The Auction House: The House That Never Sleeps

Hello. Welcome to the Report Corner. I will be your host on this lovely evening (or whatever time it may be). Now, you may be wondering why I am here. Well, why are you here? Why are you reading this? Why am I asking you such things? I should be reporting this story! Don’t question me and my logic!

Ahem, back to the task at hand. Today’s story is about... the Auction House. Ah, the Auction House. Where to begin? Don’t answer that...

The Basics of the Auction House

So, there may be some out there asking "Well, what’s the Auction House?" I’m glad you didn’t ask and I still get to answer. The Auction House is located in Neopia Central and is labeled, you guessed it, Auction House. Here, you can put items up for auction or bid on items auctioned off by other Neopians.

To put items up for auction, simply go to your inventory and click on the item you wish to auction off. In the drop down list, you should find an option that says "Put up for Auction!" After clicking that, you can put the starting price, minimum increment, and how long you want the auction to last. There’s also an option (that is optional) that allows only Neofriends to bet on an item. Click that little button, and you’re good to go! Now, you have put the item up for auction! Once your auction is over, you will get a letter from TNT saying if your auction was successful... Or not. If your auction is a success, you will receive your Neopoints and the highest bidder will get the item.

Remember, though, you need to have your starting price be reasonable!

*On a side note, you can’t get Neocash from an auction. Sad, I know... *

A Reasonable Price?

For some of the newer Neopians, this may sound like a dream come true. But, you need to start your auction at a reasonable price. Why? If you start your auction at a price much higher than the item costs, it is less likely that people will bid. For example, let’s say you put a Christmas Paint Brush up for auction. A CPB (let’s refer to the brush as CPB) normally starts at 13,000 to 25,000 Neopoints. So, it doesn’t sound too smart to have the starting price be something like 400,000, now does it? I didn’t think so. People will not bet this high for something they could get for a much cheaper price, as I hope you know by now. The best way to get an accurate starting price is to look the item up using the Auction Genie.

Who is that? Well, I’ll tell you...

The Auction Genie: Your Best (Auction) Friend

The Auction Genie works just like the Shop Wizard. All you have to do is ask him what item you wish to find. You can also ignore Neofriend only auctions, which I recommend. You could also search for a username, but I still find it easier to search for an item rather than a name. Where is the Auction Genie? Well, under the Blue Scorchio, you should find a list of links. These links are: All Auctions, My Auctioned Items, My Bids, Auction Genie, Help and Status.

Once you are at the Genie’s page you should see this phrase...

Alakazam!!! It's the Auction Genie

If you see this, you are at the right page. Here, you will be greeted by a Yellow Wocky, who vows to search for any Neopian item that you desire. Of course, this doesn’t mean that item will be in the auctions. If the item you are looking for is not in the auctions at that time, just try again later.

Now it’s on to the fun and hard part. Bidding! Dun, dun, dun!

Bidding: Your Dream and Your Nightmare

Now, it’s on to the staple of the Auction House. First off, how do you bid? It’s quite easy. Just click on the name of the item you want. After, you come to a page showing the picture of the item, the name, the description, and the amount of bidding time you have left.

On this page, you should also see a box. In this box is a set amount of Neopoints. The set amount is the minimum amount of Neopoints you can bid on an item. You can make this price higher if you want. Why higher? As I said before, the higher the price the less likely people will bet. This works when you bid as well, but it works to your advantage. Beware, though. There are many out there who could easily outbid you. So, it’s best to keep an eye on your bid. If someone else bids higher than you, go higher than them! But, don’t forget about the amount of Neopoints you have. I’ve been sidetracked before and ended up wasting all my Neopoints in the auctions. It’s that competitive!

Now, it’s time for... time!

It’s all In the Timing!

Yes, another thing to watch out for is the amount of time left on an auction. On the front pages, each auction only has a few minutes left.

"The front pages?"

Yes, the front pages. These pages go like this: [Auctions 1 – 20] , [21 – 40], [41 – 60], [61 – 80] and [81+]. You can find these links right above the list of auctioned items. But, back to the timing subject. Timing is very important. The most time an item could have left would be 48 hours or two days. I don’t normally recommend betting this early on an auction. Do you really want to check back every hour or so, just to see if anyone else has bid? For two days? *If you don’t, I would say to place your bid when there are about twelve hours left. If you do this, you should check back in about six hours. Come back again once there is one hour left on the auction. Be careful of the front pages, though. That’s your final obstacle. Here, most people raise the amount of Neopoints they bid. You could easily fall behind and lose the auction.

*This is just what I would do. You can bet at any time you like.*

Now, for the finale! Ladies and gentlemen, I present the rarity of items!

How rare is that?!

Rarity plays a big role in the amount of Neopoints you must spend. Any junk items can’t be put up for auction because they aren’t rare enough. But some items go for millions because of their rarity. These include many paint brushes, Hidden Tower items, morphing/transmogrification potions and finally, Draik eggs and Krawk petpets. Prepare to pay over ten million Neopoints for a Draik or Krawk!

Also, the more rare and expensive an item is, the less likely people will bet on it (déjà vu). Use this to your advantage. If you are willing to pay that much, that is!

Wrapping up

So, in short, the Auction House is a fun little place to buy what you may want or need. You could also make some Neopoints of your own! It can get hectic and competitive, but you have help! The Auction Genie is on your side and is willing to help you out. I’m here if you need help, too. Feel free to neomail me any more questions you may have.

So, go on now! Try your luck and place your bets! Who knows? You might just get to your goal.