Auction / Listing question...

[MoreBloodWine]

Test Listing  bets $11.11 1 08/05/2008
02:08 pm Unlimited 0 31

Thats from the demo site but somethin ust hit me, if somethings taking bids but has an unlimited ending date how does it get sold ? Also, dumb question but aside from a buy it now button or something mentioning a RSV how do you tell the difference between a listing and an auction ?

[SMFHacks]

If it is an auction when ever the the auction owner chooses to accept a bid or if it has a buy it now price when a user uses that option.

For listings it is when the user orders the item.


The difference between an auction and a listing is stored in the database if it is an auction or not. Mainly if it can have more than one bid that it is an auction.

[MoreBloodWine]

Ok, but also if something has an unlimited ending time how does it end. Like say your selling something and the current bid is $20 I bid $25 well that makes the current bid $25 but since it has an unlimited ending time I or other bidders dont know when it will end so how does it end ? Or does it just end whenever the seller decides ok thats enough money, I'll just end it here.

I get that if it has a buy it now and someone uses it the auctions over, but you said whenever the auction owner chooses to accept a bid. Is that kinda what I was saying, like if the bids at a decent level the owner ends it and sells to high bidder ?

Also, about the buy it now option, if it doesnt get used right away does it dissapear after the first bid is placed like eBay or does it stay there until auctions end or gets used ?

[MoreBloodWine]

In addition to the above I wanted to ask somethin that just hit me. Of someone wins an auction using buy it now or becoms the winner after an auctions ended. How do they pay for the item, I was playing with the test site to check something out. Well, I bought the below item and on the closed listing page theres no pay button and no PM saying anything along the lines of liek congrats you won click here to pay now. Is there even any sort of function in classifieds that sends the winner a PM with a pay now option or maybe a way to display a Pay Now button on the closed listing page if the person viewing the closed listing is the winner or maybe even both a PM and a pay now button on the closed lisitng page that is displayed if your the winner.

http://www.smfhacks.com/storedemo/index.php?action=classifieds;sa=view;id=48

[SMFHacks]

Unlimited feature is meant mainly for normal listings and would not normally be used for most auctions.

For Auctions if and it is a buy it now if the seller has a paypal they are redirected to a payment page otherwise they are taken to a page to contact the seller.

Otherwise for auctions once they end the seller has to accept the bid then   buyer is sent a pm on bid accepted.

[MoreBloodWine]

Unlimited feature is meant mainly for normal listings and would not normally be used for most auctions.

For Auctions if and it is a buy it now if the seller has a paypal they are redirected to a payment page otherwise they are taken to a page to contact the seller.

Otherwise for auctions once they end the seller has to accept the bid then   buyer is sent a pm on bid accepted.

Ok, that makes sense... so PMs only come into play when a auction runs out of time and the seller accepts the bid BUT what abouy Buy It Now items. I mean I know that when you use buy it now your taken to a page with a Pay Now button, but lets say that person cant pay just that minute but can the next day. Then what do they do since theres no Pay Now PM or a Pay Now button on the ended listing.

[SMFHacks]

Never thought about that case. Right now what happens the listing owner gets a PM that buy it now has been made.
The user is taken to a page to pay for the item. If the seller has paypal they have a paypal payment button if not they are told to contact the seller.

I could do a link/pm to that page for that item.

[MoreBloodWine]

Never thought about that case. Right now what happens the listing owner gets a PM that buy it now has been made.
The user is taken to a page to pay for the item. If the seller has paypal they have a paypal payment button if not they are told to contact the seller.

I could do a link/pm to that page for that item.

Well, like you said you never thought about that case but it can and does happen. So like if I use buy it now on something your selling but couldnt pay for it that very minute but could the next day then thats where a Pay Now PM could come into play and be helpful, that or a Pay Now button that shows on the closed listing page but only to the buyer.

[MoreBloodWine]

Whats current version of classifieds ?

[SMFHacks]

Current release is 1.2.9

[MoreBloodWine]

Cool, and sorry if I already asked this but do you plan on adding a My Bids options like how you have My Listings, so like if people wana view a list of auctions theyre currently bidding on all theyd have to do is click the My Bids button and be taken to the list of auction in which they have atleast one bid.

[SMFHacks]

Nice idea add it to the feature requests area and I can add it.

[MoreBloodWine]

Nice idea add it to the feature requests area and I can add it.

Done ;-)

Also, please forgive the rather noobish question but I cant seem to figure out how to set up the recycle thing so closed listings / auctions arent shown in the categories which can take up quite a bit of space if you have alot of closed listings / auctions. So ya how do you do that exactly ?

Also, Ty for your time...

[SMFHacks]

Hmm, that was a setting for expired listings/auctions. If you wanted to recycle them when they expire called "Delete listings if they expire'" moves them to the recycle bin but does not delete them.

[MoreBloodWine]

Hmm, that was a setting for expired listings/auctions. If you wanted to recycle them when they expire called "Delete listings if they expire'" moves them to the recycle bin but does not delete them.

Well I guess thats what I was talkin about lol... something you mentioned a while back to me. Not so much as deleting them when they expire but put them somewhere when expired so they don't take up space in categories, because if someone has a lot of "dead" listings / auctions it can take up quite a considerable amount of space in categories which can make searching categories quite tedious. I saw the delete listings if they expire in the main settings for classifieds but I wasn't quite sure what that did.

Another thing I still like that I guess I could add as a feature request to the mod tracker is what you said you didn't think of but liked.

Like if I were to win an auction but couldn't pay for an item that very second theres currently no way to get back to a Pay Now page / button. Well I was thinking that you could add a Pay Now button to closed listings that only displays to the high bidder so they could at a later point in time revisit the auction page and click the pay now button. But with hiding the listings / auctions after they expire that could prove to be weird.

I suppose the easiest thing to do would be to just send a PM to the winners of listings / auctions saying something like congrats you won please click the button blow to pay for your item. This also assumes the seller entered their paypal addy on the items listing page.

No matter what gets done I do feel something should maybe be looked at to handle the payment of closed listings for those that win them via buy it now or some other means but cant pay right then n there... especially if the "recycle" bin is used.

Sorry for my rambling lol