The Neopian Auction House

Welcome to the Neopian Auction House Guide! Here, cool tips will come your way, to make sure you get what you came for.

Personal opinions might also be of some assistance, so make sure you read those, too.

1. Come Prepared

Make sure you come prepared with a good amount of Neopoints, and a good idea of what might interest you. Don't worry if your eye catches another item; it's natural!

2. Pack Rat Avatar

The Neopian Auction House is a great place for our fellow Avatar Adventurers to get some items for the Pack Rat Avatar. Here, you'll find some awesome deals, so make sure you keep that in mind!

3. Don't Fret

Didn't exactly get what you came for? Don't worry, there will be plenty of other auctions that you might be interested in. Don't forget! Many auctions come in by the minute! You're bound to find your prized item in there somewhere.

4. The Auction Genie

The wonderful people of TNT have provided us with the marvelous Auction Genie! He is the Wocky that looks, well, like a genie. Just type in the item that you want and he will gladly show you who has the item! You could even bid on it if you like.

5. Watch Your Bids

In a hurry? Really want that item? Make sure you don't mistype your bidding amount. We don't want a bid on a Blue Ixi Plushie of 50 Neopoints to turn into 5000 Neopoints!

6. Keep Your Friends Close, Keep Your Items Closer

Keep track of your items! If the item you bid on is the 100th auction or lower, you might want to consider watching it. Auctions go really fast, so keep your eye on them. If you see someone has bid over you, quickly bid over them. That is only if you want the item, though.

7. It Pays to Know

In the Auction House, it pays to know the general amount of items. How do you do this? Look for what is regularly sold in the Auction House on the Shop Wizard! Here is a brief list of what is sold: Codestones, Bottled Faeries, Petpets, Map Pieces, Battledome Equipment and Plushies. By typing these things into the Shop Wizard, you can see if the auction is a good deal or not. This way, you don't get robbed of your Neopoints.

8. Getting a Profit

Wanna make a quick Neopoint? Well, the Auction House is a great place to start. Some deals come in that you could resell for a profit. Watch out for the minimum increment value price. What is this? Well, it is just something that tells you what the minimum price you could bid on an item. Say, if an item was starting at 100 NP and the minimum increment value was 10 NP. One person would bid 100 NP, and the next person would have to bid 110 NP or more. Keep this in mind!

9. Making Sure

Make sure you really want the item. When you place a bid on an item, you CAN NOT take it out. So, make sure you are willing to spend the NP, and keep in mind, if you do overbid, you can't take it out and re-bid again.

10. Out of Whack Prices

Sometimes users may overprice their items. Just ignore these and you will be fine.

11. Watch Out

Some items don't resell very well. They are things like furniture, clothing, and collectible cards. If you refrain from offering on these items, you should be okay.

12. Price Watch

Prices of items will always keep going up and down. So keep checking that Shop Wizard for recent changes before you go bidding.

13. Don't Be Fooled

Certain items may LOOK expensive, and even though they are EXTREMELY cheap, they are not the best thing to be bid upon. This will just rob you of your NP. So, if you are not sure of the price of an item, check the Shop Wizard before you bid. (Some of these items are Bakery Items and Petpet Supplies.)

PERSONAL OPINIONS

A good way to make a profit off of the Auction House is to bid on cheap Codestones, Paintbrushes, Bottled Faeries and Map Pieces, as these will often be bought for a little bit under the Shop Wizard price.

I would also suggest that you use the Keypad on the right of the Keyboard, instead of the numbers above the letters to place your bids. I just find it is a lot faster, which in the end, will help you snag that special item.

I wouldn't suggest bidding on Scratchcards. These items will just usually be overbid upon. It would be much cheaper to buy them (which also guarantees that you will get one) from one of the Kiosks.

Paintbrushes will always be hard to win. This is why it may be a good idea to just wait for one to RANDOMLY come to you. But, if you are not the one to wait, bid on them if you like.

If you bid on and win a Map Piece (especially Secret Lab Map Pieces), I find a good way to make a profit is to put them up in the Trades instead of putting them into your Shop. I just find that I make better NP this way.

I always find that when I bid on an item, and plan on reselling it, I always want to keep in mind that I want to make at least the amount of NP I lost by buying it. This way, I get at least something from reselling. Keep this in mind.

It is always good to have about 50k-100k out (or sometimes even 10k), before you go to the Auction House. I just find that it is very helpful, because you never know what you may find!

Well, that's about it! I hope this guide will increase your 'Winning Bid' Neomail status!