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Frequently Asked Questions |
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Registering to use Knivesearch is very quick and simple, and uses an email confirmation process to avoid fraudulent or spam sign-ups.
1. Start by going to the home page of your auction site and clicking on the register link on the navigation bar:
2. Enter your details into the registration form (
note: Date of birth must be entered in the format DDMMYY, with no other characters):
3. Click on the Register button and the bottom of the form to complete your registration. You will now be sent a confirmation email.
4. Check your email for the PHP Pro Bid confirmation email. When you receive this, click on the link it contains to complete the registration process:
5. You can now login to your PHP Pro Bid v6.0 auction site and begin buying and selling auction items:
You can send private and public messages to sellers from all item listings.
1. Scroll down the listing until you find the Ask Seller A Question section:
2. Type in the question you would like to ask the seller, and select whether you want it to be private or public (visible to other users):
3. Click Submit to send the message. You can see all of your sent and received messages in your Members' Area, under Messaging:
The Bidding section provides you with an overview of all the items you have bid on lists items you have won, outstanding invoices and items you are watching. The Bidding section also provides access to your Favourite Stores list.
Managing & Placing Bids
At the heart of your auction experience is bidding on items you'd like to buy. Knivesearch allows you to purchase items in several ways:
Standard bidding
Proxy Bidding
Make an Offer
Buy Out
You can see detailed examples for each type of bidding option below.
Standard & Proxy Bidding
Standard bidding is the most common way to bid on an item, and is exactly the same as the process used in real-world auction rooms. You bid the minimum amount needed to outbid the current high bidder.
A Proxy bid means that you bid an amount that is higher than necessary. The auction software will raise your actual bid to the minimum necessary, but will remember your maximum. If someone else comes along and tries to outbid you, the auction software will automatically place additional bids on your behalf up to the value of your proxy bid. This means you can stay on top of the bidding without having to be near a computer. Here's how you do it:
1. Find the item you'd like to bid on - either by browsing the categories down the left of your screen, or by using the search box just below the navigation bar:
2. To place a bid, enter your chosen amount into the "Place Bid" field in the item listing: Click the Place Bid button to continue.
3. The bid confirmation screen will display the minimum bid needed ( standard bid) and will allow you to adjust your bid accordingly:
a. If you wish to place a standard bid, adjust your bid to match the Minimum Bid value shown
b. If you wish to place a proxy bid, enter your maximum bid into the Your Bid field
4. You will now see confirmation that you are the high bidder or a message telling you that you have been outbid, or that you bid is below the reserve price. You can place as many bids as you want on an item.
Some sellers allow items to be purchased instantly at a fixed price, regardless of any auction bidding that has taken place. This feature is called Buy Out. You will see a Buy Out Logo in item listings offering the Buy Out facility. The Buy Out price will be stated directly below the Buy Out logo.
1. To purchase an item with Buy Out, click on the Buy Out logo:
2. You will be taken to a confirmation page showing the Buy Out price, postage costs and payment methods for the item:
Click Proceed if you are happy to continue.
3. Your purchase will now be confirmed and you will be able to pay the seller's invoice:
Instead of monetary offers, some sellers will accept Swaps - offers of an item of appropriate value in exchange for the item being sold. The swap process works in a very similar way to the standard Make Offer process.
1. If the seller of the item you are interested in accepts Swap Offers, you will see an entry "Swap Offers are accepted for this item":
2. Click on the Make An Offer link and enter a description of the swap you are proposing:
3. Click
Proceed and you will see a confirmation message confirming that your swap offer has been passed to the seller.
Knivesearch allows users to operate their own stores within the auction site. Selecting a store as a favourite allows you quick and easy access to it directly from your Members' Area, without having to search for it.
1. To access a complete list of stores or to search the store directory, click on the stores link in the navigation bar:
2. At the top of each store's home page, there is an Add To Favourites link. Click this to add this store to your Favourite Stores: To see a list of all of your favourite stores, go to Members' Area / Bidding / Favourite Stores:
Watched Items
If you would like to track the progress of an auction without bidding on it, you can choose to watch the item.
