Error listing Auctions

KenDude · August 22nd, 2009, 08:27 AM

Chuck,

First, I'd really like to stress that the Classifieds needs one more variable for auctions. Currently there are variables for listing price and the buy it now price (mistakenly called a reserve price at times). There needs to be a variable for the Reserve price so you could create a classified where the following is true:

1) You start the ad off with a listing price of $100
2) You enter a reserve price of $500
3) You enter a buy-it-now price of $1000

You set the auction in motion.

If bidding stops at $400 the item doesn't sell because your reserve is $500. If a buyer comes along and wants to spend $1000 they can buy the product right away and end the bidding.

In the current system I can only enter the starting price and the buy it now price. So this is what happens.

1) You start the ad off at a listing price of $100
2) You enter a buy it now price of $1000

Bidding ends at $400. What happens?
The bidder thinks they've won the item at $400! But that's not even what you would have put down as a reserve price. The only way to avoid this is to put your listing price at your reserve price, but this often starts an auction higher than what you'd want to in order to generate interest and get bids flowing.

NOW HERE IS THE CURRENT ERROR IN THE SOFTWARE

I recently listed 3 new auctions on our site after the software upgrade. When I listed them I put in a starting price, BUT LEFT THE BUY IT NOW PRICE BLANK. I did not want a buy it now price, I just wanted the starting price where I would have put a reserve since there is no variable for reserve.

Go look at the listings here:
The Auction Block! - Classifieds

All three of them show the open price where I put the open price.
All three of them showed a BUY IT NOW price IDENTICAL to the Listing price even though I left that BLANK when I filled out the form to post the ad.

One of them has received a bid, and now the Buy it Now price shows the same price as the high bid.

THis is confusing the heck out of my members and I'm getting email about this and constantly have to explain something is wrong with the software after the upgrade to the most current version.

Can you help fix please!
Thanks in advance!

Chuck S · August 22nd, 2009, 09:37 AM

Well if you enter a buy it now price or reserve as it is called from what I see at ebay thats what the user buys the ad at outright. Thats how our software is designed.

The way an auction works is very simple and is exactly what our software does from what I see. You list an ad. You put a starting price. The auction goes if it stops at 400 thats what your ad sells for. You have to sell it at that price thats why you put a starting price. I beleive ebay works the same way and infact I know since I am a member there that there rules have some very strict buyer and seller obligations. If you place an ad you must sell it for what it ends at and the buyer must buy it is basically what I read. So lets look at the logistics

1. Yes the buy it now price will increase if the high bid is higher thats just common sense. why would you want to sell an item for lower than what your going to get for it.

2. Now correct me if I am wrong in logic here but the open price is and should be what the ad is currently at.

Here is an example at ebay

Spectacular Antique French Fireplace Mantel Tapestry - eBay (item 350241022277 end time Aug-23-09 18:58:40 PDT)

Now look there is the starting price which is what is displayed once someone makes a bid then the price will jump up.

Please explain what you think is not right in the logic here. On an auction the price I shown as open price should be the price it is currently at right.

I am just not seeing any logic issue here and none of that logic has really changed so not sure what the issue might be.

ages · August 22nd, 2009, 10:06 AM

I just tried the auction functions and this is what i find.

Listing price $22 with buyout $28.
Shipping - $3.30

Click on buyout = $22 + $3.30 instead of $28 + $3.30

Is the above intended to be like this?

Chuck S · August 22nd, 2009, 10:08 AM

test bidding - PhotoPost Classifieds

For Sale - PhotoPost Classifieds

There you go nothing wrong with logic that I am seeing

I opened it with 250 starting price and 450 buy it now

ages · August 22nd, 2009, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck S

Well if you enter a buy it now price or reserve as it is called from what I see at ebay thats what the user buys the ad at outright. Thats how our software is designed.

The way an auction works is very simple and is exactly what our software does from what I see. You list an ad. You put a starting price. The auction goes if it stops at 400 thats what your ad sells for. You have to sell it at that price thats why you put a starting price. I beleive ebay works the same way and infact I know since I am a member there that there rules have some very strict buyer and seller obligations. If you place an ad you must sell it for what it ends at and the buyer must buy it is basically what I read. So lets look at the logistics

1. Yes the buy it now price will increase if the high bid is higher thats just common sense. why would you want to sell an item for lower than what your going to get for it.

2. Now correct me if I am wrong in logic here but the open price is and should be what the ad is currently at.

Here is an example at ebay

Spectacular Antique French Fireplace Mantel Tapestry - eBay (item 350241022277 end time Aug-23-09 18:58:40 PDT)

Now look there is the starting price which is what is displayed once someone makes a bid then the price will jump up.

Please explain what you think is not right in the logic here. On an auction the price I shown as open price should be the price it is currently at right.

I am just not seeing any logic issue here and none of that logic has really changed so not sure what the issue might be.

Chuck S what he meant was there is a reserve price in ebay.

Start bid $100
Reserve $300
Buyout $500

There is this option of reserve price is that when you are under reserve price it would not be sold to you

If you are at $300 or $301 than seller is oblige to sell it at that price to you.

Chuck S · August 22nd, 2009, 10:12 AM

In response to ages

Buy it Now is mainly used with auctions you can not set a higher price on a regular ad so if this is what your doing there is the mistake

Please actually post a valid link and login for us to look at what your doing.

ages · August 22nd, 2009, 10:19 AM

Hmm i cant PM you the details let me take a quick SS for you.

