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FAQ
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Q) How do I register?
A) It is free! Simply click here to go to the
registration page. All you need is an street address and e-mail account. No credit card information is required.
Q) As a seller, what are the costs and commission fees?
A) It is completely free to list as many auctions as you wish.
If the auction ends successfully, a 10% selling commission is charged
against the final price. AirlineHobby.com invoices are e-mailed to sellers at the end of
the auction. Payment is due when your balance reaches $10, and you can
conveniently pay using PayPal to fees@slidetrader.com, cash or money order.
Q) What is the web site currency?
A) All web site transactions are in US Dollars.
Q) How long do auctions run for?
A) Any period of time up to a maximum of 21 days. The auto-relist feature automatically relists
your auction up to two times if the initial auction listing closes with no successful bids being placed.
The auction duration is set on the Sell page when a seller lists an auction on the system. Once an auction has
been entered into the system, it appears online and is open for bids and viewable by everyone within seconds.
Q) How do sellers and buyers settle accounts once the auction is over?
A) We suggest using:
PayPal is now available for International users.
Use PayPal to
settle private party transactions in $USD anywhere in the world!
Successful bidders and sellers settle accounts privately between themselves.
The auction system will send both parties e-mail notifications as soon as
the auction finishes advising of the results and asking both parties to
contact each other as soon as possible. The buyer pays the seller using PayPal
or some other method of payment as per
the terms agreed to in the auction. Agreements between buyers and sellers
cannot be enforced nor is the responsibilty of SlideTrader.com.
We merely provide the worldwide venue to bring original kodachrome slide
buyers and sellers together.
Q) How do sellers set and communicate payment terms to bidders?
A) All pertinent payment details are entered into a the Sell Item Page when a
seller lists an auction on the system. On the Sell Item Page there is a
seperate "Accepted Payment Methods" section where the seller can specify
exactly what forms of payment are acceptable (PayPal, credit card, check etc.) The
seller can provide even more details on terms of
payment within the Auction Description box.
Q) What is the web site's non-paying bidder policy?
A) Sellers should follow these steps:
1) Send a second email to the winner if one week passes
and the winner has not responded to the initial request for payment email. Check the Holiday
Notification Board (click here) to
make sure the winner is not on holidays.
2) If the winner does not respond to the second email, please send us
an email
providing the winner's nickname, the auction number in question, and the auction completion date.
We will send the winner an email (CC to seller) asking that immediate contact be established
with the seller.
3) If the seller does not get a response from the winner within 7 days, the seller can
elect to sell the item to the next lowest bidder (if there is one). Non-paying bidders will have
their account suspended.
4) If this is not an option or the seller does not wish to sell to the next lowest bidder,
the seller should send us an email
and we will credit the auction commission fees back to the seller's account. (Auction fees will be reinstated
if the seller is eventually successful in concluding the transaction.)
5) If emails to the winner are returned as undeliverable (thus contact is impossible),
please send us an email
with the auction number and winner's nickname. The winner's account will be suspended until
such time that the member can demonstrate that their email is working properly.
6) The seller can elect to sell the item to the next lowest bidder (if there is one).
7) If this is not an option or the seller does not wish to sell to the next lowest bidder,
the seller should send us an email
and we will credit the auction commission fees back to the seller's account.
Q) What happens if a seller does not receive payment sent in the mail?
A) It is the buyer's responsibility and risk to make sure his payment
reaches the seller. If the buyer sends cash by regular mail and it does not reach the
seller in a reasonable time frame (2-3 weeks regional, 4 weeks overseas), the payment will have to be resent by the buyer at the buyer's loss.
We do not recommend risk sending large amounts of cash by regular mail. Instead, buyers
should sent larger payments by Postal Money Order or via Registered Mail. Even better
is to avoid sending payment by mail. We strongly encourage the use of PayPal (see above).
Q) What happens if the buyer does not receive mailed goods?
Unless the buyer pays for his letter to be sent via Registered Mail,
any losses or delays are entirely at the risk of the
purchaser, not the seller.
As such, we strongly recommend that buyers pay for their high value
purchases to be sent by Registered Mail. It is entirely up to the buyer
to determine what level of risk he wishes to accept when committing
valuable purchases to un-registered mail.
