GMD Rules & FAQ - STOP! Read this before PMing me!

[Ambu]

Please keep in mind that at all times;
The Bank and Vend are 'USE AT YOUR OWN RISK'
Read here for more information.

STOP! Thinking of PM'ing me to ask me a question about the marketplace? Think again. Please read this thread FIRST. If your question can be answered in this thread I will simply reply to your PM with a link to it so I suggest you read this first for questions about the marketplace.
Everything you need to know about how to use the Marketplace or it's glitches can be found in here. If it is not here then feel free to PM me and I"ll be more than happy to help.

What is the Marketplace?

Gaia Marketplace is a system for selling items through an efficient interface. You can sell items, buy items, auction items, etc. Because the Exchange forum is often difficult to use, this system has been put in place to compliment it. Please note that the Gaia Marketplace is not meant to replace the exchange or shops, and those features are not affected.


What is the point of this forum?

This is a forum where you can take additional offers for the items in your market/vend. Often users prefer gold for their items so they will sell it in the market/vend. However they may be additionally willing to accept items, threads dealing with taking offers like this go here instead of the main Exchange.

Rules and Guidelines.
Getting started.
Setting up your shop.
Marketplace FAQ.
Currently known glitches
Non-Sticky FAQ

Updates:
9.14.07 ~ This information is for the Marketplace 2.0, not the newly beta testing Marketplace 3.0. Until Marketplace 3.0 has officially released I won't be updating this. Once the new marketplace has been officially released I'll go ahead and create a guide at that time. I am waiting until official release because of the bugs/changes that will be going on during beta testing. Please don't PM me about updating this, I'm waiting for a reason. ^^

8.30.07 ~ READ THIS THREAD BEFORE PM'ing ME. If your answer can be found in this thread I will simply link you to it so I suggest you read it.

BEFORE reporting any glitches with the marketplace please read the post on current glitches. The marketplace is excessively laggy so if you are missing items, gold, or the ability to sell items this is the cause so please just wait up to 48 hours before reporting it.

Marketplace 3.0 should be released soon and this will most likely resolve many of these glitches. Also because of this the screenshots are outdated but I am not going to update until the new Marketplace has been released.

1.22.07 ~ Just added the ToS information in regards to Bank/Vend losses since it does seem to be a current problem. This is not a change to any policy, I'm just updating the sticky with the info to advise users of it.


10.17.06 ~ Transaction Lock Error - old glitch, new update. Read more here.


6.15.06 ~ Stop PM'ing me with vend/market questions, please! gonk I have recieved very FEW PMs from users where the answer was not already explained in the sticky. From now on, anyone PMing myself with vend/marketplace questions that can be answered by this sticky will recieve a link here and expected to read it. If your question cannot be answered by the sticky then I would be more than happy to help, but please look for the answer here first.


6.10.06 ~ The change in searches for the vend is not a glitch. This was changed and explained in the Announcement. Please check there for more indepth details about this change.

• Searches for multiple words. Each word is now seperately searched for and will pull up any items with each seperate word in it. To narrow your search please use quotations around the words you are looking for.
  
• Words with less than 4 letters. Currently the system will not pull up any items if they have less than 4 letters in the name. However, this will be changed in the future. No expected date of change.

[Ambu]

All of the general rules of the Exchange apply here as well.

• Threads here should only be ones in which the discussion or sale of a users market/vend items is going on.
  
  
• Threads asking about anything regarding the marketplace (such as how to use it, problems with it, etc) should be posted in the Questions & Assistance forum.
  
  
• Discussions about the GAIA Exchange community belong in the Gaia Community Discussion forum. While they may deal with the Exchange these types of threads are not suitable for this forum.
  
  
• Rants/bitching/whining and asking for opinions on items to buy/sell/wear all go in the Chatterbox. If your thread is not mentioned here as to where else it should go, and it isn't advertising your vend, then it's safe to assume you should be putting it into the chatterbox.
  
