Going... Going... GONE!!

Ever heard of the Neopian Auction House? If so, ever considered using it? No? Well, start doing so now! That old 10,000 NP codestone you are leaving to rot (um... get old) in your shop may bring you over 7,000 NP instantly at the auctions! Still not convinced? Check out these Top 3 Reasons:

1. Money. If you are like the average Neopian, you probably don’t have a lot of NP, but you do have a lot of wishes (maybe making a list longer than the Snowager itself!). Never fear, because the auctions will bring you millions! Example: I was really poor. 1,000 NP per day. Then I started putting my codestones in the auction. The original price was 300 NP, with a minimum increment of 5 NP. First bids went up slowly, then as time shortened, the price went up! It finally finished off with a whopping 7,110 NP!!! Now I was able to stick my thousands into the bank and change to ‘Silver Saver’, making my money go up to an interest of 3 NP. (That seemed a lot to me at that time!)

2. Likely Purchase. This is so much easier to do than restock your shop. You can choose how long the auction is going to last as well. People will be sure to buy things at auctions because the price is better and you can even search for bottled faeries!

3. Less Time, More Money. As time shortens, Neopians will get excited, and people will be raising prices until it is higher than a Chomby’s back! Just remember, people may not see your auction, so the more time, the better. In your shop, people just buy the items. They don’t need to haggle or raise the price. Kinda boring, no?

Tips 4 Auctioneers

Two Neopians exist in an auction: the auctioneer and bidder. I will be guiding both kinds in what they should do; beginning with the auctioneer.

I strongly recommend a low-priced start. That will place your item in the cheap section in the front. Neopians will see it first, and are more likely to start a bid on yours instead of those insanely expensive ones in the back. Example: I already said this, but I love this example. I started my codestone at 300 NP, with a minimum increment of 5 NP. It gradually went up until it blasted over 7,000 NP!! This happened several times, and each time it went over 5,500 NP. I may still be doing that right now! Anyway, be sure to look out for and enjoy those auction-busters. They come around and bid at the last possible moment--usually at a high and unexpected price. I’ll tell about this kind of bidder in the next section.

*Note* When your price gets too high, it will be off the cheap list. The last bid may be your set amount, unless the busters come and bid. Find out how later. Anyway, as time shortens, your item may just make it into the ‘All Auctions’ section. Neopians will also bid a lot more as the time shortens.

Remember: A low price is better, and a reasonable increment will increase your chances. (I’ve seen auction increments go up to 9999 NP! That is so unreasonable!) Congratulations, you’re on your way to riches! ^_^

Tricks 4 Bidders

I hope you read the article for auctioneers, because there were some tips you could have picked up. Nevertheless, I will be repeating some of them.

Several options are available when you place a bid. One of those is to slowly raise the price when others outbid you. You can continue doing this until you (hopefully) win. However, this is risky because someone may bid at the very last moment, surprising you with an amount you can’t overcome. Also, you have to constantly go back and check on the ‘My Bids’ section. Through and through, this is a good choice if you have the time and not-so-many Neopoints.

A second option is to simply set a high price right there at that moment. You can then hope someone doesn’t beat that price. Someone may do that, though, so that is something to think about. Another con is the fact that people may not want and therefore may not bid on the item you set a bid on. You will then lose a lot of excessive money. But the pros are the fact that you most likely will get the item, and other Neopians may not want to bid more than your price. Overall, this is a good choice and wonderful advantage if you have a lot of Neopoints to spare at the moment.

The third and (possibly-I really don’t know) last choice is to set a high price at the last moment. Yes, I’m talking about those auction busters. Here’s what you do. When the item is still at a low price, simply place a bid. More people will add more to yours, and you will be able to track the last bidder, amount set, and time left in the ‘My Bids’ section. When the <30 (less than 30 minutes) sign appears, place a super-large price on the article. Easy, isn’t it? Well, I don’t think so. You will have to wait a long time, and have a lot of Neopoints withdrawn and ready to place that kind of bid. My brother once had an experience with this kind of person. He set a map piece at 500 NP, with a minimum increase of 5. Gradually it went from 500 to 40,000; 40,000 to 60,000; and when he was just about to claim that fortune, some person came along and set the price at 85,000! How cool is that?! Anyway, the pros are you get the item. That’s it. The cons are you have to have a lot of money, and be able to track the time, or another person may use the strategy you were planning to use yourself.

Now that I’ve given you a bit more insight on the auctions, why don’t you consider putting your stuff up for sale? It’s faster, easier, and more profitable. Whatever you may be--auctioneer or bidder--good luck at the Neopian Auction House!

Author's Note: Thanks for reading this, and I have only experienced the auctioneer's point of view. The bidder's point is from detailed accounts and thorough research. Thanks again ^_^