Xbidit Double Auction - Buy and Sell Music, Movies and More Online

Not logged in | Login | Register

Welcome to Xbidit

Double Auction - Patent Pending - Beta Release

Frequently Asked Questions

Section 1: General Overview

1.1	What is Xbidit?
	Xbidit is a double auction format web site.

1.2	What is a double auction?
	A double auction is a style of auction in which multiple sellers and multiple buyers are all competing in the same auction at the same time.

1.3	What are the advantages of a double auction?
	By having multiple sellers and multiple buyers in one auction instead of several individual auctions each party is assured that free market pricing will set the best possible price. This also removes the hassle of tracking several auctions each selling the same product, instead with a double auction there is only one auction.

1.4	When do the double auctions on Xbidit end?
	They don't, by allowing multiple sellers and multiple buyers in the same auction, parties are free to join and leave auctions as they see fit.

1.5	How do I win a double auction on Xbidit?
	Auctions are not won in the traditional sense, however a sale is made whenever a bid is set that is greater than or equal to an existing ask or an ask is set that is less than or equal to an existing bid.

1.6	How are the double auctions on Xbidit structured?
	Auctions on Xbidit are organized per product. Each product may have up to 4 different and independent auctions, one for each product quality: New, Like New, Good and Fair. Within each auction multiple buyers and multiple sellers are allowed to join.

Section 2: Site Layout

2.1	What are the main pages available?
	The following are the main pages available:
	Home Page - Shows search filters vertically along the left side of the page along with the top 4 most popular products for the filters selected, the 4 most recently updated products and the 4 highest rated stores with any of the products for sale shown on the home page. Products and stores shown are based on filters selected.
	Most Popular Page - Shows search filters vertically along the left side of the page along with the top 16 most popular products for the filters selected.
	Recently Added Page - Shows search filters vertically along the left side of the page along with the top 16 most recently updated products for the filters selected.
	Search Page - Shows search filters vertically along the left side of the page along with additional advanced search features (Product Description, UPC, Manufacturer and Size). The top 16 matching products for the filters selected are displayed.
	Stores Page - Shows search filters vertically along the left side of the page along with the top 16 stores for the filters selected. Selecting a store displays the individual store page along with the top 16 products for sale in that store for the filters selected. If the My Store filter is selected then your store and the items you have for sale are shown.
	Create Products Page - This page allows sellers or buyers to create a product if that product is not already available.
	Linked Orders Page - This page allows buyers to link open purchase orders together. Open purchase orders can be the same product but at different quality levels or a completely different product. When orders are linked together only one of the linked orders can win an auction. Once one of the products wins the other orders in the linked orders are removed from their respective auctions.
	Orders Page - This page shows an overview of your order types based on whether you are buying or selling.
	Credits Page - This page allows sellers to purchase additional credits. It costs 1 credit per item that you have for sale to enter an auction as a seller; it is free for buyers to enter an auction.
	Auction Page - This page allows you to place bids, set asking prices, view the auction, view the top 10 stores with the best prices available or your top 10 preferred stores with the best prices available. This page can be reached by selecting the title of a product, bid link or ask link located within the product overview presented on the home, popular, recently added, search or stores pages. It can also be reached by selecting the respective product quality tab from the product details page.
	Product Details Page - This page shows an overview of each product including pictures, characteristics and a description. This page can be reached by selecting the picture of a product from the home, popular, recently added, search or stores pages. It can also be reached by selecting the Details tab from the auction page.

2.2	Where are the search filters located and how do they work?
	Search filters are arranged vertically along the left side of the home, most popular, recently added, search and stores pages; search filters allow you to narrow down the available products displayed on these pages. Previously selected filters remain in place when you move between these pages. Filters may be collapsed and reset to their default values by selecting the Xbidit icon in the upper left corner or by selecting the Reset Filter button.

2.3	What search filters are available?
	The following search filters are available:
	Categories - Allows you to narrow down the available products by the categories that they are in. The default value is all categories.
	Price - Allows you to narrow down the available products by their price. Either a from price a to price or both may be entered. The default value is all prices.
	Product Condition - Allows you to narrow down the available products by their condition. The available conditions are All conditions, New, Like New, Good and Fair. The default value is All conditions.
	Store Status - Allows you to narrow down the available products by the type of store selling the product. The available selections are All Stores and Preferred Stores. All Stores shows products from all stores. Preferred Stores shows products from your preferred stores. The default value is All Stores
	Store Rating - Allows you to narrow down the available products by the rating (0 through 5) of the stores selling the products. The default value is 0 which represents unranked and greater.
	Ship or Pickup - Allows you to narrow down the available products by whether they can be shipped, picked up or both. The default value is ship.

Section 3: How to purchase an item.

3.1	What are the available methods for purchasing an item?
	You may purchase items through the double auction process or you may buy directly from one of the stores on our page without going through the auction process.

3.2	How do I purchase an item directly from one of the stores on your page?
	Navigate to the store page from which you wish to purchase (you may navigate to a store page either by clicking on a picture of the store on the home page or stores page or by clicking on the store name found under the top store or preferred store tabs on the auction page). Once on the seller's store page look for the item that you wish to purchase and click on the add to cart link. Once the item is in your cart you may continue shopping or checkout and purchase the item in your cart. You may checkout by selecting the cart link in the upper right corner of the page and then selecting 'Request Invoice' found under the details of your order, and then confirm invoice request. Once you click 'Request Invoice' an email will be sent to the seller. They will send you an invoice via PayPal or Google Checkout. When you receive the invoice, you can make the payment for your product. When you receive your product, from the Orders page update the product as received and rate the seller.

3.3	How do I purchase an item through the auction process?
	Navigate to the auction page and select the buy tab on the auction page. Enter your bid and select the update button. If your bid is greater than or equal to the lowest asking price than that item will be added to your cart. If your bid is less than the lowest asking price then your bid will be added to the auction. If your bid is one of the top 10 best bids it will be highlighted in blue in the auction table and will be also be shown in the current settings overview box. If your bid is not one of the top 10 bids it will not be shown in the auction table, it will only be shown in the current settings overview box.

3.4	What is the purpose of the auction filters?
	The available filters when placing a bid are store rating, pickup range and zip code and linked orders. When setting theses filters the asking prices that do not match your selected criteria will not be shown in the auction and will not be considered when determining if your bid is greater than the lowest asking price.

3.5	How do I pay for an item that is in my shopping cart?
	You may checkout by selecting the cart link in the upper right corner of the page and then selecting 'Request Invoice' found under the details of your order, and then confirm invoice request. Once you click 'Request Invoice' an email will be sent to the seller. They will send you an invoice via PayPal or Google Checkout. When you receive the invoice, you can make the payment for your product. When you receive your product, from the Orders page update the product as received and rate the seller. Note that checkout is done on a per item basis.

3.6	What if I no longer want to purchase an item in my shopping cart?
	You may remove items from your cart by selecting the cart icon in the upper right corner of the page and then selecting remove from cart found under the details of your order.

3.7	What if a product I want to buy does not exist?
	You can use the create product page to create it.

Section 4: How to sell an item.

4.1	How do I sell an item?
	Items are sold through the auction process. To join an existing auction as a seller you must have at least one credit available, if you do then navigate to the auction page, select the ask tab. Enter the amount you are willing to sell your item(s) for and the quantity of item(s) you wish to sell up to the number of available credits you have. If your asking price is less than the highest bid then that item will be added to the bidders shopping cart. If your asking price is one of the top 10 asking prices it will be shown in the auction table highlighted in green as well as within the current settings box. If your asking price is not one of the top 10 asking prices it will not be shown in the auction table but it will be shown within the current settings box.

4.2	What if a product I want to sell does not exist?
	You can use the create product page to create it. It costs 1 credit to create a product.

4.3	What is the purpose of credits?
	Credits allow sellers to place items into auctions and allows all users to create a new product that does not exist. It costs 1 credit to create a product and 1 credit per item to enter an auction as a seller.

4.4	How do I acquire additional credits?
	You may purchase additional credits by selecting the Credits link at the top of any page. Note that during Xbidit's Beta Release credits are free and that you may have a maximum of 1000 outstanding credits.

4.5	How do I get paid when someone win's my auction?
	When a buyer wins your auction they will request an invoice from their shopping cart. You will receive an email for an invoice request with the product and buyer's information. Send an invoice to the buyer's email address via PayPal or Google Checkout. Update the order to Invoice Sent on the Orders page. Once the buyer pays, update the order to Payment Received.