Q) How can a buyer check a seller's reputation?
A) Check out a seller's Feedback reports for information on the seller.
These reports are filed by previous auction users that have dealt with
the seller in question. Click on the bracketed number (-3 to +3) beside
the seller's name to view their Feedback reports, and follow the prompts
if you would like to leave a report of your own. It is recommended that
auction users take the time to complete a Feedback report on sellers. The
numeric rating is a good indication of the user's history with -3 being bad,
+3 being very good, and 0 being neutral rating or no reports.
The auction software retains all transaction information for all past
auctions. Therefore, if a buyer should have a problem with a specific seller
that cannot be fairly resolved, negative feedback can be left on that particular
seller. We ask that buyers be certain of the feedback they wish to leave
as once posted, it cannot be retracted. We reserve the right to
cancel the registration of any auction user that conducts their auction
dealings in an unfair manner.
Q) What is a Dutch Auction?
A) Dutch auctions are designed to handle the situation where a seller has
several identical items to sell. This is ideal when a seller has several
identical original color slides that the seller would like sell all at once
with one auction listing. The seller indicates the quantity available and
the starting price. The bidders then indicate the quantity they would like
and place their bids at the starting price. The price increases by the $1
bid increment once the initial quanitity offered are all bid on and an
additional bidder places a bid. For an example of how this works,
click here.
Q) How come my Dutch Auction only shows a quantity of 1?
A) When listing a Dutch Auction you must also change the Auction Type from English
(Normal) to Dutch on the Sell Page. This is required in addition to entering the
quantity of items you are selling. If you only enter a quantity great than 1, but
forget to change the auction format to Dutch, the auction software will list the
auction as a regular auction and reset the quantity to 1. If this has happened
to you, please send an email to customer_service@slidetrader.com
along with the ten digit item number of your auction so that it can be deleted from the
system. You will then have to relist your Dutch Auction.
Q) I placed a bid of $10, but the auction only shows $6?
A) The auction system uses a default of proxy bidding. By placing a proxy
bid you are specifying the maximum amount you are prepared to pay for
an item. The auction software automatically bids on your behalf at $1
increments until your maximum proxy amount is reached. When another
bidder's bid exceeds your bid, we will advise you with an e-mail
so that you may submit a new bid. For an example of how this works,
click here.
Q) When I bid it says Outbid by Other User. How is this possible?
A) This means the previous bidder placed a proxy bid which is higher
than your bid. The proxy bidding system automatically bids on the other
bidder's behalf at $1 increments until his maximum proxy amount is reached.
The system will only accept your bid when you increase it to an amount
greater than the current high bidder's proxy bid. For an example of how proxy bidding
works, click here.
Q) I won the auction with a $20 bid but next lowest bid was only $12?
A) As an example, some people have asked "I bid $20 and won the auction, but how come
I did not end up paying $13 when the next lowest bid was only $12?" There are
only two explinations as to why this can happen:
1) If the previous bidder placed a proxy bid of $19, the auction will
present this bid as $12 (if $12 was the seller's opening bid amount, or the previous
bid was $11). As soon as a proxy bid of $20 is placed, the auction price
will immediately jump up to $20.
2) If the bidder in the example above placed a regular
bid of $20 instead of a proxy bid of $20, the price will immediately jump up to $20.
For a detailed explination of the difference between regular bidding and
proxy bidding, click here.
Q) How do I prepare an image to be shown with my auction?
A) The auction software allows for images to be easily
included in all auctions. Our system enables you to upload your
images to our servers for free when you post your auction. Please
visit the How to prepare an
image page for complete instructions on scanning and placing images
in your next auction.
Q) How do I upload images from my PC to the web site server with my auction?
A) On the Sell Page, there are is a browse button beside the Image Upload box.
By clicking on this button, you can browse the drives on your PC to find the desired image file and then upload
it from your PC to our server. Our system will automatically produce the thumbnail for your auction from this image.
Once an auction is posted to the system, it is not possible to add or edit the images.
Q) How come the thumbnail/ main image does not appear with my auction?
