Posting your items for sale here at The Free Auction is both free and easy.  Simply register if you have not already (by clicking New Registration here or at the bottom of any auction page). Our system automatically e-mails your password usually within a few minutes (no need to disconnect while you wait). Once you have your password, you might want to copy it from your e-mail and go to Change Registration to replace the rather obtuse collection of letters and numbers with something easier to remember.

Again, we charge nothing to buy or sell items. But, we do have optional premium features like: bold listings, featured auctions, category featured auctions, attention grabbers, and the like. For those, we charge a nominal rate.

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Posting items for sale is accomplished by clicking on Post New Item here or at the bottom of any auction screen. For help on each section, please read the following.

First, login to the site and go to "Sell" on the top of any page or go to "Sell" in your members area.  This will bring you to the "Create Listing" page.

Category:  Select the Category you want you item to go in by clicking on the "Select Category" Button. Click on the category, then subcatagory until you have picked the final category.

Item Title:  Fill in this section with a short descriptive title (make it catchy to get people's attention).

Description:  Put in a full description of your item you are selling.  The more details the better.

Images:  Upload any images you have of your item by clicking on the "Select Images" button.

Click on the "Next Step" Button to continue to the next page.

Select the appropriate boxes needed for your auction.  These are the "Listing Settings", "Featured Listings", "Auto Relist", and your "Location".  When finished click on "Next Step". 

On this page, fill out the Shipping, Returns, and Payment Methods areas, then when done click "Next Step".

Now it will bring you to the "Listing Preview" page where you will see a preview of what your auction will look like.  If everything looks good, scroll to the bottom and hit "List Now".  If you need to make corrections, click on "Previous Step" and you will be able to go and edit your auction.  You also have the option here to "Save as Draft" so you can post it at a later time.

3. Featured on Main Page (optional). Get your auction seen by thousands!! Do you want your auction rotated on the "Featured list" on the main page? If so, select "Yes" from the pull down menu. Important note: There is a $4.95 charge for this option.

4. Catagory Featured: (optional). Have your item displayed on the top of the item's category. These will be listed first so people will see these items before all others. If you want this, please select "Yes" from the pull down menu. Important note: There is a $4.95 charge for this option.

5. Bold Listing: (optional). Make your auction stand out in bold. If you want this, please select "Yes" from the pull down menu. Important note: There is a $1.00 charge for this option.

6. Image URL: (optional). Pictures sell items! You'll need a place on the web to put your picture. Once you have it accessible, then link it to your item posting by entering the URL (for example http://yourname.com/images/picture.jpg) in the "IMAGE URL" box. Image should be no larger than 200x200.

7. Add Image To Gallery: (optional). Put your image in the gallery section.

8. Attention Grabbers: (optional). Optional, make your auction stand out from the crowd with these special icons. These are placed in front of your item's title. Important note: There is a $1.00 charge for this option.

9. Days Until Close: Decide how many days you want to offer your item at auction. Our system supports 1-14 days. Most people use seven days.

10. Payment Methods: Choose all forms of payment you will accept.

11. Where will you ship? Check the appropriate box.

12. Who pays for shipping? Check the appropriate boxes.

13. Description: Enter a description. You can simply type your description into the "Description:" box but we also support HTML. So feel free to use your favorite HTML editor (like FrontPage), then cut and paste your descriptive masterpiece into the Description box. Make your listing look great with linked pictures or fancy text. A short, descriptive title and a complete description of your item will also help your sales. But be truthful in your listings. Disappointed buyers are likely to leave you negative feedback. Be sure to include such facts as who pays for shipping and how much that is. Also detail the type of payment you will accept, such as personal checks, Visa and MasterCard (and/or other credit cards), will you ship C.O.D., and so forth.

14. Your Handle/Alias: Type in your username.

15. Your Password: Type in your password.

16. Your Starting Bid: The starting bid is very important. If you put a very low price just remember, you might get it! The best auction strategy is to start an item at the lowest price you are willing to sell it for, then anything above that is a pleasant bonus!

One thing on our starting bids you should be aware of: Let's say you want to start an item for $5. First set the "Bid Increment Box" (the default value is $1 but you can change it to fifty cents, or whatever). Your starting bid will be $5. Thus, the first bidder will be asked to bid $5 (after the first bid, it adds the last bid plus the bid increment of $1-so the next bid will be $6). Please make sure you understand how the above works, or you might start the bidding at too high a level and your item may not sell.

17. Your Reserve Price: Put your reserve price here. You are not obligated to sell below this price. Leave blank if none.

18. Bid Increment: Put your bid increment here.

19. Click Preview! Once the posting form is filled in to your satisfaction, hit the Preview button. The system shows how the posted item will look.

20. Preview Screen On the Preview Screen, the system shows how the posted item will look. If it looks good, click on the "Post button" at the bottom of the page and the auction is live!

If someone sends you e-mail asking about an item, please respond promptly and courteously. It's simply good business.

You will be notified automatically by e-mail if the items sells, or if it ends without selling. At that time, feel free to repost unsold items.

When your auction ends, you and the high bidder will get emails. Auction results�the bidding history, final bid price and email addresses for the seller and the high bidder�are posted for 30 days. The seller and the high bidder should contact each other within 3 business days at the end of the auction. You can contact the next-highest bidder if you can't conclude the transaction with the high bidder within 3 business days.

The winning bidder pays you directly for the item, and it's your responsibility to fulfill the order once payment terms are met. The binding contract of the auction is between the winning bidder and the seller.

If for some reason you need to edit or delete your auction, you can, only if it has no bids. To do this, view your auction, look for "Update Item Seller: If this item has received no bids, you may revise it." Click on this, enter your username and password, and it will take you to the "edit/delete your auction" screen.

Posting items on this and any internet auction is a legally binding action. Your are irrevocably promising, assuming you get one or more bids, to sell the item and ship it promptly after payment is received. Mutual trust between buyer and seller are what drives online auctions. We will tolerate no scammers or breakers of promises on this auction.

Remember, a The Free Auction auction is a legal commitment to sell your item to the highest bidder. If you receive one or more bids above your minimum price, you are legally obligated to complete the transaction. A failure to do so is a breach of the User Agreement and may be legally actionable by one or more of the bidders. You have the right to cancel a transaction only under exceptional circumstances. You may auction any merchandise you have the right to sell, as long as it complies with the User Agreement and the item is not a Prohibited, Questionable or Infringing item.

We expect you to be honest and truthful in the descriptions of posted items. Anyone abusing this auction will be banished.

So, post away and the very best of luck to you from everyone here at The Free Auction and, please remember, if you have any questions, drop an e-mail to the Administrator.