**CUSTOMARY AUCTION GUIDELINES**

[AGgressive Metal]

The following is a compilation of the rules set out on ORC (Old RealCent) by several others. They are not legally binding, but they are the customary guidelines around this part of the inter-webs.

1) Give a clear end-date and time to your auction. (Time will be assumed to be Eastern Standard Time, the timezone of the Forum, unless specified otherwise)

2) No hidden reserve prices - if you have a minimum price in mind declare that as the starting bid.

3) If you want particular bid increments (e.g. $1) say so.

4) Accurately describe what you're offering including who pays shipping and if it's part of the bid price or not.

5) Specify what payment methods you accept, and if there is a period to allow payments to clear.

6) Specify if you only ship to the US or if you ship to Canada and/or other countries.

7) If you are selling a numismatic type item, clarify if you allow returns.

8) All Auctions are in US$ unless otherwise specified by the seller in the listing.

9) All bids must be posted as replies to the auction thread to be valid. There are no hidden bids; a PM to the seller is not a valid bid.

10) The winning bidder is the highest posted bid before the auction closes. However, as in all Realcent transactions any seller may reject any bid or bidder for any reason.

11) Any issues that arise are not the business of Realcent, but are your own personal business between you and the other party.

[apdigs8]

just for clarifications sake - i can withdraw any bid on any auction i bid on for any reason at any time, correct? And there's no reason to feel remorse about it AT ALL either since the seller likely would have just pulled the auction anyway because he didn't get high enough bids or too many people withdrew their bids at the last minute... This is just a normal thing that happens all the time on this site, correct me if I'm wrong...
I suppose none of these rules are really at all enforceable... and anyone can sort of just do whatever they want in this section?

[TXBullion]

I guess you could say, "act in a gentleman fasion". I think everyone here is grown up and civilized enough where we dont need a whole book of rules to govern each-other. Simply put, if you constantly with draw bids or auctions, I think the community will shy away from transacting with you. When you have been around and you have a good reputation and something comes up, its easy to over look since you have a proven track record.

[lewbo]

This is getting good!

[AGgressive Metal]

just for clarifications sake - i can withdraw any bid on any auction i bid on for any reason at any time, correct? And there's no reason to feel remorse about it AT ALL either since the seller likely would have just pulled the auction anyway because he didn't get high enough bids or too many people withdrew their bids at the last minute... This is just a normal thing that happens all the time on this site, correct me if I'm wrong...
I suppose none of these rules are really at all enforceable... and anyone can sort of just do whatever they want in this section?

Correct, these rules are not enforceable because this is not an auction site it is just a web forum. If you cannot handle the risks then use APMEX.

[JadeDragon]

We are better than an auction site because we don't charge fees, however you get what you pay for. In Realcent's case you get to protect yourself because the site Admins are not generally here to mediate any disputes over transactions.

Just to clarify the rules though - Bidders must honor their bids. Sellers are free to reject any bid or bidder for any reason including no stated reason. The Bidder screens out undesirable sellers by just not bidding on their auctions. The Seller screens out undesirable buyers by not having to accept their bid.

[apdigs8]

It does not seem to me like Aggressive Metal and Jade Dragon agree on what the rules of this forum are.

Jade Dragon thinks bidders must honor their bid, while Aggressive Metal thinks any bidder can withdraw at any time - that's a major discrepancy in the rules ( which you both admit aren't really enforced or followed - I'm sure they'll be selectively enforced against certain people you don't like in the future, that's just how moderators are LOL )

So- say I am a seller - I list up 15 BU ASEs in the auction zone for 450 starting bid ( dont want to lose my shirt ). Spot is currently 30$. I start the auction today, it ends a week from today. If someone bids 450 today and spot tanks to 21 next week, I lock in a guarantee profit ( obviously),
so this format encourages sniper bidding since you don't know if the auction is good or going to be cancelled or if someone is even going to end up winning ( ie calling an auction an auction on this site is like calling a federal reserve note a note even though its not really technically a note - any auction on this site isn't really any auction like on any other site obviously- whether it's free or not- it's a completely different format than anyone else uses because it's not really an auction, whereas most other sites hold somewhat real legitimate auctions)
I start the auction today, and as its ending next week, my auction has only been bid up to $32 per coin (480 ) but spot is currently $31- I don't want to sell for only 31- so I cancel all the bids on my auction- doesn't matter if 2 people or 4 people or 70 people bid- the rules say I can cancel any bids at any time for any reason! So what I want to know JD, is, can anyone withdraw any auction at any time for any reason no matter who has bid on it or how much time is left in the auction

This site seems very lopsided towards the seller... which is FINE, I just want to understand the rules that you all disagree on...