1. In every item listing, you will see a Watch This Item link : To add an item to your Watched Items list, simply click on the link:
2. To view your Watched Items list, go to the Watched Items section of the Members' Area:
The Bidding section of the Members' Area also allows buyers to see all of their current invoices:
The Won Items section allows you to see all of your recent purchases and bids at a glance:
Recently-purchased items are then individually listed with their payment status:
When you are ready to pay for the item, simply click on Pay With Direct Payment:
This will take you to a payment screen enabling you to choose you preferred payment method and make an instant payment for your item:
Once you have completed the payment, the payment status for the item will be updated in the Won Items table.
Some sellers allow potential buyers to make an offer to buy their items, to avoid having to wait for the auction to finish. If a seller is open to offers, you will see a "Make Offer" logo in the item listing: The Make Offer section of the listing also contains information about the price range in which offers can be made.
1. If you would like to make an offer, click on the "Make Offer" icon.
2. On the Make Offer page, enter the amount you would like to offer (Remember - your offer must be in the price range specified):
3. Click Proceed to continue and your offer will be confirmed and submitted to the seller.
Listing An Item For Sale
Here's a step-by-step guide to listing an item for sale by auction, offer or buy out. Most steps are the same for all types of listing.
1. Start by clicking on the Sell link on the main navigation bar:
2. Choose whether you would like the item listed on the main auction site, in your shop only (if you have one) or in both locations. Note that shop-only items will only be visible to visitors to your store.
3. Choose a main category for your item. The active category list is indicated by an orange border - each time you select a category, a list of appropriate sub-categories will be displayed until no further detail is possible. Simply click on a category to select it: Once the category has been finalised, the Next Step button will be highlighted:
4. You may select an additional category for your item if you wish. Some items fit naturally into more than one category, and having an additional category can help more users find your item.
5. You now need to specify the Item Details. Once you have done this, click Next Step to continue:
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Field Name |
Description |
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Choose Listing Type
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In most circumstances a full listing is more suitable. If you find that many of the options you are offered are not relevant, try a quick listing. |
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Item Title |
Enter a title for your item. This will be displayed in category listings and search results. |
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Description |
Enter a description of your item. Generally, the more detail you can provide, the better. |
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Main Category |
This confirms your choice of main listing category. |
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Additional Category |
This confirms your choice of additional listing category (if any). |
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Voucher Settings
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Include any voucher codes you may have in this field. Otherwise it should be left blank. |
6. The next stage is to configure the settings for your item:
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Field Name |
Description |
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Auction Type
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Choose between standard (listing one item) and Dutch (listing multiple, identical items) |
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Currency |
Choose the currency you wish to use |
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Quantity |
Specify how many items you are selling |
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Auction Starts At |
Specify the starting bid for your auction |
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Enable Reserve
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If you would like a reserve price, check this box. A reserve price prevents an item selling below a certain price, regardless of how much the final bid is for. |
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Reserve Price |
Enter the reserve price if applicable |
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Buy Out price
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A Buy Out price enables bidders to buy your item instantly - without having to wait for the auction to end. |
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Offer Range
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If you are willing to accept offers for your item, specify the price range you are prepared to consider. |
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Bid Increment
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This controls how much more each bid is than the previous bid. In most circumstances the default choice will be suitable. |
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Item Featuring
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This allows you to promote your item more widely - choose any combination of featuring you would like. |
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Start Time |
Allows you to choose to start your auction now, or at a later time. |
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End Time
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Choose the duration of your auction - from a standard range of options or by specifying a specific future date. |
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Private Auction
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If you would like to hide user ids of bidders from other users, select a private auction. Bidders' user ids will still be visible to you, the seller. |
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Accept Swap Offers
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Indicate whether you are prepared to swap your item for a suitable alternative. |
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Member of Group |
If you are a member of a listed group, select it here. If not, disregard this section. |
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Item Condition
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Use the drop-down menu to specify the condition of your item. Add any specific comments into the text field above. |
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Images
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Upload up to three images of the item you are listing. Files can be uploaded from your computer or from another website. |
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Media
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Upload a video file of your item. Files can be uploaded from your computer or from another website. |
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Auto Relist
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Enable the automatic relisting of your item. You can choose to have it relisted only in the case it does not sell and can specify how many times it will be automatically relisted. |
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Location
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Confirm the location details of your item. By default, this will be set to be the same location your user is registered at. |
7. The next step is to specify shipping and payment details for your item.
a. Shipping & Payment Details Specify whether the buyer or seller should pay for postage. Specify the postage and insurance costs. Indicate whether you will post the item overseas.