A) Your auction image was not successfully uploaded to our server from your PC. If you do not see your auction
main image and thumbnail on the Item Preview page, do not proceed with listing the auction!! The images were not uploaded and you
must go back to the Sell page and re-attempt to upload your image. On the Sell Page, there are is a browse button beside the Image Upload box.
By clicking on this button, you can browse the drives on your PC to find the desired image file and then upload
it from your PC to our server. Our system will automatically produce the thumbnail for your auction from this image.
Once an auction is posted to the system, it is not possible to add or edit the images.
Q) How come my thumbnail image does not resize on the auction preview page?
A) All images must be saved as a standard baseline jpg. Our system cannot yet resize
optimized images (for accelerated web page downloading) or images saved in progressive format.
Some images created by Unix or Macintosh machines do not work with our image resizing
software on first attempt due to their image header formatting which is different from Windows-Intel
image formats. Other reasons can account for occassional problems for users of IBM comatible
systems. If your image does not resize on the auction preview page, follow these steps:
a) Do not proceed with listing the auction. (Otherwise we will have delete it as it will corrupt the web site).
b) If your image has been optimized or saved in progressive format, it must be re-scanned as a
baseline standard jpg image.
c) If your image is a standard baseline jpg, click the back button from the Item Preview page
d) Click your Refresh button on your browser, and attempt to relist the auction
e) Usually the thumbnail software will be successful in resizing the image on a second or
third attempt.
f) If the above steps do not work, try re-scanning your image.
g) If you actually posted an auction to the web site with a non-resized thumbnail image,
please advise us by email to customer_service@slidetrader.com
so it can be removed.
Q) How do I re-list expired auctions?
A) It is easy to re-list expired auctions. Simply select the "Relist Auction" link
when you log into My Account. This will bring up a page where you can
easily select expired auctions for re-listing and make any necessary changes
if required.
Q) How can I cancel an auction early?
A) Simply login to My Account and click on the
"Cancel Auction Early" link. You'll need the auction's 9-digit number.
Q) How do I manage My Account, change my email address or postal address?
A) My Account is a password controlled area where each auction
user can view their site activities and update their account profile (such as email address or mailing address).
Expired auctions can be re-listed, other users' feedback can be viewed, changes can be made to existing
auctions, and account status can be viewed. My Account is easily
accessed from the links bar at the top of each page on the website.
Q) Can changes be made to existing auctions?
A) Additional information can be added to the item description in the form of
an additional comment. Changes can also be made to the auction Tile field, and the image can be changed
by logging into My Account and selecting the "Edit Auction Item" link.
Please note that no other information can be changed once an auction is started.
Q) How do I monitor all of my existing auctions?
A) Log into My Account select "View Selling History" then
select the "Pending Items" button. This will bring up a list of all your
auctions that are presently running, and by clicking on any auction you
can see its current status.
Q) How can see all the auctions I have placed bids on?
A) Log into My Account select "View your Bidding History."
This will bring up a list of all auctions you have ever placed a bid on. Completed auctions show
end date and time in red, and active auctions show end date and time in black.
Q) How can I see the final results of my expired auctions?
A) Just follow these steps:
a) Log into My Account
b) Select the "View your selling history" link
c) Select the "Expired Auctions" radio button at the bottom of the page
d) Click the Refresh button
This will bring up a list of all your auctions that have closed, and by
clicking on any auction you can see its closing results.
Q) How can I see the final results of any expired auctions?
A) Enter the auction's unique 9-digit number into the Item ID number
field on the Search page.
This will bring up the completed auction where you can see its closing results.
Q) I did not get my end of auction email results. Now what do I do?
A) There are two main reasons why our system may not be 100% successful in delivering all of
your end of auction emails to you. Sometimes email networks don't work and emails are
returned as undeliverable. Sometimes our ISP email server goes down and emails are not sent.
When this happens, you will not get your end of auction email results. Therefore, as a
seller you will need to contact the winners of your auctions manually:
Step 1) view the results of all your expired auction (following direction in question above).
Step 2) click on the winner's name to open an email with the winner's email address in place
Step 3) send the winner an email and include a link to the completed auction so he can see the results.
Q) How does the FutureWatch Feature work?
A) The FutureWatch feature will send you an email notification when new auctions are
listed that contain key words you select.
