If you are a already a registered member of bonsaiTALK, the process is very simple. All you need to do is enter your username and password in the login page, and you will be enrolled in bonsaiAUCTIONS.
The first thing you'll need to do after enrolling is to complete your profile with some additional information about yourself. We require you to record your name, address and telephone number. If you win an auction, that information together with your email address will be provided to the seller so that he may contact you and finalize the transaction.
You won't be able to bid until you've enrolled.
Chances are great that if you are a member in good standing at bonsaiTALK, you'll have no problem logging in and using bonsaiAUCTIONS, but the CONTACT US link is always there at the bottom of the page if you do.
Welcome to bonsaiTALK! We have made registration very simple.
1. Register at the bonsaiTALK forum 2. You will need to provide some basic information about yourself. Some of it is optional. You'll also need to choose a username and password. Be sure to use a valid email address, and if you are using anti-spam software you might need to check your spam folder
3. You will be emailed a confirmation receipt. This is a test to protect the owner of the email account (which should be you!) from receiving unwanted email. There will be a link in the email to activate your account. You can click on it to confirm your registration.
If you have any problem confirming, you can contact us with the details. It's easiest to forward the activation email.
Now that you're a member of bonsaiTALK, you can visit bonsaiAUCTIONS.com and use that new password to sign in!
"Sniping" is the practice of placing a bid immediately before close of auction.
To make bonsaiAUCTIONS fair for everyone, the site employs an anti-sniping feature: any bid placed within 5 minutes of auction close will extend the auction by 5 minutes.
In the case of multiple snipe bids, this could go on indefinitely until no bids are placed for a period of 5 minutes. Then the auction will close.
Auctions are organized by Category, which is a group of related types. You might choose to browse by category or use the SEARCH feature to find a specific item.
Some categories contain subcategories of closely related items. For example, if you are looking for the magazine Bonsai Today you could either SEARCH on BONSAI TODAY or you could browse the category PERIODICALS to see which magazines are listed.
The site will allow you to save your favorite searches so you can be notified periodically if new items come up.
SEARCHING TIPS:
a. Start out with a general search and then make it more specific. If your search on MAGAZINE returns too many results, try narrowing it by type.
b. AVOID Plural terms. A search on MAGAZINE will be more effective than one on MAGAZINES, which may not return those results where the seller did not list magazines as a keyword.
Most auctions run for several days, so you might choose to add an auction to your Watch List before bidding.
Don't be surprised for an auction to move quickly, especially as it nears closing time. You may find it instructive to monitor a few auctions near closing time to get an idea how things work.
However, it isn't necessary for you to babysit your own auctions. You can use the system's proxy bidding to handle auction bidding for you. Place your maximum bid, and the proxy will increment your bid as necessary to keep you in front until such time as someone outbids your maximum, or the auction closes, leaving you the winner.
Whether you're a bidder, seller or interested party, you might have multiple auctions that you need to track simultaneously. This is where the auction watching tool comes in.
To add an item to your watch list, all you do is click on the Watch this auction icon that appears at the top of the auction details page.
Any time you log in you can review your watched auctions by clicking on the Bidding icon in the members area and check the bottom of your details page.
From here you'll have handy links to each of the auctions you're watching, and some details about the bidding status, if the auction is still live.
At the end of the auction, the winner and seller will be emailed with contact details. At that point you should contact the seller to provide any additional information s/he may need and to arrange for your payment.
Some sellers accept PAYPAL payments, others credit cards and bank or personal check.
Paypal is often the most convenient method of payment for a buyer, but not all sellers accept it, so be sure to check first. To use Paypal, depending on which country you are in, you might need to register for an account, or you may be able to skip registration and make a payment using your credit card.
bonsaiAUCTIONS is all about bringing online buyers and sellers together. Instead of using a simple classifieds ad in your newspaper, you can advertise or browse listings of items related to bonsai gardening right online!
bonsaiAUCTIONS association with the bonsaiTALK forum and its memberbase of thousands of bonsai enthusiasts insures that there will be lots of interest, including bidders and buyers.
Whether you are a casual enthusiast, bonsai professional, wholesaler or retailer, bonsaiAUCTIONS offers a great platform for everyone with an interest in bonsai and suiseki.
Online auctions are similar in many respects to traditional auctions that might take place in a room full of people. A few of the primary differences from first-person auctions that make them more convenient:
1. DURATION: Auction duration may be up to two weeks
2. PROXY BIDDING: Bids are made by Proxy . This means that you can enter the largest bid you are prepared to make, and the site will bid for you, as required, without revealing your maximum bid. If your proxy bid was $10 and someone else enters a bid of $5, then your bid will be entered at the next bid increment above $5.00, say $5.50. You remain in the lead until someone outbids your proxy bid!
3. NOTIFICATION: You will receive emails from bonsaiAUCTIONS to let you know how the auction is proceeding; if you've been outbid, if you've won the auction or if you've lost.
