FaunaAuction.com??

You are only charged the listing fee on Ebay if the item doesn't sell, and you are allowed to relist it free if I am not mistaken.
Depending on the features you add though listing fees can range from a dollar or so up to $100 or more.

It would be easier to implement a warning system for non paying bidders. I would make it fairly stiff though, with a maximum of third offense resulting in removal of bidding abilities.
Charging them the listing fee though would be more of a deterrant, but may be objectionable to some.
Either way, once it is realized that non paying bidders will not be tolerated, I think the practice would be minimal.

I have to say yes, and if I was going to offer something in auction format I would be more than willing to pay, otherwise I would just list it in the classifieds.

Darin Gray

Steven,

Yes, you are right the bid is a contractual agreement. But here the main complain of people on Herpauction before and Reptibid now. They are tired of bidders backing off. Herpauction for example charged you once the item was sold, the buyer backed out then you paid.

Seamus,

If they bid on an animal that was supposed to be het for a trait and then find out after the auction it hasn't got papers, there's no way they should have to pay a fee of any sort... the situations that might surround someone backing out are nearly endless, all imposing a fee on the potential buyer would do is make people hesitant to bid.

I hear you. Bur in reality it would be nice to have bidders that will follow through with the deal. When you buy an item in a store you pay a sales tax, even if you choose to return the item afterwards. You would have to register with a valid credit card (e.g. as in the case of Herpauction), that means that off the bat you are leaving a lot of "kids" out of the loop. I'm not talking about a huge amount, maybe 3% of the price?

But if auctions were added to this site, the BOI is just a few forums away, if someone starts yanking around sellers and never completing auction transactions, there's substance for a bad guy post.

Just imagine guys like Taron or Jesse starting to bid on an item! Even having the recourse of the BOI can kill the auction in the medium term.

Regards.

Seamus,

If they bid on an animal that was supposed to be het for a trait and then find out after the auction it hasn't got papers, there's no way they should have to pay a fee of any sort... the situations that might surround someone backing out are nearly endless, all imposing a fee on the potential buyer would do is make people hesitant to bid.

That's part of the point. Make ppl hesitant to bid on something until they've asked every question they want to know. Make sure it's what you want before you bid. I for 1 know that I would definately not pay to browse and auction site whether I bid on something or not. I do agree that there are some reasons to back out of an auction but I know that I would have made sure everything was in order before bidding or tried to at least. Still only my 2 cents worth. -Chris

That's part of the point. Make ppl hesitant to bid on something until they've asked every question they want to know. Make sure it's what you want before you bid

Auctions close... people don't always answer their emails in time... wording in ads can be inaccurate and misleading even if not directly and blatantly misrepresentive.

There's a few threads right now that are active on the BOI where paperwork was lost (Or possibly never existed to start), animal histories have become questionable after transactions are initiated and a few examples of misleading advertisements where it's just a matter of personal opinion...

While it's certainly not right to close out an auction and waste a seller's time, things will crop up from time to time and sticking someone who may or may not deserve it with a charge isn't an ideal way to fix it.

I liked the implimentation of warning systems that was suggested... three auctions left unsettled without some substantial causes and the person is no longer welcome to bid.

I do agree that there are some reasons to back out of an auction

Then you also reccognize the negative response that would be elicited from a charge when the backing out was done specifically to protect the buyer. When that animal labeled as "Perfect" turns out to have scars all over it after a bid has already been placed... when the "100% Het for legs, very rare" snake suddenly doesn't have paperwork...

You feel the person who looks at the money they had intended to spend had the animal been properly represented and then decides to take their business elsewhere deserves to be punished financially?

These are all hypotheticals of course, by being attached to the BOI and requiring age verification, those misleading ads and misrepresented animals won't crop up quite as often, but there are lines that I don't think Rich is willing to cross when it comes to telling people their business isn't wanted for subjective reasons or in anticipation of a problem without a concrete history of wrongdoing. Just as an example... it's morally justified to not allow Underhill to post ads or auctions, because he has a long term track record of being a liar and thief. It's questionable when it comes to smaller misrepresentations though and questionable reputations that just don't go quite that far. Take upstate exotics as an example, they've had a few dealings where animals were misrepresented and buyers misled... but they haven't, to the best of my knowledge, actually refused a refund yet. Been a pain in the ass for anyone to get one out of them, but they haven't dissapeared and changed their names or mailed anybody phone books as far as I know.

Moral gray area on allowing some people to post... just how many iffy reports does it take to add up to not allowing an individual to post ads? If they are allowed to post because it's not quite substantial enough to ban someone... is it fair to penalize a potential buyer for their innocent ignorance of a seller's reputation?

Auctions close... people don't always answer their emails in time... wording in ads can be inaccurate and misleading even if not directly and blatantly misrepresentive.

Good reason to ask questions early. Not wait till the last minute. As far as misrepresentation is concerned hopefully that's where the feedback would come in real handy. I know that whenever I buy something from an online auction I check the feedback of the seller and it either makes me comfortable buying from them or stops me from doing so.

When that animal labeled as "Perfect" turns out to have scars all over it after a bid has already been placed... when the "100% Het for legs, very rare" snake suddenly doesn't have paperwork...

Yeah that makes it tough. I don't feel that an honest buyer should be penalized due to misrepresentation on the sellers part. Who is going to take the time to listen to both sides and make a decision though?
As far as the seller having to pay even if their animal doesn't sell I think that's fair. Relisting for free would be kool if the item doesn't sell. It's no different than if you take an ad out in the paper. You still pay even if you don't sell. Look at it this way....... You're still getting some good advertisement so that makes it a bit better. Still my 2 cents worth. Maybe 3 by now. -Chris

I think an reptile auction through fauna is a really good idea. I dont think you will be able to charge people for backing out of a deal though. Your going to have good buyers, and bad buyers. As well as good sellers, and bad sellers. But what Fauna does have to offer that the other websites dont is the BOI. If your question a buyer or a seller post the question about that person on the BOI.
On ebay... Just because someone bids on an item doesnt mean the buyer has to sell the item to them.. If the person has negative feedbacks the buyer can actually erase that persons bid.

I think something similar here would be a great idea. Plus we could weed out more of the dead beat buyers, and sellers.

Just my opinion

So far, 212 people have viewed this thread.

20 voted YES,
2 voted NO.

And I guess the other 190 don't care either way. Doesn't bode very well concerning my efforts to implement this being worth the effort, now does it?

Perhaps it may be best for me to set up a plain vanilla auction seperate from FaunaClassifieds and see how that goes. That way I can take a look at the trial balloon and either make it fly higher, or just shoot it down.

Now when you say 212 ppl have viewed this thread is that 212 views or 212 individual ppl? I know that I come in here every time there is a reply so does it count me the 8 or 10 times I've been in here? If everyone does the same it's easy to see how there is such a difference between views and votes. Just a thought. -Chris

Yeah, you're right. Views are not unique visitors to the thread. There really is no way to log unique visitors.

Maybe I need to put a link in the BOI for people to come on over here and take a look at this. I don't want to put in the effort if people aren't going to use it.

Thanks for setting me straight....