The Addictive Auction House

If you have never been to the auction house, then you're missing out on some great items. If you’re a newbie and do not know where this auction house is, it is located right in Neopia Central, the first building on the top of the page to the left of the bank.

Now, there are a couple of ways to enjoy the auction house; you can bid on people's items, or auction a few of your own items. Now, when you auction, do not always expect someone to bid on your item. Some people just might not want it, or it might be overpriced.

Keep in mind you cannot auction off that old rotten right shoe; all items you want to auction off have to sell for about 200 neopoints or more. Go to your inventory and pick the option "put up for auction". Then you can set a price, pick the minimum increment, and pick how long you want the auction to be, and you can do special neofriend auctions.

I love to go to the auctions to find good deals, but do not be surprised if you do not win the auction, because chances are someone else knows the price is a steal, too. Some of the cheap items are petpets, wearables, toys, and furniture.

I personally like to fill up my winning bids in my store. If you get the item cheap, you can make an incredible profit. If you are looking for something specific, you can go to the auction genie and type what it is you are looking for. Also, if you have a neofriend who is having an auction, you can type in their username and get a list of all their auctions if they have any available.

Now, if you are past the first 20 items and have fast fingers, you can go to the shop wizard and type in the item you are about to bid on to see if it is overpriced or a steal! The auctions are good for collectors and it is excellent for restocking. It can take a little longer than if you were to buy something in a shop, but most of these items are never in the shop because people grab them too fast. If you ever get the restocking ban, the auctions are still available to you, so you can still get great items.

Now, trust me; when you're bidding, the price can go up quick if it is a popular item and you might need to stop, because the bid could be over the price you can get it for on the shop wizard. Also, someone might really want the item and you could get in a bidding war. You'd better be quick with that mouse, because you could be doing war until the auction is closed and you could be the winner (yay) or the loser (boo)!

You might also want to try the auction house at different times. It could be crowded during the day and hard to even bid on an item, and then it might be less crowded at night; it all depends. You can bid the set price when you are bidding on an item or you can set a higher price to make sure you win!

Now, one of the most important things about bidding on an item is timing. The best thing would be if you bid seconds before the auction ends, but the item might go by too quick to bid and someone else is walking away with that adorable snicklebeast plushie. Now, if you are superhuman with that mouse, you might be able to place a bid on the third item in line, but I would say item number six is a little safer.

What I do after I place a bid is I do one item at a time to make sure I tried my best at getting that scratchcard! After I bid, I click on "my bids" and click on my item and go back and forth until it is closed. I have bid on another item before and when I went to my bids, the first auction I was doing was sadly closed with someone else as last bidder. I would not suggest sending a nasty neomail to the winning bidder about how much you wanted that bottled air faerie, and how mean they are. You just move on to another auction.

When I was a newbie, I tried and tried to win an auction just once; I wanted to be able to say (Ha in your face) and start doing an incredibly embarrassing victory dance and hope no one walked in on me doing it. It actually took me a really long time to finally win an auction, and I had a huge grin on my face when I saw I was the last bidder! I still get like that every time I win an auction!

I also like to use the auctions to restock my shop so that I have some variety, and hopefully a few rare items in there to make me a million neopoints. I mean, who wants only toy trains and black lipstick in their shop? You should always have a variety of items and price ranges to make your shop a success!

Another good thing about the auction house is unlike the grooming parlor, the auction house will never be empty. It will always be full of rare treasures, or maybe just something you have always wanted but could never afford. Trust me, the auction house is addicting, because every time you win an auction, you get a feeling of accomplishment and that is what keeps me coming back every time!