4.6	How do I change my product's description?
	Go to the product's Detail page. Click the Edit Product Description link. Make your updates and click the Submit button.
4.7	How do I add more photos to my product?
	Go to the product's Detail page. Click the Edit Image link. Click the Browse... button to locate your image. Locate your image and click Open. Click the Upload button.
4.8	How do I change my gallery photo for my product?
	Go to the product's Detail page. Click the Edit Image link. Upload a new image (see above). Select your new image Click the Set Gallery Photo button.
4.9	How do I change the asking price of my product?
	Go to the seller Auction page. This is the Sell (Ask) tab for your product. In the Your Ask control box enter your new asking price. Click the Update button to set your new asking price.
4.10	How do I cancel a product I have for sale?
	Go to the seller Auction page. This is the Sell (Ask) tab for your product. In the Your Ask control box, set the drop-down selection to Cancel bid. Click the Update button to cancel your order.
4.11	How do I list my current products I have for sale?
	When you are logged in, there is an Orders link at the upper right corner of the page. Clicking this will present you with tabs for your orders. To see your current listings, click the Sell tab above Open Orders. Clicking the Order ID or Your Ask for the product will bring you to the seller Auction page (the Sell (Ask) tab). Clicking the Product name for the product will bring you to the Details page.

Section 5: Other questions.

5.1	What information does Xbidit require to register?
	You only need to select a user name, screen name (store name), password and provide your email to register. However to purchase a product Xbidit requires that you provide your full name and mailing address.

5.2	What is the purpose of the view tab in auction page?
	The view tab allows you to view the auction and try different filter options before setting them under the buy or ask tabs.

5.3	How do I view my store and the items in it?
	You may view your store and the items you have for sale by selecting the my store link on the top of any page.

5.4	What do "1 of 1", "2 of 4" and similar listings under quantity in the auction table mean?
	This is only shown for your bid or your ask and is meant to help you determine the relative position of your bid or ask compared to other buyers or sellers at that same price. The first number represents your position relative to other buyers or sellers at that particular price and the second number represents the total number of buyers or sellers at that particular price. For example, the "2 of 4" case is indicating you are the second bid or ask at that particular price out of a total of 4 bids or asks. This means that there is one bid or ask ahead of you, so if a sale occurs at this price through the auction, the bid or ask in front of you will win. However once that sale occurs you will move to the number on position at that price.

5.5	How is the relative position determined in an auction if two sellers have the same ask?
	The first seller to offer that ask gets the number 1 position, the second seller to offer that ask gets the number 2 position and so on. Note that you will move to the last position at that price if you change the quantity of items you have for sale.

5.6	How is the relative position determined in an auction if two buyers have the same bid?
	The first buyer to offer that bid gets the number 1 position, the second buyer to offer that bid gets the number 2 position and so on.

5.7	What is a preferred store?
	A preferred store is a store that you have previously marked as a preferred store. You may add any store to your preferred store list and remove stores from your preferred store list at any time. When a store is marked as preferred you can filter on that status by selecting the Preferred Only radio button in the Store Status search filter, you may also view your preferred stores that have an item for sale in an auction by selecting the Preferred Stores tab in the auction page. You may add or remove stores from your preferred list by navigating to that store's home page and selecting the appropriate change in status link. Also when you mark an order as received you will be prompted to rate that store and either add it to your preferred list if it is not already on your list or remove it or keep it if it is already on your list. Preferred store status is meant to help you identify stores that have provided you an exceptional customer experience such that you would prefer to do business with them again.

5.8	How do stores get rated?
	A store is rated by customers when customers mark an order as received. During this part of the order process customers are prompted to rate a store from 0 through 5 with 5 being the highest level of satisfaction. A store is classified as unrated until it has a total of 3 or more individual ratings.

5.9	How are stores selected to be listed as a top rated store on the home page and stores page?
	A store that has at least half of individual ratings as the store with the most individual ratings is eligible to be listed as a top rated store, stores which meet that criteria are then listed from highest to lowest ordered by their rating.

5.10	What product conditions are available?
	The following product conditions are available:
	New - Unused product in its original unopened packaging.
	Like New - Slightly used product not in its original packaging but otherwise as good as new.
	Good - Moderatly used product that may be degraded somewhat in appearance but retains the same functionality as a new product.
	Fair - Used product that may be degraded in apperance and functionality.