User Registration

Registering to use PHP Pro Bid v6.10 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. When registering you will be asked to complete a short form which includes standard information such as your contact details, preferred login credentials etc:

Mandatory fields include:-

· Name

· City

· State/Province/county

· Zip/Post Code

· Phone Number

· Birthday (MM/DD/YYYY)

· Username & Password

· E-Mail address

· Confirmation of terms an conditions acceptance

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:

Should you encounter any registration difficulties please contact us.

Members' Area

After logging in, you will be taken to the Members' Area. This gives you access to all of the main functionality of the auction system and to a list of item categories, showing you how many items are for sale in each one:

The main areas of functionality in the members' area are:

• Messaging - send and receive private messages about auction items

• Bidding - this section gives you an overview of your current auction activity:

• Current Bids
• Won Items
• Invoices Received
• Watched Items
• Favorite Stores

• Selling - Manage your selling activities

• Reputation - view the feedback you have given and received for each item you have bought and sold

• Bulk - access PHP Pro Bid's bulk listing software. This enables you to prepare multiple listings offline before uploading them all at once

• About Me - create your own "About Me" page, to enable other members to find out a little more about you and your interests

• My Store - setup and configure your own "stores" - a private shop where only your items are listed

• Wanted Ads - view your current and closed Wanted Ads and create new Wanted Ads

• My Account - view and modify your account details and carry out other administrative tasks

Messaging

The messaging section of the Members' Area allows you to read, delete and reply to all the messages you have sent and received:

Click on Received or Sent to see a list of your messages. To read a message, simply click on the "To" or "From" user id and the message will load for you:

To delete a message, click on the Delete link to the side of the message you want to delete:

Sending Messages

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:

Bidding

Placing a bid on an item you are interested in couldn’t be easier, when viewing the item details page you will have two areas from where you can place your bid, one next to the item details and a second at the bottom of the page.

To place your bid simply enter the amount you wish to bid e.g. 50.00. Please note no currency symbols are required. The bid will be placed in the auction currency.

Once done you will be asked to review your bid and you will also be able to view vital item details such as the shipping conditions before confirming your bid. To submit your bid simply press the “Place Bid” button.

If your bid is high enough to take the lead in the auction a confirmation message will be displayed to you, however if your bid has not taken the lead be it due to a higher proxy bid or not meeting the reserve price you will be invited to make a further bid.

Should you decide to retract your bid this can be done via the “Current Bids” section of the member’s area.

You can also place a proxy bid, proxy bidding allows you to place your “High Bid”. At all times you will only pay the lowest required bid should you win the auction. For example, if the current bid on an auction is 500.00 you can place a proxy bid of 2,000. Should you remain the only bidder you will only pay 500.00. However should the item receive other bids the site will automatically re-bid for you (upto 2,000 in this scenario) to ensure you remain in the lead.

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 Favorite Stores list.

Managing & Placing Bids

At the heart of your auction experience is bidding on items you'd like to buy. PHP Pro Bid allows you to purchase items in several ways:

• Standard
• BiddingProxy
• Bidding
• Make an Offer
• Buy Out

You can see detailed examples for each type of bidding option below.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.

Making An Offer

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 logo like this 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 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.

Swap Offers

Instead of monetary offers, some sellers will accept Swap Offers - offers of an item of appropriate value in exchange for the item being sold. The swap offer 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 like this in the item listing:

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.

Buy Out (Buy Now)

If the option is available you can use “Buy Out” to purchase the item immediately without having to place a bid. Some sellers offer such an option which can be used at any time until a bid has been placed over any applicable reserve price.

The “Buy Out” option will appear on the item details page, you will be asked to confirm your intention to buy out the item before the sale is concluded. Buy out’s cannot be retracted.

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 this 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:

Won Items

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 - for example:

Invoices Receive

The Bidding section of the Members' Area also allows buyers to see all of their current invoices:

Watched Items
The auction watch features notifies you of newly listed auctions which contain keywords you have chosen. For example if you are looking for a new Digital Camera you could enter in those keywords from within your members area area. Each time a new auction is listed containing those keywords you will be notified via email.

The item watch features lets you keep a close eye on any auction without having to place a bid on it. This feature means you can be kept up to date on how an auction is doing and prepares you to place a winning last minute bid. You can watch any auction by clicking on the “Watch this item” link on any auction page.

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 - like this:

To add an item to your Watched Items list, simply click on this link:

2. To view your Watched Items list, go to the Watched Items section of the Members' Area:

Favorite Stores

PHP Pro Bid allows users to operate their own stores within the auction site. Selecting a store as a favorite 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 Favorites link. Click this to add this store to your Favorite Stores:

To see a list of all of your favorite stores, go to Members' Area / Bidding / Favorite Stores:

Selling

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 finalized, 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:

6. The next stage is to configure the settings for your item:

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 for the listing:

Managing Your Selling Items

You can manage all of your selling items from the Selling section of the Members' Area:

Open

The open view shows all of the items you currently have listed in active auctions:

The Selling Totals section provides a simple summary of the number of items at each selling status, and the Open Auctions table below lists each item currently being sold.