  
• Advertising/Begging in another users thread will result in a warning. This is considered spam as well as rude, please use the appropriate forums to advertise/beg.
  
  
• Asking users to "label trade as '[insert something]' or else I will accept it as a donation" is not permitted. It is fine to ask users to label their trades to help you know what the trade is for. However, accepting a trade as a donation without completing your half simply because it was mis-labelled is exploiting users for gold. If you see a thread that has this rule, please use the "report a thread" feature so that a moderator can be informed.
  

Gaia is meant to be a friendly place. While the following are not rules, they are suggestions to help make the experience better for all users involved.

• Check the vend/exchange for the going price of what you are selling. This is an extremely effective way to make sure that your item is actually sold, while not ripping yourself off. If the items are priced too highly they will not sell. If they are priced too low you may lose out.
  
  
• Please do not cancel your auctions after there are already bids. This is really frustrating to buyers who may decide to never buy from you again. While this is not against the rules it is extremely rude. If you are putting an item up for sale you should make sure that the lowest price you choose is something you are willing to let the item go for.
  
  
• Don't PM users who purchased your items, in an attempt to get them back when you mis-price the item. All sales are final so when you are selling your item you need to check the prices. If you mis-price an item, please do not PM the user asking or demanding for the item back. They are not required to return the item to you and many buyers consider this rude.
  

[Ambu]

Trading pass = 500gold; Vending pass = 1,000gold

Step One:

You will need to start out by making sure you have a trading pass. You will need one to get a vend pass which is required for your own market/vend.

To get the trading pass you will need 500 gold. Once you have the appropriate amount of gold you will need to go to the bank. There are two ways to get there. The easiest way is to hover your mouse over the Community tab, and select "trade" as shown in the screenshot below.



The second way to get to the bank is to go to the world map and find your way to Gambino Island. Selecting the building in the bottom right will take you to the bank. Example below.









Step Two:

You will see a warning that you have not yet purchased a trading pass. If you have already made 500 gold you will need to enter your password into the box as listed and select the "buy trading pass" button. This will now activate your trading pass and you can make and accept trades from other users.









Step Three:

Once you have purchased a trading pass you will need to gain 1,000 gold to be able to purchase the vending license. Once you have this amount you can buy a vend license in the same location as the trading pass.








Step Four:

You are done! biggrin Now all you need to do is go to the marketplace to create your store which I will explain in the post below. There are two ways to get to the Marketplace. The easiest way is to do similiar to how you made your way to the bank. However, rather than selecting the 'trade' option, you will need to select the 'marketplace' option. This will take you directly there. See example below.



The other way is to once again go back to the world map and finding your way to Gambino Island. Select the building that is highlighted in the screenshot below and you'll find yourself there.



*NOTE: Please keep in mind that making bids on other users items in the vend will immediately remove the gold from your account. This is to save the gold for use for that item if you win. If the auction is cancelled or you are outbid the gold is returned to your account.

[Ambu]

You've finally made it! Now to get you all set up to sell your items for gold.




Step One:

You will want to set up your shop page. To do this you will need to follow the link at the top of the marketplace that says "my store". Or simply follow that link.

To the left there will be an image of your avatar. Below the image are many important links which you will learn to use. To start setting up the shop, select the link for "edit store".

Welcome message: The place for you to label or name your shop. This is generally the title or main intent of your shop.

Store front: This is what you will use to list any rules or descriptions for your shop. You may also include links to your threads that you post in this forum or requests for users that are interested in your items.




Step Two:

Placing your items for sale. Once you are back to your main store page, select the link "sell item" to do so.

To place an item for sale, click the pulldown menu next to "Select an Unequipped Item to Sell"


If selling gaming items (bugs, fish, tokens, tickets, flowers, etc) you can use the quantity section to sell more than 1 item at a time. Please keep in mind that the price of these items should reflect how much you would want for -all- of these at once. The items do not sell seperately unless you put them in the vend seperately.