For example, if you are looking for slides of Burlington Northern, Canadian Pacific,
BC Rail, and Union Pacific, you would enter the following key words into your
FutureWatch page:
Burlington, Canadian, BC, Union
Each expression must be seperated by a coma.
Do not enter the world "Northern" with Burlington, or "Pacific" with Canadian.
Otherwise you will receive emails for every auction listed that also contains
the word "Northern" and "Pacific" which there are many.
To set your FutureWatch settings...
1) Log into My Account at
http://www.slidetrader.com/personal/index.cfm
2) Click on the FutureWatch Setting link
3) Enter all your keywords into the Keywords field
4) YOU MUST CHECK THE ENABLE BOX!!
5) Click the Update button at the bottom of the page
If you wish to stop receiving FutureWatch emails, simply de-select the check-mark from
the enable box on your FutureWatch page.
Q) How come I cannot get my FutureWatch emails to work?
A) Please be aware that some ISPs block certain forms of server generated email
(such as FutureWatch emails), and email delivery is never a 100% sure thing (due to internet
traffic irregularities and other reasons). As such, there is no gaurantee that the
FutureWatch system will catch and deliver every single auction that is a possible match.
At the very least, this feature will give you advance notice on some auctions that are likely
to be of interest.
Q) My main auction image has been removed. What happend?
A) All main auction images that are over 60 days old are removed from the database. Thumbnails
are deleted after 90 days.
This means if you list an auction for 21 days and select 2 as the number of times to
relist, the main image will be deleted on day 60 even though the relist auction runs
for another 3 days. The thumbnail will remain for 90 days.
This is necessary to conserve server space, otherwise our image hosting fees would be
prohibitively expensive. Unfortuantely we cannot add images once they have been
deleted from the database.
Q) How can I tell al my website partners I will be on holidays?
A) Simly post a notice on the Holiday Notification board by clicking here.
Q) The buyer/seller will not answer my emails. Now what do I do?
A) First check the Holiday Notification board by clicking here.
If the other party is on vacation, send a follow-up email if you do not get a response within a day or two of their
return date.
If the member is not on vacation and more than a week has passed since the auction completion date, send
us an email along with the member's
nickname, the 9-digit auction number, and the auction completion date. We will send a warning email to the non-communicating member.
If the matter is not resolved within 7 days, please send us another email so that we may suspend the non-communicating
member's account.
It is a strict website policy that non-communicating accounts will be temporarily suspended.
Repeat violators risk permanent membership cancellation.
Q) When I bid at the last minute why does the auction go into overtime?
A) This is a design of the auction system called Dynamic Bid Time, which is activated by the seller
when posting the auction on the system. The Dynamic Bid Time default is
set to 2 minutes. This means if bids are placed during the last 2 minutes of auction, the auction
end time is extended another 2 minutes to allow the previous high bidder to place another bid. This
mechanism protects maximum bidders against snipe bids, which are bids placed at the last minute. The
end time is postponed as long as bidding activity takes place within each 2 minute time increment.
The auction will close at the end of the first 2 minute period which passes with no bids being placed.
Q) What is Dynamic Bid time?
A) This is a design of the auction system which protects bidders against sniping, which are bids placed
at the last minute. It is activated by the seller when posting the auction on the system.
The Dynamic Bid Time default is set to 2 minutes. This means if bids are placed during the last 2
minutes of auction, the auction end time is extended another 2 minutes to allow the previous high
bidder to place another bid.
The end time is postponed as long as bidding activity takes place within each 2 minute time increment.
The auction will close at the end of the first 2 minute period which passes with no bids being placed.
Q) How do I sell several identical items using a Dutch BuyNow auction?
A) The BuyNow feature can be used in a Dutch Auction for placing multiple items for
sale. The auction items must be the same (for example several identical slides). BuyNow
bids will reduce the quantity available until there is only one item remaining, at which
point the auction reverts to being a regular format auction. Click here
for additional details.
How to setup a Dutch BuyNow Auction
On the Sell Page..
a) select auction type to Dutch
b) indicate quantity available in the quantity box (must be greater than 1)
c) select your buynow price at the bottom of the page
d) The starting price must be at least 1 cent less than the BuyNow price.
