PonyIsland

These rules apply to ALL auctions run on PI, not just the ones in this forum. In addition, all general PI rules still apply.

These rules are updated April 12, 2011 from the previous version that existed in this forum. Major changes have been bolded for your reference.

1. Due to previous abuse of the Auction forum and auction formats, only the following are allowed to be auctioned on PI:
- Ponies
- Reverse Breeds/Breeds
- Accounts/Renewals
- Inventory Items
- Adoptables
- Artwork/Lineart

PG and BP may not be auctioned. If you wish to sell PG or BP, please advertise that on the Non-Pony Trade forum.

2. Post your auction in the appropriate forum.
Auctions for adoptables belong in Adoptables Generals and follow ALL rules stated herein.
Auctions for artwork/lineart belong in Artwork Trades and follow ALL rules stated herein.
Auctions for ponies, breeds, reverse breeds, inventory items, accounts and renewals should be posted in Live Auctions and follow ALL rules stated herein.

3. You may only auction off what BELONGS TO YOU.
You may only create an auction post for ponies and items that actually belong to YOU. NEVER create an auction for someone else. They may end up selling the item without telling you or worse, may be banned from the forums and helping users get around their forum bans will only earn YOU a ban as well.

4. Do not auction off AOOCS that you cannot deliver IMMEDIATELY. All AOOCS must be delivered within 24 hours of receipt of payment or an AOOCS form.
Due to recent abuses brought to light by users who auction off AOOCS slots when they do not have the BP to deliver the pony immediately after payment, all AOOCS must now be generated and delivered within 24 hours of the seller receiving either payment or a completed AOOCS form. Failure to do so will be seen as failure to complete your auction and will result in a 2 week forum ban.

5. Posting Titles
Please write "auction" somewhere in your posting title to attract users who like bidding on auctions and to help distinguish them from sale threads when scrolling in the ticker. If you are advertising a "Sale" then you are in the wrong forum. Please post sales in the Sell forum.

6. Auctions are limited to a maximum of 30 days in duration.
Your auction needs to end no later than 30 days from the date that you posted it. Auctions lasting longer than 30 days will be deleted.

7. Once on auction, your item/pony must be reserved for the auction.
Items and/or ponies you have on auction must be reserved for the duration of the auction. This means these items/ponies cannot be put up for sale while the auction is running for ANY reason. Accepting private bids for items and/or ponies on auction or allowing them to be bought on the market while the auction is running is not allowed and will result in a minimum 2 week forum ban.

8. Mystery items and/or grab bags are NOT ALLOWED.
No mystery items or grab bags are allowed ANYWHERE in your auction. ALL items and/or ponies being offered must be exactly specified whether it is your main auction item, a BIN Bonus or a ladder incentive. Giving a link to your inventory or your stable is not sufficient to meet this requirement. If you have a large number of items or ponies for sale, you may take a screenshot of what is included in the auction in lieu of having to list them one by one.

9. Required information for your auction
Setting up terms for your auction is VERY IMPORTANT so think carefully about how you want to run the auction as changing these terms once the auction starts is unacceptable. Any required terms which are missing from your auction will result in your auction being deleted.

At the very least, your auction must state the following information within the first post:
*The specific pony/items being offered. No mystery items or grab bags allowed. Please refer back to rule #8.

*The starting bid

*The exact ending date and time, in PI time - Auctions must have an exact end date and end time. Terms like "tomorrow", "in 2 hours", "in 24 hours" are not acceptable. You must state an exact date (Month/day is the minimum requirement) and an exact time (hour:minute is the requirement) for when your auction ends. Your date must be in Month-Day format with the name of the month rather than it's number. Since international standards for numbered date formats differ, this will prevent confusion over numeric end dates. The auction MUST end at your stated time (Hour:Minute), whether you are here or not. Please post this in PI time and keep in mind that seconds do not show up on the PI forums so they will not count towards your end time. PI time is always shown at the top of your screen. The highest bid at your stated end time is the winner of your auction.