[ThePowersThatBe]

A seller can cancel an entire auction, or an individual bid, if they so desire. However, do this more than once or twice, and you will find yourself with few or no bidders on future auctions. Realcenters generally don't tolerate silly games like that.

Bidders should NOT be withdrawing bids, period. If an extenuating circumstance arises, they should contact the seller and explain the situation.

Realcent.org, it's founders, moderators, and so on, are not liable for transactions originating on this site (or the old site). The transaction is strictly the business of the buyer and seller.

[JadeDragon]

AGgressive Metal was not agreeing that bidders can just cancel their bids, he was saying that you use the site at your own risk. Please don't twist his words. I see no conflict between what any Mod or Admin has posted here.

AG spends a lot of time maintaining the Market Area, moving sold threads etc. Thank him, don't hassle him for posting up the rules that were developed by various members to clarify how we like to do things.

We also have feedback threads. If a buyer withdraws a bid without a darn good reason (like an obvious error) than expect feedback to be posted on such behavior. Sellers, however, can reject a high bidder for any reason or no reason. For example if the high bidder has bad feedback or does not follow through the seller is free to sell to another (next highest generally) bidder.

[Taijitu]

Do you mean times are Central Daylight Savings time?

[AGgressive Metal]

Do you mean times are Central Daylight Savings time?

Old Realcent was on Central Standard Time and so that was what I put in the guidelines originally. However, the new forum clock is Eastern Standard time and so that will be the presumed timezone for anything not otherwise specified.

[OtusLotus]

I don't understand what the problem here is.. if you want to sell something, state what your minimum is by the opening bid. If you are selling or bidding, both sides believe the other side is acting in good faith. The seller wants to get the highest price, and the bidder wants the lowest price. If you have a history of not owning up to your end of the bargain, fellow members will quickly become aware of the shenanigans, and your bids or offers will not be respected in the future!

Both sides can expect one thing.. the price of spot it going to move up or down... it is a market!

Keep up the great work guys!

[frugi]

geez. i couldn't even read all the posts........The auction area has been setup as a convenience to the members, if you can't get that part through your skull, you shouldn't even be concerned with the auction area. If you are someone who is worried about canceling bids, and withdrawing bids, and canceling auctions alltogether you should have never got involved. Practically every tangible asset in the entire world is sold by auction everyday. You would be suprised what is legaly enforcable according to state legislature. I am a licensed, certified, Colonel Auctioneer by trade. All I am saying is, unless you are prepared to lose your ass in an auction don't even bother listing it. You can believe if I sold a 1 ounce .999 gold round on here, and it sold for $5.00, I would uphold my fudiciary responsibility under the law and mail you your package, if you are not prepared to do the same, than you are not having an actual auction, if you cancel bids, it is not an auction, it is a seller taking bids on his merchandise, which is a basic day to day transaction. If you are so inclined to use a venue other than your own, you must adhere to the guidlines set forth by the administrators, and if not, or if you don't like it, boo hoo. go pound sand.

[Klark Cent]

QUESTION: If no minimum bid increment is specified by the seller, what should I presume it to be?

1-cent?
5-cents?

Thanks.

[JadeDragon]

QUESTION: If no minimum bid increment is specified by the seller, what should I presume it to be?

1-cent?
5-cents?

Thanks.

Unless specified, 1 cent. We are after all a penny forum.

[uthminsta]

QUESTION: If no minimum bid increment is specified by the seller, what should I presume it to be? 1-cent? 5-cents? Thanks.

I'm okay with that in my auction.

[cupronickel]

I've bought many things on the realcent site and have never had a problem.