About Auctions
- Buyers bid for your item online. Highest bidder wins.
- Sale takes place completely online.
- Buyers can ask you questions via tradingpost.com.au
- You can publish a buyer’s question and your answer for the benefit of other buyers.
- Contact details are only exchanged with a successful buyer via email after the auction ends.
- The successful buyer provides feedback and rating on their transaction with you.
- Only available for ads placed online and limited to select categories.
- List your item for 1, 3, 5, 7 or 14 days.
Why use Auctions?
- Let buyers determine the value of your item
You set a start price and buyers compete to provide the winning bid for your item.
- Sell safely online
Secure online payment with PayPal, Paymate or bank deposit.
- Sell privately
No need to meet or talk to the buyer.
- Include a Buy Now price with your listing
Gives buyers the opportunity to buy your item immediately.
- Set a reserve price
To ensure your item sells only at a price you’re happy with.
- Sell to buyers throughout Australia.
What items are good to Auction?
- Items that a buyer may not necessarily need to inspect before deciding to purchase.
- Rare items that are difficult to value and for which you’d like to invite offers.
- Items that can be posted.
How do I create an Auction?
Creating an Auction is easy.
- Click the Sell tab from the homepage and follow the steps to create your ad.
- Choose the category that best suits the item you’re selling.
If you’re not sure, look on tradingpost.com.au to see what categories other sellers have chosen for similar items.
- Select the Auction tab.
This automatically sets your sale as an Auction. If Auction does not appear on the screen, the item category you selected does not allow auctions (e.g. cars, pets).
- Type in a starting price for your auction. This will determine the starting bid.
- You can also:
- choose a Reserve price to set a minimum selling price for your item. The Reserve price is not visible to buyers.
- set a Buy Now price to allow buyers to buy your item immediately for a fixed price.
Buyers will be able to see the Buy Now price and choose whether to purchase or place a bid. Once a buyer places a bid, the auction has begun and the Buy Now option is no longer visible or available.
- Specify the duration of your ad – 1, 3, 5, 7 or 14 days.
The longer your auction runs, the more time buyers have to find your ad.
- Select the listing features you want to use to attract buyers.
Note: The cost of your ad will depend on your item price and the features you choose. A success fee is payable only if you sell your item and is based on the original item price.
- Follow the remaining steps to complete your ad, including your preferred payment and delivery methods.
- You will be notified by email and My Trading Post when a buyer agrees to buy your item.
Rules for Auctions
Some guidelines regarding contact details and pricing apply to Auctions.
Contact details
As you use Auctions to transact online, you should not include contact information in the ad itself, such as
- names (first name, last name)
- address information (street, suburb)
- telephone numbers (fixed, mobile)
- email addresses or URLs
This includes numbers written as words (e.g. twenty three) used to provide address or telephone details.
Contact details will be exchanged with the buyer via email once your item sells.
Adding pricing information
The pricing fields provided are used to display item prices. You should not type additional prices or prices for extra items in the item description.
Auctions ads that contain contact details or information on prices in their item description will be removed from the site by our Trust and Safety team.
See rules for ad details for other ad content guidelines.
