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The
Questions:
Didn't
find your question? - Contact Melonbones
Home - Auction - Bible Bits - Playground
The Answers:
Each of the links
below opens a new browser so you
may follow the directions and then close that browser
to return here, to FAQ.
1.) How do I buy or sell?
You have to register to buy or sell.
Register now
Your
password will be emailed to the address
you filled in on the registration form.
For help on setting
a price or comparing prices, visit Melonbones' Pricing Resources
Once you are
registered, you can use your user name
and password to sell an item, or you
can bid on an item from its item description page.
View the categories of items for sale, and then click on
a category name that interests you. A list of items will show
when the next screen loads. Click on an item title to view its
description and picture (if it has one).
Be sure to fill
in your user name and password
on each form that requires it.
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2.) I forgot my password - can you send it to me?
Click on
the link below and enter your user name.
Your password will be sent to the email
address you originally registered with.
Re-email my password to me, please.
2a.) Can I change my password?
You can change your password to
something you can remember.
Change your password now
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3.) How do I sell something
now that I'm registered?
Here's how you put something up for sale. You should start with
a single item to see how to fill in the form. The instructions
below explain each line to fill out in the form. Refer back to
this page if you have trouble with the form.
Post a new item now
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4.)
Instructions
- filling out the form
5.) The Title:
The first line to fill in is the title. Be short, but descriptive
because this is all the visitor will see in the list of items.
Also, don't use all caps - it makes it hard to read. HTML is
only allowed in the description.
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6.) The Category:
The second line is the category - be sure to pick a category
from the drop-down menu that matches your item best. If your
item matches more than one category, and you have duplicate items,
list it in more than one category. Please list no more than three
duplicates in any given category.
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7.) The Picture URL:
(Uniform
Resource Locator)
This is completely optional, but your items will get a better
response if they have a picture with them.
First, you need
to either use a scanner or a digital camera and save your picture
as either a .jpg (joint photographic experts group) or as a .gif
(graphic interchange format).
Ideally, the
resolution of your picture should not be any higher than 72dpi
because that's all a computer monitor can display from a web
page. Any higher resolution is just a waste of file size.
Next, you need
to use an image enhancement software program (I personally prefer
Ulead's PhotoImpact) to crop your picture down to the smallest
area possible, and then change the dimensions of the cropped
image to no wider than 640 pixels (that's the width of most computer
monitors). An ideal size is about 200 to 300 pixels wide. Putting
a larger picture with your listing will slow down the page loading
time so much that you will lose potential bidders who will not
wait for it to load.
Here's the link
to visit Ulead to see PhotoImpact:
Ulead
Here is a free
JPG or GIF cruncher you can try:
SpinWave.com
Melonbones is
currently offering to allow picture uploads FREE of charge for
a limited time. To use this feature, your picture MUST NOT be larger than 30K in size, and it MUST BE in either .jpg
or .gif format, or it will not
upload. Just go back to the "Post A New Item" form
and click on the link "Picture URL". Follow the instructions
on our Image Uploader page.
If your image
file size is too large, try this free online cruncher:
SpinWave.com
If you have multiple
images to upload, I recommend you paste each URL the Uploader
generates into a new document in the windows program called Notepad,
and save the document to your hard drive for future reference.
The Uploader generates a random number as the file name, so you
should type a more descriptive name above each URL before saving
your Notepad document.
If you get your
item listed and then find out the picture doesn't display - go
to the item description page, scroll down as if to place a bid,
and select "Modify Auction". You can now repair the
URL to match where the picture really is stored.
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8.) Days Until Close:
This is the number of days your item will be for sale. The only
option here is between 1 and 14 days.
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9.) Auto-Relist:
Use the Auto-Relist feature to save a lot of time, typing and
potential typos later if your item doesn't sell right away.
Set the opening bid ridiculously low to attract bidding, and
set the reserve price to your actual selling price.
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10.) The Description:
I highly recommend that you make up a "code snippet"
to copy-paste into the item description area.
You say you don't
know how to copy-paste?
No problem! click here
This snippet
should contain all of your
shipping & handling and payment options information.
Feel free to modify and use this sample:
<
* * Put the description of the item for sale here * * >
* * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
Buyer
pays shipping costs of up to $6.00
(determined by distance shipped).
Payments accepted by
check, money order, PayPal, Mastercard or Visa.
Checks must clear the bank before shipment, money orders shipped
upon receipt of money order, PayPal and credit card orders shipped immediately.
* * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
If you
like this item, come and visit our website at: http://www.mysite.com
Or email
us for more information about these wonderful widgets we sell
at:
mailto:myemailaddress@whereever.com
Or give
us a call at: (904) 555-1234
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11.) Your User Name
This has
to be the user name you picked when you registered. It should
have been emailed to you, with your new password, at the address
you supplied.
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12.)Your Password
This has
to be the password you were emailed when you registered. It should
have been emailed to the address you supplied on the registration
form.
Forgot your
password? - No problem! click here
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13.) Starting Bid
This is the
opening bid - it can be anything you want it to be, but I suggest
you start the bidding ridiculously low to get the bidding going
and set the reserve price (see below) to the actual amount you
want for the item.
Please note:
this amount will be the lowest amount allowed for the first bid
on your item. All other bids thereafter will have the increment
added to the last bid as the lowest bid allowed.
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14.) Your Reserve Price
This price
should be the lowest price you will take for your item. If the
bidding never reaches this price, you do not have to sell.
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15.) Bid Increment
This is the
smallest amount of money someone must bid over the last high
bid. $1.00 is the default setting, but should be lowered for
inexpensive items and raised for more expensive items.
The first bid can be your starting price, but then each bid thereafter
must be at least this amount higher.
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16.) Free Advertising
* * * Jump
for Joy ! * * *
You just
found a mountain of free advertising!
For every item
you post for sale on Melonbones, advertise your products or services
in the item description. Put in a link to your main website,
your business phone number, your email address, anything to direct
customers to you!
Sorry, but there
is one minor stipulation. Since I am giving you this advertising
for free, I only ask that you include the TARGET="_blank"
at the end of your A HREF=. If you don't know how to include
that command, click here.
Even if all you
did was clean out your garage and you don't have anyplace to
"direct customers" to, you still found a great place
to sell all that junk you were going to throw away.
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17.) How do I use the Bulk Lister?
What are those arrows for?
First of all,
you may have noticed there are two sets of control buttons -
one set above and one set below the form - these controls are
duplicates - the ones on the top do the same thing as the ones
on the bottom.
Going from left to right:
Reset: This clears all info
only on the current item.
Reset all: This is the super-delete
button - be careful - it clears all the information on all the
items entered so far.
|<<: This double left arrow
button takes you back to the first item entered - # 1
<: The single left arrow
button - you guessed it - takes you back to the previous item,
unless you are at item # 1.
:
This little box with a number in it tells you which item
number you are currently viewing. It changes when you click an
arrow button.
>: The single right arrow
takes you forward to the next item when you are ready to add
another item to the list. Do not use the Enter or Tab keys
>>|: The double right arrows
button takes you to the last item number in your list, unless
you have already scrolled forward using the single right arrow
button to a blank page - then it takes you to the highest page
number you scrolled to.
Preview One Item: This button previews
only the current item page. I would not use this - When you use
the "Preview All Items" button, you get a preview of
all the items in a list before the final button.
Preview All Items: This button will pop
up a preview of all the items you have entered in the bulk lister.
If you made mistakes entering information, you can un-check that
item and list the rest. All items listed will be set to Auto-Relist.
Important
If your computer
is disconnected from the web while you are typing items into
the bulk lister, DO NOT close the browser. You can finish adding
items offline, but do not try to list them until you are reconnected
to the web.
Open the Bulk Lister
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18.) How do I bid on something
now that I'm registered?
From the
page where you view an item's description and price, just scroll
down below the description and fill in your username and password.
The lowest allowable bid amount will already be filled in, but
you can bid higher if you want to. Be sure and click on the "go
back to the item" link that comes up to confirm your bid.
Check to see if the Reserve Price has been met.
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19.) All right, I'll bite
- what's a "Reserve Price"?
The reserve
price is the lowest price a seller has to sell an item for. If
the bidding does not get to this price, the seller is not obligated
to sell the item for less than their reserve price, but may if
they want to.
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20.) What is "Charter
Membership"?
For an explanation
and the benefits of
Charter Membership, please click
here.
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21.) How do I delete an item,
or change my item description or price?
If an item has no bids on
it, the Seller may change anything about it, including the price,
or delete it. Just go to the item
description and scroll down to fill out the form to place a bid.
Click on the radio button there labeled "Modify Auction"
then click on the button labeled
"Place This Bid or Modify Auction."
If the item has been bid on,
the Seller may add a comment to the item description or repair
the URL to the picture.
If the item has been bid on,
but the Reserve Price has not
been met, the Seller may delete the item.
Buyers cannot change auctions.
To delete all
your current auctions at once, click below. You will then be
given the option of also deleting your username.
Delete all my auctions
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If you
require further assistance,
Contact Melonbones
Home -
Auction - Bible Bits - Playground
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