b. Direct Payment Check the box next to each of the direct payment methods that you will accept.
c. Offline Payment Check the box next to each of the offline payment methods that you will accept. Note that you, the buyer, should be equipped to handle these payment methods yourself.
8. Preview your listing - see how it will look to buyers and make any changes necessary using the Previous Step button. You can also choose to Save As Draft - this will save your listing and allow you to return to it later. If you are happy with the listing, press the List button to publish the listing. You will then see a message confirming that it has been accepted and informing you of the fee(if any) for the listing:
To sell an item in Your Store without running an auction
1 Select the "Sell" tab in the top menu.
2 Select the "Shop" radio button and click "Next Step"
3 Select the category of your choice and click "Next Step"
4 From the drop down menu select "Buy Out Item"
5 Title and describe your listing and click "Next Step"
6 Select your "Auction Type, "Currency", "Quantity", duration etc and check the "Private Auction" check box.
7 Browse to a suitable image on your hard drive and click "Upload".
8 Select "Enable auto relist" if you wish to relist the item when your duration has run out.
9 If you have more than one quantity of the item enable Auto Relist if Sold".
10 Edit your location if required and click "Next Step"
11 Adjust Shipping setting to suit and select Payment method, the click "Next Step"
12 Click "List Now" or "Save as Draft" according to your requirements.
If you select "List Now" the listing will appear in your shop. If you select "Save as Draft" you can activate the listing at a later time. You can create an auction from this draft at any time by listing it from the "Drafts" page in the "Selling" section. Regular sellers may find that they have certain fields that always require the same data to be entered into them. The Prefilled Fields page allows this information to be saved and automatically populated into your auction listings. This saves time and brain strain.
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Field Name |
Description |
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Item Title |
The title for your auction listing |
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Description
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Enter any common text that appears in all your item descriptions into this field. |
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Duration |
If your auctions always have the same duration, you can specify it here. |
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Private Auction |
If you always run private auctions, check this box. |
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Swap Offers |
If you are always open to swap offers, check this box. |
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Shipping Conditions |
If your shipping conditions are always the same list them here. |
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Offline Payment |
If you only accept certain offline payment methods, select them here. |
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Accept Public Questions |
If you have a fixed policy on public questions, indicate it here. |
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New Bid Email Notifications
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If you always wish to be notified of new bids by email notification, check this box. |
If you wish to block certain users from bidding on any of your items, you can add their usernames to the "Block User" page which can be found in the "Selling" section of the "Members Area":
Click on the Add User link to block a user. You can also specify the reason you have blocked them, and blocked users can also be deleted (unblocked).
Your reputation provides an indicator of how much trading you have done on the auction site and allows other buyers and sellers to get an idea of your trustworthiness and experience. For each transaction that takes place, the buyer and seller can award each other a star rating from 1 to 5:
- Very poor - 1 star - Your reputation is reduced by 1
- Poor - 2 stars - Your reputation is reduced by 1
- Neutral - 3 stars - No change to your reputation
- Good - 4 stars - Your reputation is increased by 1
- Excellent - 5 stars - Your reputation is increased by 1
Wherever a user id appears, the reputation for that user is also shown:
Click on the reputation to see full details of that user's reputation.
Viewing Your Reputation
You can see full details of your reputation and the comments you have received in the Members' Area of the auction site:
Leaving comments for other people is a simple process.
1. After you have completed a transaction, go to your Members' Area, and click on the Reputation link:
2. Click on the Sent link, and you will see a list of auctions for which you need to leave comments.
3. To leave a comment, click on the Proceed link at the right of the screen:
4. Select a suitable star rating - from 1 to 5, and enter any comments you would like to make into the comments field. When you are finished, click on Leave Comments to store your comments and rating:
5. If you now return to the auction item, you will be able to click on the other user's reputation and see your comments in their reputation information:
This section allows you to download the Knivesearch bulk listing software. You should refer to the help documentation that comes with this application for more details on how to use this tool.
The About Me facility enables users to provide a little information about themselves to other users. For business users, this might be information about their business and a link to their own website. Personal users might want to provide some information on their hobbies and interests - especially if they are the main reason for their auction activities. You can set up an About Me page like this:
1. Click on the About Me link in the Members' Area:
2. Enable the About Me page:
3. Enter some suitable information into the text field. Use the toolbar at the top of the text area to format your text: You can also include hyperlinks - just click on the symbol and enter the target URL and the link text.
4. When you have finished, click on the Proceed button to save your About Me page.
You will now see an additional icon appear alongside your user id: Anyone who clicks on the About Me logo will be taken to your About Me page:
The Knivesearch system allows sellers to operate their own private Stores. They can customise the appearance of the store and the categories used within it and include detailed information about their business and their stock. Enabling stores is simple and instant and provides users with a choice of levels of store:
Apart from the number of items that can be stocked, there are no other differences between the store types. Larger stores are accorded "Featured Status" by default.
Setting Up A Store - Subscription Setup
1. To get started with stores, go to the My Store section of the Members' Area and select Subscription Setup
2. At the top, you will see a summary of your store subscription status, showing subscription payment dates and the number of items presently listed. If you have not had a store before, the Store Status will be Disabled.
3. To setup a store, ensure the Enable Store check box is checked:
4. Select the type of store you wish to operate:
5. Click Proceed to activate the store and confirm your choices:
Your store is now ready for use, although you should probably consider adding some further information to it using the
Main Settings, Store Pages and Custom Categories sections, which are explained below.
Main Settings
The Main Settings section allows you to customise your store and provide information about the kind of items you offer for sale. There are five fields you can populate (not all are optional):
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Field |
Description |
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Store Name |
The name of your store (not optional) |
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Store Description
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A description of your store - the kind of items you sell, your trading history, your business, etc This can be formatted and include links to other sites. (not optional) |
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Store Meta Keywords
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You should enter relevant keywords for your store here - words that people might search for if they were looking for the kind of items you sell. Separate each keyword (or phrase) with a comma. |
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Store Logo
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If you have a logo you would like displayed with your store listing, you can upload it here using the Browse and Upload buttons. You can also use a graphics file from another website by entering its URL into the Enter URL field and then clicking Upload. |
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Store Designs
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Choose from a number of alternative store designs, to help make your store more distinctive. At present we have not developed sufficient capacity in this area and the default design is probably the most attractive.
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Custom Categories
All items are placed in a category of your choice when listed in an online auction or as a store item. Within your own store you can choose which categories are available and you can create your own custom categories. Please note that custom categories can only be used for Store-only listings - so if you want to list your item in the general auction listings as well as in your store, you may prefer to use the standard categories that are available.
Setting Up A Custom Category
1. To setup a custom category, go to the My Store / Custom Categories section of your Members' Area:
2. Enter the name of your category into the Add Category field, then click the Save Changes button: You can add as many categories as you need in this way.
3. When you have finished adding new categories, click on the Generate Categories button to complete the creation of your custom categories.
Selecting Categories For Your Store
If you don't want to create your own custom categories you can choose to restrict which of the standard categories are available in your store instead.
1. In My Store / Custom Categories section of your Members' Area, scroll down to the Store Categories section:
2. Select the categories you would like to use by clicking on them (hold down the Ctrl key at the same time for multiple selections):
3. Click on the -> button to add these categories to your store. Selecting your own categories will automatically mean that only these categories are available in your store.
Listing Items For Sale In Your Store
See Selling.
Viewing Your Store
1. To view your store, click on the Stores link on the main navigation bar:
2. Type the name of your store into the Store search box:
3. Click on your store's name to enter it:
From time-to-time, you may find that another user is abusing the auction system in some way. The
Abuse Report page allows you to send a confidential report to the auction administrator to bring abuse issues to their attention:
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