You can sort the items Open Auctions table by clicking on the arrowheads by each column heading.

Items With Bids/Offers

The Items With Bids/Offers view shows all the items you are currently selling that have bids of offers on them:

The Selling Totals table provides an at-a-glance view of all your selling activity.

Scheduled

The Scheduled view shows all the auction listings you currently have scheduled to start:

The Selling Totals table provides an at-a-glance view of all your selling activity.

Closed

The Closed view shows all of your closed auction listings:

The Selling Totals table provides an at-a-glance view of all your selling activity.

Drafts

The Drafts view shows all of your saved draft auction listings:

The Selling Totals table provides an at-a-glance view of all your selling activity.

Sold

The Sold view shows all of your sold auction items:

The Selling Totals table provides an at-a-glance view of all your selling activity.

Invoices Sent

The Invoices Sent view shows all of your current sent invoices:

The Selling Totals table provides an at-a-glance view of all your selling activity.

Fees Calculator

The Fees Calculator allows you to calculate the listing fees for an item before you create the listing:

Simply select the fees that will apply to your listing and click Proceed. Note that this calculator excludes the selling price fee as this is variable and depends on the selling price.

Prefilled Fields

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.

Blocked Users

If you wish to block certain users from bidding on any of your items, you can add their usernames to this page:

Click on the Add User link to block a user. You can also specify the reason you have blocked them, and blocked users can be deleted (unblocked).

Reputation

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 - Your reputation is reduced by 1
• - Poor - Your reputation is reduced by 1
• - Neutral - no change to your reputation
• - Good - Your reputation is increased by 1
• - Excellent - 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 Users

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.

To leave a comment, click on the Proceed link at the right of the screen:

3. 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:

4. 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:

Bulk

This section allows you to download PHP Pro Bid's bulk listing software, PaxBulk. You should refer to the help documentation that comes with this application for more details on how to use this tool.

About Me

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:

My Store

The PHP Pro Bid auction 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.

By default, a user's store subscription is disabled - as most users will not have any use for a store.

• Enabling stores is simple and instant and provides users with a choice of five levels of store:
• Free Store - up to 3 items
• Basic Store - up to 10 items, $4.95 per 30 days
• Medium Store - up to 50 items, $9.95 per 30 days
• Advanced Store - up to 100 items, $19.95 per 30 days
• Expert Store - up to 500 items, $39.95 per 30 days

Apart from the number of items that can be stocked, there are no other differences between the store types.

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 (all are optional):

Store Pages

The Store Pages section allows you to provide additional information about your store, including details of your special offers and shipping information.

All of these sections can be updated at any point and changes made will immediately be applied to your store.

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:

Wanted Ads

PHP Pro Bid v6.0 allows you to place Wanted Ads for items you are looking for.

You can create these by going to the Wanted Ads section of your Members' Area:

Viewing Your Wanted Ads

1. To see a list of your open or closed ads, click on the appropriate links:

Creating A New Wanted Ad

1. To create a new Wanted Ad, choose Add New:

2. In the Main Category section, click on Modify to open the category selection dialogue box:

Click on the category you would like to use for your Wanted Ad:

3. Enter a title and description for the advert, and then choose how long you would like it to run for from the Duration drop-down menu. You can also upload any Images you wish to include in the Wanted Ad:

4. Check your location details are correct and click Proceed to post your wanted ad:

You will the be shown confirmation that it has been accepted and billed to your account:

My Account

In the My Account section of your Members' Area, you can manage all aspects of your account:

• Personal Information
• Manage Account (Payment Methods)
• Account History
• Mail Preferences
• Abuse Report

Personal Information
The Personal Information section allows you to view and edit your personal details. The information on this page is exactly the same as the information you provided when you registered as a user:

Once you have made any changes necessary, just click on the Update button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

Manage Account
The Manage Account page allows you select which payment methods you want to use and enter all the relevant information.

You can choose from:

• PayPal
• WorldPay
• 2Checkout
• Nochex
• Authorize.net

Once you have made any changes necessary, click on the Update button at the bottom of the page to save your updated information.

Account History
The Account History page allows you to view reports showing you activity over a defined period.
Use the drop down menus to specify the date range you want to include in the report, and then click Proceed to run the report:

Mail Preferences
The Mail Preferences page allows you to choose which events you wish to receive email notifications for.

Once you have updated your selection, just click the Proceed button to save your choices.

Abuse Report
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: