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Manny DelaCruz - CEO/GunAuction.com
There are a variety of auction types at GunAuction.com, that are chosen by the seller when the auction is created. Knowing the different auction types will help you enjoy the bidding experience, and avoid any unpleasant surprises or misunderstandings when you start bidding.

Reserve Auction

We actually run a Modified Reserve Style auction. We differentiate from a traditional Reserve Style auction in that our proxy bidding doesn't kick in until after the Seller's reserve price has been met. All bids placed in a Reserve auction are hidden until the reserve price has been met. After the Seller's reserve has been met, proxy bidding kicks in, all bids are visible, and Max bids are kept hidden while proxy bids placed by the computer and bids beaten by a proxy bid are displayed.

No Reserve Auction

No Reserve Auctions are auctions where the seller doesn't specify a hidden Reserve price, and the Starting Price offered is a price the Seller is willing to Sell at. So if a person places a bid in a No Reserve style auction, the Seller is obligated to sell at that price. Proxy bidding of the kind described by Reserve style auctions also occurs in No Reserve style auctions, except that the proxy bidding kicks in immediately. Again, Max bids are kept hidden while proxy bids placed by the computer and bids beaten by a proxy bid are displayed.

HiLow Auction

A HiLow auction is a descending price auction, where the seller starts an auction and the price gradually declines until someone is willing to buy it. Unlike all other auction types, HiLow auctions are also sealed-bid auctions where bids are hidden until the price descends to the highest bidder - whereupon the auction immediately closes with the highest bidder being named the winner. In other words, if a HiLow auction is still running, the highest bid submitted hasn't been reached yet, and the item can be bought using BuyItNow. The price of the auction slowly lowers proportional to the length of the auction. If the auction lasts ten (10) day, the price will gradually be cut by 10% a day. If the auction is listed for just 2 days, then the price will be cut by 50% per day. The only circumstance under which a HiLow auction does not sell is when a HiLow auction reaches 10% of the starting price with no buyers. If there are no buyers at 10%, the HiLow auction will close after 24 hours without a winner. IMPORTANT: Sellers are not allowed to end HiLow auctions early.

BuyItNow!

BuyItNow! is a feature a Seller can specify during the auction creation process where that Seller can name a price he/she is immediately willing to sell at. BuyItNow! itself doesn't cost the seller anything to use, but if an item sells using BuyItNow!, then that seller will be charged the normal Final Value Fee for that item.

If the bidding meets or surpasses the BuyItNow! price in a No Reserve auction, or if the bidding meets or surpasses the BuyItNow! price in a Reserve auction, BuyItNow! automatically becomes disabled for that auction. If a bidder decides to use BuyItNow!, that auction is immediately closed and the bidder is named High Bidder of that item at the Seller's BuyItNow! price. As with all our auctions, there is no Bid Retraction available for BuyItNow! If you agree to BuyItNow!, make sure you're willing to purchase the item.

NOTE: BuyItNow! is only available to sellers that have at least one (1) Positive Feedback. As a seller, once you achieve at least one Positive, BuyItNow! will show up as an option during the listing and editing process. We delay allowing sellers to use BuyItNow! until they've demonstrated they can run a successful auction, and for the protection of our buyers.

Best Offer Auction

A Best Offer Auction is an auction where the seller lists an item with a BuyItNow price, and buyers have the option of either buying the item using BuyItNow, or then can make the seller an offer. If a buyer makes an offer, the seller can either accept the offer, decline the offer, or decline all offers and lower his BuyItNow price. The seller has a limited amount of time to accept the buyers offer, or the offer automatically expires. That length of time is determined by the buyer when he posts his offer. If the seller doesn't accept a buyer's offer, there are no winners in the Auction. Just to be clear - if you make an offer, unless the seller accepts it, you didn't win the item. IMPORTANT: There are also restrictions on who can run Best Offer auctions. Only those sellers who have at least one Positive feedback can create a Best Offer auction.

Penny Auctions

Penny Auctions are very exciting because bidders are enticed to bid by the possibility getting something for a very low price. And the seller is pretty much guaranteed to sell whatever they're listing.

A Penny Auction is a No Reserve auction that starts at one penny. That means no reserve, and the item sells for whatever the price is at the close of the auction - even if it's just one penny.

We basically have two sets of Seller standards for Penny Auctioneers.

The staff of GunAuction.com must personally approve a Seller as a Penny Auctioneer. The minimum criteria that a seller must meet before being approved as a Penny Auctioneer is rigorous and involved in order to maintain the existing quality of sales at GunAuction.com. If you're interested in becoming a Penny Auctioneer and:

1. You have at least 50 Positive Feedbacks...

2. You have less than 2% Negatives...

3. You've paid us at least $100 in fees...

Once Qualified under the above criteria, a Penny Auctioneer may list a Penny Auction under any category.

Here are the parameters a Penny Auctioneer's auction must meet when the auction is set up in order for it to be a "Penny Auction" (If your auction meets all the following criteria, it will automatically be a "Penny Auction" and you don't have to do anything else!).

1. The Auction must be a "No Reserve" style Auction.

2. The Auction must start at a penny.

You can still use any Special Features you'd like.

Firearms Category items will show up in our special category Penny Auctions - Guns on our Home Page. All other categories will show up under our special category Penny Auctions - ALL on our Home Page.

Contact us at the Support Desk for further information. Only Firearms Penny Auctioneers are required to go through an approval process.

What's a Haggle?

If a Reserve auction ends without the reserve being met, the seller can start a Haggle with the Final High Bidder, and the two can negotiate to see if a sale price can be found for the item. The Seller starts by sending an offer to the High Bidder, and the High Bidder has 24hrs to Accept/Counter/Deny the Seller's offer. If the High Bidder responds, the Seller has 24hrs to reply. If either party doesn't respond within a 24hr period, the Haggle ends without a winner, and the Seller can relist the item for sale at Auction. If either party accepts, the Seller is charged our Final Value Fee on the agreed-upon sale price, and the High Bidder is named the winner of the item at the new agreed-upon price even if that price is lower than the Seller's Reserve.

Haggles can only be conducted between the Seller and the High Bidder - if you weren't the High Bidder, you can't participate in a Haggle for that item. High Bidders can request that a Seller start a Haggle for a particular auction, but a High Bidder can't start a Haggle him/herself. (High Bidders are provided a link in an email to request that a Seller start a Haggle. High Bidders can also request a Haggle through 'Manage My Bids' - but only in Reserve auctions where the reserve hasn't been met, within 72hrs of the close of the auction.) Sellers can only start the Haggle within 72hrs of the close of the auction - after that, the seller can only relist the item.

Manny DelaCruz
CEO - GunAuction.com