FleaMarts.Sg

Im not sure if to post details here so maybe you want to sign up and create an ad to test it out.

Chuck S · August 22nd, 2009, 10:21 AM

Yeah you do not have bidding turn on in edit categories for your categories so it is not an auction but a normal ad it looks like

Look under edit categories in admin for each category you will see the box to allow bidding set to yes then upload an ad

ages · August 22nd, 2009, 10:33 AM

Well its on.

Chuck S · August 22nd, 2009, 10:55 AM

Line 68 of buy.php is this remove it

Code:

Content visible to verified customers only.

It is an extra line of code that is not needed.

Chuck S · August 22nd, 2009, 11:04 AM

Ken I can look in the future to adding a fourth reserve variable for an ad not to be sold but as far as currently the code from what I see is doing what I stated in my example in post 4 so it works fine that I am seeing

If you are experiencing something different feel free to let me know. I did a little test it all looks right to me

Message - Classifieds

Thats an auction.

ages · August 22nd, 2009, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck S

Line 68 of buy.php is this remove it

Code:

Content visible to verified customers only.

It is an extra line of code that is not needed.

Well the total price is correct but the item price is not

Should be buying product at $28 ( Buy it now price )
It display $23

Chuck S · August 22nd, 2009, 11:45 AM

This is why I told you to remove that line this is how the code is with that line removed and what it means.

Code:

Content visible to verified customers only.

If its a NON AUCTION the price is always the price

If its an auction and the price is higher than the buy it now price then the price is the price

If the auction buy it now price is higher than the price then the amount is the buy it now price.

KenDude · August 22nd, 2009, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck S

Ken I can look in the future to adding a fourth reserve variable for an ad not to be sold but as far as currently the code from what I see is doing what I stated in my example in post 4 so it works fine that I am seeing

If you are experiencing something different feel free to let me know. I did a little test it all looks right to me

Message - Classifieds

Thats an auction.

Sorry Chuck, gone for most of today but no it isn't working right.

You said yourself you listed an ad for sale with $X as the starting price and $Y as the buy it now price. What I said was that if you list something for sale with $X as the starting price AND LEAVE BUY IT NOW BLANK that it automatically makes the Buy It Now price the starting price!!!

Let's say I have a widget worth $1000, but I start the auction at $10 and leave buy it now blank, it is going to show the buy it now price as $10, do you honestly think I'm going to let someone buy it for $10 if it is worth $1000? No, and they shouldn't think they could. The ebay example you showed me indicates an EITHER/OR situation, EITHER you bid OR you use Buy it Now. They listed the ad that way, that's an option when you list on Ebay. If they would have listed and left Buy it Now Blank on Ebay, there WOULD BE NO BUY IT NOW PRICE SHOWN, it would't even be an option.

That's what I complaining about at the moment.

That's the really current problem that needs to be fixed, if the lister leaves the Buy it Now box blank there should never be a buy it now price shown, ever. If they want a buy it now price shown they MUST fill in the buy it now price when they list their item. That is how Ebay and all other major auction sites work. I know, I've used Ebay since its inception.

PLEASE FIX THAT FIRST.

Then when you get around to it, realize that the current system doesn't support a true "reserve" price, a price at which if the item doesn't reach that price, then the auction closes without the item being sold, not liability on the part of the seller or any bidder. The example I gave in my first post was understood by "ages" in his/her reply and would be understood by any Ebay regular lister.

PLEASE FIX THAT NEXT.

Thanks Chuck, as always feel free to email or call if I'm not being clear or something isn't understood.

Chuck S · August 23rd, 2009, 10:05 AM

well your wording makes more sense now simply change the if clause in showproduct.php and showproduct.tmpl files to this

Code:

Content visible to verified customers only.

That will hide buy it now if there is no buy it now.

KenDude · August 23rd, 2009, 04:32 PM

Chuck, I made that change the to showproduct.php file in the classifieds root, then in the templates directory I modified showproduct.tmpl then in the templates\vb3 folder below it I modified showproduct.tmpl there as well.

I thought this would have done something, but all 3 of my auction items still show a buy it now price, ones with bids and ones without bids.

Change doesn't seem to have had any effect.

I am going to go list a new ad to see if a new ad shows up properly or not.

KenDude · August 23rd, 2009, 04:35 PM

Nope even a new ad I just listed in the auction category as a test still shows a buy it now price the same as the opening price. I put $250 in the opening box, and left the reserve/buy it now box blank.

Chuck S · August 23rd, 2009, 05:13 PM

Try removing this line in showproduct.php

Code:

Content visible to verified customers only.

Thats basically the code that says if the price is higher than the buy it now make sure the buy it now price is the price not reserve.

KenDude · August 23rd, 2009, 05:47 PM

Ok made that change and now the Buy it Now price says "Best Offer" which is fine by me.

Please see an email I sent you though about one of my members getting an email claming that he has a subscription to the classifieds when in fact he does not. Do you want me to start a separate topic thread about it?

Chuck S · August 23rd, 2009, 09:18 PM

If he has subscribed to a category he is indeed subscribed to notifications you sure he is not confusing this with like a paid subscription?