User Information & Tutorial

Registration

1. The first step is to register. This is absolutely necessary in order to buy or sell products on the web site. There is no charge to register. Without registering, you will only be able view the products available for sale.

2. In order to register you simply click on the registration link in any auction lot or on the upper left corner of every main page. You will immediately see our user agreement which must be agreed to prior to registering. The next page is where you will be entering your confidential information. You are required to answer ALL the questions, except where indicated. Failure to do so will require you to start the entire process over.

3. Once you have registered, Optical Auctions will send an e-mail confirmation to you, which you must respond to. This verification email usually takes just a few moments, but at heavy user times please allow up to 24 hours to receive your confirmation. Once you respond you are automatically register for Optical Auctions. During the verification process we will confirm your valid credit card status, if necessary, or call the telephone number you have listed.

4. As long as you use the same computer that you initially registered on and have checked the cookie box when you registered, you will not have to enter your user name and password again. However, should you log-on to a different computer you will be required to enter your user name and password. If you do not remember your password, click on the "Forgot Your Password" link located where you attempt to log in. After entering your e-mail address, press submit and we will e-mail you your password.

Viewing Products For Sale

1. Optical Auctions has three (3) buy/sell forums. You can view each item for sale in a few different ways:
   1. Click on a picture of a particular item. These are only a few of the items up for sale.

   2. Go to a specific category. For example, if you are looking for Frames, click on the Eye Wear Products link on the home page and all main category pages. This will take you to the main Eye Wear Products category. In the left hand column there is a link for Frames. You can then scroll the category for current and future sales of all types of Frames.

   3. Go to a specific product category. Same as above, except go one step further. In the left hand column there are links to specific products. Clicking on any of these links will take you directly to the items for sale in that product category, if any.

2. Once you have found the item that you would like to view, click on the ID number located at the beginning of that particular item. This will bring the sales area into view.

The Auction Process

The Auction sales page is self-explanatory. However, there may be some questions regarding the following:

1. Seller: The sellers username, a link to this sellers homepage and the seller rating is displayed. To display contact information regarding the seller you must be registered and logged on, then simple click on the link to the seller's homepage.

2. Payment: All payments are cash. Cash will be construed to be cash, credit card, lease, irrevocable letter of credit, etc... The final determination of how payment will take place will be between you and the seller.

3. Shipping: The buyer is always responsible for shipping unless indicated otherwise by the seller.

4. Starting Bid: This is the amount at which the auction started.

5. Bid Increment: This is the difference between the current bid and the next higher bid.

6. Reserve Price: If the seller indicated a price that must be met before he would sell his product, and that price has or has not been met, it would indicate it here.

7. Minimum Bid: This is the minimum acceptable bid for the next bidder.

8. Photo Enlargement: The photo of the product can be increased in size by clicking on it, or another photo may be visible.

Bidding

To bid on an item, submit the form at the bottom of the item sales page. Here is an explanation of the bidding process:

1. Enter your username and password, or if you are bidding via cookie (automatically enters your username and password every time you want to bid), make sure the checkbox is checked.

2. Enter your bid. The default value in the text field will be the minimum bid necessary to win at least one quantity of the item. The system will not permit you to submit a lower bid.

3. If necessary, enter the number of items on the page that you would like to bid on. The field will not appear if there is only a single item for sale, or if each bidder is limited to winning a single unit. Please note that your total bid is your bid price times the quantity you requested.

4. If you are able to bid on more than one item on a given sales page, you may choose the option of accepting only the entire quantity. In other words, if you cannot win the entire quantity you requested with your bid, you would not be interested in winning the items at all. If you want to accept only the full quantity, check the checkbox.

5. You may choose to use the auto-bid feature. To use this feature, click the checkbox to verify this and then enter the maximum amount you are willing to pay for this item. The maximum amount must be at least one bid increment greater than your initial bid.

When each new bid is submitted, the system will ensure you still have a winning bid. If you no longer have a winning bid, it will raise your bid to maintain your winning status. If you will accept only the full quantity, the system will raise your bid sufficiently to win the entire amount. If it cannot win the full amount, even with the maximum amount you're willing to bid, it will stop bidding for you. If you chose to accept as many items as you can possibly win, the system will raise your bid to win as many items as possible until your maximum biddable amount is reached.

If you have already bid on an item, you can update your bid, i.e., change the bid price or quantity, by submitting a new bid. The system will check your username, determine that you have already bid for this item, and update your bid accordingly.