Now choose how you want to sell this item. You have three choices:


Both Bid and Buy: In this, you are allowed to have users bid gold for your item, while maintaining an "Auto buy" price that you can set. When time expires on the sale, if there is a standing bid, the item will automatically be transfered to the highest bidder, and the gold directly deposited in your account. If there are no bids placed, the item will be returned to your inventory.

Buy Only: This allows you to set an item for a certain price; it will only be sold at that set price. If its not sold when the time the limit you set expires, the item will be placed back in your inventory.

Bid Only: This option allows you to have an item that can only be bid on. This is usualy best for large items that have the possibility of going over a possible auto buy. Again, if time on the auction expires before any bids are placed, the item will be placed back into your inventory.


Next is the Auction Duration


This is the time limit that your item will be in the Marketplace. Once it expires, the item will either be sold to the high bidder, or returned to your inventory.


Now, fill in the Buy Now and Bid Price fields.


The Buy Now Price field is where you put the price that the item can be purchased at. If it is an auction, it is the auto-buy price.

Remember that you do not need to use commas, if you do only the numbers before it will be accepted. For example, 50,000 will be only 50.


The Starting Bid Price field is where you put the starting bid price of the item you are selling when using the 'bid' option as explained above.


Last, is the Minimum Bid Increment


This is where (if you are holding an auction) you can set a minimum price that must be placed to increase the bid. If you set it to 100g, and your item is at 1000g, the next bid must be at least 1100g, and the following would have to be at least 1200g ext.





A finished form will look something similiar to the screenshot below.






Now hit Sell! This will take you to a confirmation screen. PLEASE REMEMBER TO VERIFY THAT ALL INFORMATION IS CORRECT. All sales in the marketplace are final. If you mis-type a price and another user purchase your item the moderators will not return the item to you. Again, all sales are final. The confirmation page will look like this and requires you to enter your password before it will process.





Your item is now for sale in the Marketplace!

HOW DO I GET TO MY WATCHLIST?

Q: Where is my watchlist?

A: You MUST have a vending pass to view your watchlist. Once you are in your vending area (get here by selecting "my store" at the top of the vend) look to the left, you will see your avatar. Directly below your avatar are links to different things you can use. "Watch" is what you want which will list all items currently on your watchlist.

[Ambu]

NEW; VERY IMPORTANT. Q: Can you tell me the price of 'x' item?

A: NO NO NO NO. Ask in QnA, check the price guides, check the marketplace, but do not ask mods/helpers. Just because we moderate the forums does not mean we know off hand the prices for everything and all we can do is look it up, in all the same places you have to look it up. We are not here as your own personal Exchanger, you need to do that yourself. gonk

Q: How do I search for items??

A: There has been an adjustment in the way searches are worked in the marketplace. For more information please feel free to check out the Announcement.


Q: We traded without the bank?!?

A: The Vending Feature automaticly trades the amount of gold that was bid for the item. No need to go to the bank.


Q: OMG! I sold my December 2004 letter for only 100 gold! Can I get my item back?

A: No, all sales are final. There is a confirmation screen so that you can check and make sure all information is correct. If you sell an item for less than the current going price there is nothing you can do.

Q: The auction is still going .. where's my gold?

A: When you make a bid, it takes your gold temporarily. That way, you will be able to pay for what you have bid on , thus guaranteeing the transaction to the seller. Your gold will be returned to you if someone outbids your offer.


Q: The auction is over, where is my gold/items?

A: Sometimes there is a lag that occurs at the end of an auction which does not send the gold/items to their respected owner. In the event this happens, the seller manually accepting the final bid placed may fix this.


Q: I just got a PM from Admin!?

A: The Gaia Marketplace has an automatic PM system. It will let you know when something has been bought or when an auction has expired.


Q: Why can I sell only 4 items?