4. MONITORING: You can watch the progress of your auction live on the site, so you have the opportunity to raise your bid if you wish.
bonsaiAUCTIONS began as a simple classifieds forum on bonsaiTALK in 2002, offering items for sale and trade. Shortly afterward we added a dedicated subdomain with classifieds listings where people could post pictures of their items for sale and wanted.
In Fall 2004 a group of bonsaiTALK members volunteered to participate in an evaluation of auction software, and bonsaiAUCTIONS was born!
bonsaiAUCTIONS offers a number of security features to enhance the user experience
1. bonsaiAUCTIONS employs a feedback system that enables you to judge the reliability of a seller or purchaser based on past performance.
2. bonsaiAUCTIONS enables you to communicate with individuals on bonsaiTALK under the same name, so you can know something more about the seller or buyer before you engage in a transaction with him or her.
3. Many sellers accept payment by PayPal, which is a convenient online payment system that will enable buyers to trade with individuals using credit card or bank account.
An About Me page is your homepage within bonsaiTALK that will provide details that you choose to other auction users, enabling you to share with other bonsaiAUCTION members information about yourself and your interests.
If you are a seller in an auction, a special graphic called an About Me icon will appear next to your auction posts, and it will be linked to your About Me page.
You might, for example, use your About Me page to describe your interests, highlight auctions you have for sale, or share links to your favorite bonsai sites.
MAKING AN ABOUT ME PAGE:
Making your own About Me page is simple. After you login to bonsaiAUCTIONS, click the About Me option.
Once you've created it, your About Me page will have its own address that you can share with friends, bidders and others. Your About Me page will have the format:
PayPal is far and away the most common method of payment for online auctions. However, there are other alternatives to PayPal.
BIDPAY http://www.bidpay.com is a Western Union company that allows bidders to make payment by credit or debit card. Payment is made directly to United States seller bank accounts, or by check to sellers in England.
ESCROW sites are options that will hold the buyer's cleared payment until such time as s/he has an opportunity to confirm receipt of the item. A few such sites are www.escrow.com in the United States, and www.pppay.com in the UK.
What should I know about communicating with other auction members?
Communications are critical to successful auctions. Always keep in mind that a little too much communication is always better than too little.
Don't forget that you are communicating with a person. Be prompt and polite in your dealings and you'll enjoy a much more rewarding and pleasant auction experience.
If you run into a problem, with the delivery of your item, payment or some other detail, you can use good communication to help resolve the problem and keep things on track.
This helps to smooth the process and ensure you of receiving a good feedback rating from the buyer or seller you're dealing with
If you have a question during the bidding process you can click the Ask Seller link and prepare an email that will be delivered to the seller. Most sellers invite inquiries and will be happy to respond, but don't get upset if you don't hear back right away. People can get busy with other things, and occasionally, emails do get lost.
Use good communications to remove any last minute doubts you might have before bidding.l Questions about the condition of the item, or the suitability for your use will be important. Also you might have a question about shipping options, delivery time or maybe just a thought you want to share.
At the end of the auction the buyer will receive an email containing the seller's data, including his or her email address. And the seller will get a complementary one with the buyer's coordinates.
You can initiate contact right away, in fact, it's a good idea, but don't be surprised to find that the seller will send you additional emails confirming the auction win, giving you details about payment, notification of shipping, etc.
If you lose your contact information you can request the information from bonsaiTALK but contact information will only be provided for those individuals with whom you've had a common transaction.
You may receive notification from bonsaiAUCTIONS of questions that sellers have submitted for your consideration. You can respond directly to the prospective bidder by email.
AFTER THE AUCTION:
Be sure to keep your winning bidder updated so he or she feels that they know what's happening with their auction. Notification of receipt of payment, shipment of the item, and request for feeback are appropriate.
The Feedback system at bonsaiAUCTIONS is a method of recording information concerning the confidence of Auction participants in a particular seller or buyer.
AFTER THE AUCTION: At the end of an auction you can leave feedback about your transactions. Login and click the FEEDBACK button in the Members Area - it looks like this. Then scroll down to the listing of auctions you've won and click PROCEED to leave feedback.
BEFORE THE AUCTION: Review the seller's feedback. Be wary of sellers with little or no history, especially on high value items.
You might see entries like "A+++" which indicates high confidence in the transaction, or a lot of glittering statements. What you should be interested in is the trend.
Sellers are essential to our site. In order to protect the integrity of the auction, we do require sellers to contact us to have their account enabled for selling.
When you join bonsaiAUCTIONS may receive a site credit that can be used for listing your own wanted ads. Once you've been validated you can use it for posting your own auctions, too.
This credit is not negotiable and cannot be converted to cash or used to pay for items you buy here.
Auction Café 
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Watch this auction icon that appears at the top of the auction details page.
will appear next to your auction posts, and it will be linked to your About Me page. 
At the end of an auction you can leave feedback about your transactions. Login and click the FEEDBACK button in the Members Area - it looks like this. Then scroll down to the listing of auctions you've won and click PROCEED to leave feedback.