SELLER GUIDE

It's easy and fun to sell on Popula, and less expensive than on most any other online venue. It's only 25c to host an auction, no matter what your starting price, and the commissions on sold items are a maximum of 5%. (So what are you waiting for?!) Here are a few tips before taking the plunge, from our experienced and friendly Nerve Center Staff. Please contact us with any questions, suggestions or comments you may have; we live but to serve, and it gets a bit lonely just playing mah-jongg and swilling martinis all day.

Popula's Hints for Successful Auction Selling » Start The Bidding Low

Generally speaking, buyers visit online auctions to get a good deal. If you really want to sell your item, start the bidding as low as you possibly can, just to get the ball rolling. For example, if you start your Chanel bag at $30, even if it's worth fifty times that, you'll be far more likely to start a bidding war.

» If You Like, Put In A Reserve Price

The reserve price should be used with discretion - many bidders don't like to bid on reserve auctions. But if you're starting with a really low price, you can use a reserve price to make absolutely sure that you get the amount you really want for your item.

» Or Bid On It Yourself

You are allowed to bid once on your own auction. True, you'll have to pay the commission if you end up being the high bidder, but this gives you a last-minute chance to change your mind. The contract to buy and sell an item on Popula starts at auction end; both buyer and seller have a chance to back out before that point. But after the auction ends, you have a contract.

» Be Accurate in Your Description

Since they can't see your item, bidders have to rely on your description. Exaggerate its defects or its merits, and you risk either not getting a fair price, or having the item returned by a disappointed bidder. Be as accurate as you can in writing your description. Try to make your description appealing by keeping spelling errors and typos to a minimum. Make the description fun to read, and tempting, if you can.

Give a full description so you don't have to spend the next week answering e-mail inquiries, and remember to tell bidders your estimated shipping charge, if any.

» Use List-o-mat

Our free List-o-mat software is available to Popula members with the credit card payment option. It's used with Microsoft Access 97, and provides you with an admirably easy-to-use system for listing your auctions offline. You'll be able to send up to 100 auctions at a time. You'll have a chance to double-check your work, add URLs for photos, and even save all of your auction information on your hard disk, either on a spreadsheet or in an Access database. So simple, so quick -- and it's free!

Once you've finished preparing your auctions, yoiu can send them up to Popula in just a few clicks. The Popula nerve center will receive your communication and, in a matter of hours, the Popula Improbability Drive will finish sending all of your auctions to their appropriate categories.

Then, you'll receive an email letting you know exactly which items have been uploaded (and exactly which ones were not, owing to typos in the URL or little booboos like that.)

» Ending an auction early

If you make a mistake, such as entering the same item twice, or if for some other reason you have to end your auction early, you can do this by choosing the End Auction option. Please remember that a lot of buyers wait until the last minute to bid, in an effort to obtain that wonderful bargain, so use this option sparingly.

» After The Auction

You've sold your item!! Well done. Now you just have to get in touch with the buyer and conclude your transaction. (Have you ever heard the phrase, "the devil is in the details?") E-mail your buyers promptly at the auction close, and keep in touch until you've concluded your transaction. A sample e-mail from seller to buyer is available here. If in doubt, don't be afraid to send an extra email or two; it's best to be sure about every detail before sending your item out.

Check out our Shipping Guide for more information on shipping.

Some sellers like to give personal checks a chance to clear before shipping. In determining your payment terms, it might also be a good idea to check with your bank to find out about possible holds placed on out-of-state checks or restrictions or charges for international money orders, wire transfers and so on.

When the transaction is completed, you can make a Comment on your buyer. If things have gone smoothly, please rate your buyer accordingly. Perhaps he or she will eventually attain Sainthood. If there has been a problem and you have tried and failed to resolve it, you can turn the buyer into a Rat, warning other sellers to stay away. After three negative comments, a Rat's registration will be revoked.

Please keep your records straight. At some point, you will get a check from someone you have never heard of and a note saying "Please send the thing I bought right away". The name on the check will bear no relation to the e-mail of the buyer, and the price will be the same as ten other things you sold. It will be up to you to figure it out.

Hence, make sure you get the name associated with the e-mail and the lot number, as well as the phone number, of all your buyers. Encourage buyers to use our after-auction printable endnote.

If your offering didn't sell - our condolences, but at least you can Relist it once for free. If you're going to do this, it's probably a good idea to change the offering in some way to make it more enticing - change the headline, description, picture, minimum bid, reserve price, or any combination of the above.

If your offering doesn't sell after your first free Relisting, and you'd still like to have a last shot, try our Orphanage category. You'll be able to list your item for free one last time, but you'll have to start the bidding at $1. Orphanage items stay up for two weeks, or one week after the first bid (whichever comes first.)

» Credits

If your high bidder backs out, gives you a bad check or returns an item to you and you issue a refund, you are eligible to receive credit on your Popula account for the commissions paid for that auction. Please send an email to admin@popula.com stating the auction number, your Popula ID and password and all relevant details of the transaction. It will take us about seven days to review your request and issue your credit. And don’t forget to turn any fake bidders into Rats, so that other sellers will be forewarned!!