A: Future versions of the Gaia Marketplace will include options for upgrading your store. For now, you are limited to 4 items to prevent flooding and abuse. If you are not able to sell at least 4 items, or if you can sell more than 4 items, please report it as a bug.


Q: When I sort by Last Bid, less items show up

A: When you sort by Last Bid, you don't see Buy Only items.


Q: Can I retract a bid?

A: No, one of the features of the vending system is that it guarantees that bids will be honored.


Q: My trading account has been banned!

A: The Gaia Marketplace checks to see if your bank trading account was deactivated. If it is, then you are also not allowed to use the Marketplace.
- Also, this might mean that you have not purchaced a vending pass from the bank yet.

Q: Users are selling items for more than store price!! Isn't that illegal?

A: Selling above store price is not against the rules. Anytime you go to the screen to make a purchase in the vend for a store item the page will post the price the user has set in addition to the actual store price of the item. Because this is openly displayed users are responsible for checking this themselves before a purchase.

[Ambu]

Currently known glitches.


These are current glitches with the marketplace that are already known by the developers and are being looked into. If you are experiencing problems with the vend that are not listed here please contact a moderator with all information about the glitch so that we can help get this taken care of.


Issues:

~ TRANSACTION LOCK ; Items not cancelling after the bid is over.
This is a glitch that is known by the moderators and developers. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do at this time about this and you will just have to wait patiently. This glitch is due to the vending system not properly updating which locks the items in your vend. There is an automatic script that runs roughly once every two weeks which should automatically remove the item from your store. If your item has remained in your store as "expired" for more than two weeks please contact a moderator. Until there is a fix though you will just have to wait it out. Sorry.

~ It says I do not have a vending pass, but I do!
This is a known glitch, please stop reporting it to me. The vend is just very lagging right now and if you wait patiently it will update and recognize that you have a vending pass.


~ Expired/Lag ; Items/gold not being sent when auction is over.
This is simply a matter of the system lagging. Simply wait and be patient, the items or gold will be sent to your account once the item is lagged out of the system. This can usually be fixed if the seller manually accepts the current high bid.
Note: At this time please do not cancel auctions that have been expired as there seems to be an issue of things not going where they should when you do.


~ Unable to sell items in inventory.
Certain items are not showing up in the drop down when trying to sell in the marketplace. Your items are still there they are just not showing for some reason. This has already been brought to the attention of the developers and is being worked on.
Workaround: Just keep trying.


~ Items not adding to watchlist.
Some items are not adding to watchlists. This has been tested out and passed along to the developers to look into. There is no work around for this.


~ Page 2 and on of item searches are not working. This is working again.
When doing searches for items in the vend, trying to get to page 2, 3, 4, etc of the search sends users back to the main page. This has been passed along to the developers.
Workaround: simply add &page=# to the end or the url, replacing # with whatever page number you desire.

Reporting Glitches

If you run into a glitch, please take screenshots of the error message or page that the glitch has happened on or at least a quote of the message you recieve and report it to a moderator with as much information about what happened and how it happened that you can provide.

View Forum Moderators
How to capture a Screenshot

[Ambu]

Bank/Vend is use at your own risk



Please keep in mind that while Gaia is not responsible for the loss of items/gold due to glitches or errors in the Bank/Vend it does not mean we will not try what we can to fix these mistakes. This does mean however that we are not required to issue refunds for these losses.

Terms of Service; Section 16

Disclaimers; No Warranties. GAIA Online and any third-party software, services, or applications made available in conjunction with or through GAIA Online are provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind either express or implied. To the fullest extent permissible pursuant to applicable law, GAIA, its suppliers, licensors, and partners disclaim all warranties, statutory, express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement of proprietary rights.

GAIA, its suppliers, licensors, and partners do not warrant that the functions contained in GAIA Online will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that GAIA Online or the server that makes it available is free of viruses or other harmful components.

We do still ask that users report any such losses as explained above in the Currently known glitches section to us to try and help us locate and resolve the problems.

Thank You!