These items are optional but should also be stated upfront:
*The Buy It Now Price if you have one (The ONLY legitimate way to end an auction early). The auction MUST sell to the first person who posts BIN for the auction.

*Minimum bid increments.

*Snipe Guard (The ONLY legitimate extension for auctions). Please be sure to give full details of how you will run your snipe guard. You must state when it goes into affect and how long it will extend the auction. You may only use a snipe guard to extend your auction ONCE. After you have invoked your snipe guard ONCE, the auction must end at the new time.

*BIN Bonuses. No mystery items or grab bags allowed. Please refer back to rule #8.

*Ladder Incentives. Ladder auctions require 2 things: The main item that users will begin bidding on and your ladder levels for subsequent bid amounts. All required terms listed in blue above are still required. Each ladder level must list the bid amount required for that level along with the items and/or ponies included. No mystery items or grab bags allowed. Please refer back to rule #8.

*Special Payment Terms - Unless you state otherwise, the time allowed for auction payments will be 72 hours from the time the auction ends. If you wish to shorten or lengthen the time allowed for payment, you must give full details of when payment is due at the start of the auction.


Please also include any special instructions, disclaimers and exceptions that are relevant to your auction and are within the scope of the rules listed in this thread. Once you make your auction post the terms are in affect and CANNOT BE CHANGED. We will make an edit exception if it is clear you forgot an end date/time or starting bid. All other edits to your auction terms are NOT ALLOWED under ANY circumstances and will result in a minimum 2 week forum ban. We can see them so don't try.

Auctions that do not contain the minimum requirements listed above in BLUE or contain invalid Snipe Guards, invalid Ladder incentives and/or invalid BIN Bonuses will not be considered a legitimate auction and will therefore be DELETED.

10. Reserves are NOT allowed.
Due to abuse and misuse of reserves, they are not allowed in auctions. ALL auctions must sell to the highest bidder.

11. Each PLAYER is allowed to start a total of 3 new auctions every 24 hours.
Each player, not account, is allowed to start 3 new auctions per 24 hour period. More than that is considered forum flooding and will be subject to immediate deletion as well as warnings and/or bans. This applies on a per forum basis where auctions are allowed.

12. Remember, PUBLIC bids only.
If someone PMs you a bid, you need to let them know that a live auction can only accept POSTED bids as legitimate bids. Only bids posted by the actual bidder inside an auction thread is considered a valid bid. Accepting private bids for items and/or ponies on auction or allowing them to be bought on the market while the auction is running is not allowed and will result in a minimum 2 week forum ban. If you want to accept private bids, you need to post your sale elsewhere.

13. Complete your auction in a timely manner.
Unless otherwise stated in your auction terms, you have 72 hours to contact your high bidder to complete the transaction with you. After that, you forfeit their high bid and this will result in a minimum 2 week forum ban for failure to complete your auction.

14. Follow through with your auction
Running an auction and then not abiding by your own terms or canceling it wastes everyone's time. Please state all your terms upfront, do not change them midway through the auction and most importantly, FOLLOW THROUGH with your own terms.

Canceling an auction, refusing to follow through with the terms of your auction or attempting to change the terms midway through or at the end of the auction, will also result in thread deletion as well as a minimum 2 week forum ban.

15. Reporting auctions
Please report all fraudulent auctions to a Moderator. Fraudulent auctions can include but are not limited to: changing terms midstream, not following through with auction terms, canceling or ending the auction before the stated end time, accepting private bids, etc.... When reporting, please include all pertinent links and information related to the case.

16. Shill bidding = CHEATING
Shill bidding, otherwise known as driving up a bid price with a fake bid, either using your own account, your own sub or a friend's account is not allowed and will result in forum bans for all accounts involved.

Should any issues arise with your auction, please open a support ticket to discuss the matter with a MOD. http://www.ponyisland.net/index.php?src=support