks for this precise and in order guidelines . It's. Very helpful to new members and also to old ones. These guidelines helps a lot so that every time you post an auction it would be exact as stated on the instructions.

I find it quite interesting that there is a separate auction section. This forum is really starting to look like a global online marketplace or something.

To be honest, pliss add some more info about some "word" that usually being use on marketplace thread like "potential activity mean with example"  or "sign message", it will be more helpfull for newbie...
Thx..

Nice compilation on the topic !
I think it should also mention that the users cannot delete their posts or edit them in auctions board.

Very helpful! nice guidlines

Can you please update the thread to make things more clear,

Rules for:

- Someone didn't describe faults in the good or service
- Someone End Auction before end time and sell his good or service with price less than Buy It Now ?
- Someone Sell Illegal goods, Bad Services  ;D
- Auction End and the OP, the service or good is not available anymore !
- Auction End the higher better don't have the required amount !


Regards,

Bitcoin Boy.

Hi all,  can anyone recommend a good auction for jewelry for bitcoins online?  thanks

Hello everyone, I've recently bought tokens DRT in ICO DomRaider and I would like to know if anyone of you have any information about this project? It seems interesting but I'm new in the sphere of cryptos so maybe you can help me to understand what to do after I have the tokens.

Thanks!

I didn't precise this is an ICO that is going to launch a decentralized blockchain system for auctions

Do you need to wait for another bidder before you sell off to the first bidder?

Hello Marina,

You should not invest in the DomRaider ICO unless you have read the white-paper and understand everything.  Did you do that?  I know that it’s 100+ pages long.... Read, Understand, Test everthing for plausibility.

I read it in full.  Here’s a short summary of the 100+ pages.  “You give us the money, we keep it, you get nothing of value”.

Most ICO’s these days say the same thing.  Caveat Emptor.

The only hope you have is that there will be some kind of secondary market in these tokens, and with a bit of luck, someone who has not read the white-paper will get excited enough to bid the price up.  This has often happened with other ICOs, but there is no certainty it will.  It’s a bit like playing in the Casino and expecting your number to come up.

In case you have any money left over after this, I know of a fat greyhound that could be worth a punt.

Hi, I saw an item on Twitter that I really want and would like to participate in the auction.
Is it possible for a beginner to bid?