Q) How do I get my Mac to work with this website?
A) A Mac will not work with this website using Internet Explorer. Macs only work
with Netscape or Omniweb browsers.
Q) I lost a member's email. How can I get in contact?
A) Simply click on the nickname of the seller or high-bidder on any auction to send that
person a message. Our system will automatically send that person your message, along with your
email address so they can respond. To protect the privacy of our members, we do not provide
members' email addresses.
Q) How can I change an auction image once the auction is started?
A) Log into My Account and select the "Edit auction items" link to access
the "Edit Active Auctions" page. Highlight the desired auction from the list, click the Edit button to
access the "Edit Item" page. Click the Browse button to the right of the the New Image field, and then
select the replacement image file from your PC. By highlighting the desired image file, the upload path
will appear in the New Image field. Click Save button at the bottom of the Edit Item page.
Q) How can I change the listing category of my auction?
A) Log into My Account and select the "Edit auction items" link to access
the "Edit Active Auctions" page. Highlight the desired auction from the list, click the Edit button to
access the "Edit Item" page. Change "Categories Auctioned In" as required.
Q) How can I change the auction title?
A) Log into My Account and select the "Edit auction items" link to access
the "Edit Active Auctions" page. Highlight the desired auction from the list, click the Edit button to
access the "Edit Item" page. Change the Title field as required.
Q) I am always getting error messages when trying to use the website?
A) In order to use this website, you must use an Internet Explorer browser. DO NOT use Netscape or other
browsers which will result in page view errors. Also, PC browser settings must be enabled to accept cookies with medium or
lower security. Users who experience problems should follow these steps:
1) in browser select Tools / Internet Options / General tab
2) delete all temporary internet files
3) delete all cookies
4) select the Privacy tab within Internet Options
3) reduce privacy to medium (or lower)
4) click Apply/OK tab
5) re-boot computer
Q) I thought the minimum bid increment was $1 but the bid history page shows an amount less than $1?
A) We will use the below bid history example to explain how a $8.85 bid can show as only 85 cents over the previous
$8.00 bid can occur:
Railfreak 9.85 USD
Scooter 8.85 USD
Railfreak 8.00 USD
Scooter 7.00 USD
Railfreak 6.00 USD
Scooter 5.00 USD
Yes, it is true that regular bids must be at least $1 greater than the next highest bid as the minimum bid
increment for regular bids is in fact $1. But competing proxy bids can behave in a slightly different fashion.
Analysing the above bid history results (which is used for example purposes only), we can see that at the very begining Scooter placed a proxy
bid of $8.85 on this auction. But the opening bid set by the seller was $5, therefore the bid history page
shows Scooter's opening bid of $5. If no other bids were placed, Scooter would have won the auction at $5.00.
Then Railfreak placed a bid of $6, and the proxy system bid on Scooter's behalf and
placed a $7 bid for him.
What happened next is that Railfreak placed a proxy bid that only he knows what the amount is.. probably
$15, $20 or even $101 is possible. But the maximum amount of Railfreak's proxy bid is only known by Railfreak.
The website's proxy bidding system then increased Railfreak's bid to an amount equal to $1 over the next highest
proxy bid, which was the original $8.85 proxy bid placed at the very beginning by scooter. Competing proxy bids is
how the bid history page can show an $8.85 bid taking lead over an $8.00 bid.
Q) How can I cancel a bid that I placed??
A) As long as you are the current high bidder, bids (both proxy and regular bids) can be removed
from active auctions by following the steps below. Bids placed on Slide SuperStore listings and auctions
that have closed cannot be cancelled.
1) log into My Account
2) Click on the "View your bidding history" link
3) Limit results to "active auctions" on the bidding results page
4) Click the "Cancel this bid" button beside desired auction(s)
Q) How can I increase my proxy bid without bidding against myself?
A) As long you are the current high bidder, simply cancel your existing proxy bid by following the steps
below, and then you can place a new (higher) proxy bid on the same auction.
1) log into My Account
2) Click on the "View your bidding history" link
3) Limit results to "active auctions" on the bidding results page
4) Click the "Cancel this bid" button beside desired auction(s)
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If you have questions not addressed on this page, please contact customer_service@slidetrader.com
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