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.

Not a Problem, Paypal is free to join, you can get your money instantly for any sales you generate, your credit card details are secure, and you get payment protection just incase.

Get your free account at PAYPAL

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.

Common Scam Tactics: Read the Signals
We've put together the most common scams that may occur on ANY Classified/Auction Site for your reference. Remember, always treat interested buyers with caution, and take action to make sure that the victim isn't you.

Premium Rate Telephone Number Scams

If you see a contact telephone number beginning with 07094 - do not call it.
This is not a standard mobile phone code, as it seems, but a premium rate number. The ad is likely to be fake, and the ad placer will be making money from the phone calls they receive.


The Advance Fee Scam (419 Fraud)

This scam is not the most common and most likely to occur on a classified site, but we urge our users to be aware of the Advance fee fraud too. Often called the 419 Fraud relating to the section of the Nigerian penal code that prohibits such activity.
The scammer will offer their victim a large sum of money, but in order to access the funds, they will have to pay a fee in advance, then a second fee, and then a third.....until the victim realises they are being defrauded. As the fee is requested by Western Union (for immediate transfer), the victim will have no way of recouping their lost money.

In a typical Advance Fee email, the scammer will claim to be someone with access to a large amount of money, asking you for your help in getting access to the funds (often millions of pounds) - enticing you with a percentage in return. All the scammer needs - he says - is your bank account details to pay the money into.

If you respond to this request, it is your money that will be changing hands and you'll soon find out that the promised fortune does not actually exist. There are endless variations of how they'll rope you into sending them money, but one can be to help their ill relatives. Do not fall into these traps - be Scam Aware.


Variation on Over-Payment Scam

This type of scam is common among classified listing websites.
The enquirer will ask you to accept a cheque from a partner or client who owes him/her money, then forwarding the difference of the money onto him/her via a Western Union money transfer.
Usually an enquiry would start off seeming quite genuine, however, you may notice a few grammar and spelling mistakes as if English isn't the writer's first language.


The Over-Payment Scam

This trick works when a buyer sends a cheque to cover the cost of an item (whether they have seen the item or not).
They then contact the seller immediately telling them that the cheque has been made out for the wrong amount (commonly adding a zero on the end e.g. sending a cheque for £3,000 for a £300 item). They request that the seller cashes the cheque and sends the difference back.
The cheque for £3,000 would have cleared, only to be stopped weeks later by your bank. By this time, the amount you returned to the seller would have cleared and, as well as losing your item, you will also be left out of pocket by the £2,700 difference you sent back to the seller.



The Interested Buyer Who's Never Seen your Item

In this classic scenario, a scammer, who lives abroad, will tell the seller that he would like to send a cheque to cover the cost of an item, plus an additional amount to cover overseas shipping.

The problem? He has never seen the item, nor does he intend to.

If the seller agrees, the scammer will send a cheque/bankers draft to the seller. The seller pays this into their bank, and it will clear, making the funds available immediately. The scammer will ask the seller to get in touch with the shipping agent (another scammer) to arrange delivery. The shipping agent asks for the fee up front. As the original cheque to the seller has cleared, the seller agrees to this and sends the shipping agent the money (often by Western Union - for immediate clearance).

The seller is then contacted by the original scammer requesting a refund as they no longer wish to purchase the item. There is usually a hard luck story attached (common ones being an ill family member, or one who has been involved in an accident and requires expensive hospital treatment.

If the seller agrees to this, they will not have a problem refunding as it appears the money has cleared in their account. They then send a refund by Western Union, unaware that the real scam has yet to take place.

They will remain unaware, until the original cheque completes the bank clearing process (which can take weeks). On realising the original cheque was a fake, the bank withdraws the money from the sellers account, leaving them out of pocket - even up to thousands of pounds.

If someone is buying or if you are buying then it is adviseable before anything happens
that you find out as much details as you can about what your buying, and to offer as much
information as to what your selling.

DO Ask These Questions if you were buying a car, offer these answers if you are selling a car;

--How long has car been with you?

--How many owners has the car had?

--Has the car been damaged?

--Does the motorcar come with the spare keys?

--Do you have the car document and is your name on it?

--When was the car last serviced?

--Why are you selling the car?

Now this can be related to almost any product, don't just put down

sample: car for sale, t&t £1000 no offers

That doesnt tell you anything. What information would you like to know
if it was you on the other end. Be as descriptive as you can be, upload photos
leave a contact.

In the UK a vehicle must be sold with a V5 although people still buy them without
it is actually against the law. It is NOT the buyers responsibility to get one after
they purchase the car, the seller should already have it in his possesion, but be warned
if you buy without the V5 you can also be fined up to £1000

Advice for Sellers

Dealing locally is best.

The safest way to deal is in person and face to face. Be wary if the seller only wants to communicate via e-mail. Be more wary if the buyer is currently out of the country or resides overseas or far from where the vehicle is located. Be extremely wary if the seller flat out refuses to talk on the phone or claims they cannot talk on the phone.

Avoid complicated payment schemes.

Be suspicious of a payment process that involves many steps. One popular scam involves sending you a cashier's check for more than the purchase amount and asking you to wire the difference back to the buyer. These cashier's checks are almost always counterfeit and your bank will hold you liable. Any overpayment you wire back to the buyer will come directly out of your pocket.

Verify payment.

Do not transfer title of your vehicle to the buyer until the buyer's check has cleared or you have otherwise received full payment for your vehicle. You should always verify the authenticity of any cashier's or certified check with the issuing bank. Do not rely on the phone number printed on the check; look it up yourself. The bank can verify its routing number, describe the specific security features of its checks and even verify that there are sufficient funds to cover the check. Never accept a check for more than your asking price.

We sure do, it wasn't our intention originally to have one from our site, but pressure from our users has made us rethink our approach. You can visit the Isle of Wight FREE Ads @ http://www.iowfreeads.com/
feel free to register.