Here are the rules that determine who wins the bidding for an item. These rules apply for all items for sale.

1. An earlier bid will beat a later bid of the same price.

2. Users may not delete their bids once they are submitted.

3. Users may edit their bids to increase the price or change the quantity.

4. When a user updates his/her bid, or if their bid is automatically increased using the auto-bid feature, the bid is still considered to be from the date/time of the original bid. Thus, that bidder will still beat a later bid of the same price. In other words, updating a bid does not affect its status as an earlier bid. If you are thinking of bidding, it pays to bid early rather than later.

   5. Each lot has a designated closing date/time. However, the lot may also have an inactivity period which will keep that lot open past the designated closing time as long as there is still active bidding. If a bid is submitted during this time, the period is extended. For example, if inactivity period is 5 minutes, the auction will remain open until 4 minutes and 59 seconds after the previous bid, even if past the closing time. If the lot has an inactivity period during which bidding will remain open past the closing time, it will be listed with the closing time in the table at the top of the lot page.

And that is it.

We will notify you by e-mail when you are outbid and at the end of the auction if you have a winning bid.

If the item for sale has a "Buy Now" option, you can purchase the item at the "Buy Now" price without waiting for the auction to be completed. By selecting this option, you automatically stop the bidding process and purchase the item.

The Buy Now Process

The "Buy Now" item page is similar to the auction page except there is no starting bid or reserve price. The price listed is the price the seller wants you to pay for the item. Once you agree to purchase the item, the sale is completed.

If there is more than one item for sale on a "Buy Now" sales page, the item will remain available until the sale closes or when all of the items are sold. If the sale item has more than one of the item available, you may purchase as many of them as available.

Only companies who activate the catalog feature of their Directory Listing can place products or services in this area. A company can use the catalog feature to place their entire product line online. The catalog can function as a sales venue or provide information on the company products. The price of a product or service does not have to be displayed and an area for a visitor to contact the company is supplied.

In order to check the status of all your bids, click on the "My Account" link on the top of any page just unneath the header. It is also located on the home page, half way down running horzontally. Check the status of all your bids. This page will maintain a history of all your buying activity for as long as you are registered, and tell you whether an activity is successful or not. It will also provide a link to that lot so that you may update your bid (assuming the lot is still open).

Enter your user name and password, or if you are using a cookie, make sure the cookie checkbox is checked. If your username and/or password are not correct, the system will ask you to re-enter them.

Contact Seller Information

The seller's username will appear in the upper left hand corner of the lot page. Directly under the seller's username will be a link to their homepage where you will find additional information on the seller, plus all the items they have listed for sale. There is also a link to rate the seller, thus telling others about your experience with this seller.

Mailing List

As a registered user, from time to time you will receive information from Optical Auctions regarding upcoming auctions and promotional information. Should you decide in the future that you no longer wish to receive this information, log on to Optical Auctions and select "My Account". Click the view/edit account information and check "No" to opt-out of our promotional information. See our Security and Privacy Policies at the bottom of this page.

Edit Your Personal Information

Editing your user information is easy. On the dark blue bar in the Middle of the home page and on the Top of every main category page is a link called "My Account". When you click on the link it takes you to a number of additional options. Select the "view/edit account information" and you can change or update the information you originally entered about yourself. You may change your user name, but it must be unique. If you would like to change your password, enter your new password and verify it.

Selling Your Products

In order to sell your products in Optical Auctions, you must first be registered. After confirming your registration, as indicating above in the registration process, click on the button on the home page and main category pages called, "My Account". You will immediately see the "Selling" link. By selecting this link, you will be able to create your own auction or buy now item for sale.

Security and Privacy Policies

Certain personal data are required from you for registration into the site, such as name, address, e-mail, etc. This personal data will be used internally by Optical Auctions to assist in improving the content and product offerings on the site and to allow you to use the site effectively. Personal information about individuals will not be provided to any third party. However, we do reserve the right to release aggregate information about our subscribers for demographic research, marketing and promotional purposes. Secure information, such as banking accounts, credit card numbers, or other financial information will not, under any circumstances, be released to any party.

Should you wish to unsubscribe to our service or remove your information from our database and not receive future communications, you may do so at any time. See Privacy Statement.

Optical Auctions uses a totally secure server and subscribes to GeoTrust Internet Standard encryption services.

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