You might have mistakenly entered your password wrong or you might have your Caps Lock on (Capital Letters). Our system uses a case-sensitive password system.

You need a valid email address to participate in Phonecards Auctions. If your email address has changed since you first registered, it's important that you update it: otherwise, you will not receive email confirmation messages for auctions whether you are bidding or selling. Any change will affect new auctions posted but not the running ones.

Norton Internet Security and Norton Personal Firewall block the sending of referrer information by default. This information is needed by Phonecards Auctions. If you want to allow referrer information to pass to a particular Web page, you must create a rule for it. You can see the instructions supplied by the Symantec support site following the appropriate link for the version you have:

The seller (the person who posted the item) decides what he or she wants the bidding to begin at. Usually this is (and should be) just below the lowest price acceptable for the item. If you bid, the system will ask you to bid the starting price if no other bids have been already placed. Sellers are encouraged to start items at a reasonable amount and not absurdly high. Buyers like the auction process because it allows bargain shopping. If an item is priced right, people recognize the bargain and bid on it.

The Bid Increment ($0.25 is the default increment) raises the bidding each time by that minimum amount (you can always bump it up even higher or enter a Proxy Bid, in which case the system will bid either the bid increment or enough of your stated amount to make you the leading bidder. The purpose of the bid increment is to keep someone from outbidding you by some silly amount like $.01. It protects you and assures the seller of getting a decent return if the item is hotly contested.

The reserve price is the lowest price the seller is willing to accept for the auction item.
When posting an auction, a seller sets a starting price. This amount is usually low, allowing the seller to attract bidders who then drive up the price naturally, by placing bids.

Sometimes (and our system supports this) a seller enters a Reserve Price. This price is usually higher than the starting price. If the reserve price is not met by the close of the auction, the item will not be sold. Neither the bidder nor the seller will be under obligation to complete the sale, but both of them will receive an e-mail at the end of the auction, advising that the reserve price has not been reached, and suggesting to contact each other to discuss a deal if they like.

A seller usually specifies a reserve price if he/she is unsure of the real value of an item and wants to reserve the right to not sell if the market value is less than expected. For example, his rare item sells for $100. He or she decides to place a starting bid of $1 on the item but they want to get at least $80 for it. So a reserve price of $80 is entered into the system. In such a case--even if you are the high bidder at, say, $60--you will not win the item unless you go over $80.
Auctions with a reserve price not yet reached are marked with

When bidding on an item, the bidder can check an option that avoids that his username is visible to the public. There are several reasons for choosing this option, the most common are because an user would bid against one of his friends, but he's afraid to offence him; or simply because he prefer that other users (or his wife! ;-)) don't know how much he's spending for an item. However, the seller has the opportunity to view the real username of his bidders, both during and at the end of the auction.

Auctions close exactly at the closing time, and any bid placed before the auction ends, even in the last second, is "legal" on Phonecards Auctions. Some bidders, who are used to the more traditional auctions where the gavel only falls when there are no more bids, feel annoyed and frustrated by this type of bidding, because a common practice of experienced bidders is to wait until the last few minutes or seconds of an auction and then place a bid hoping to outbid the current high bidder.
We encourage all members to use the proxy bidding system that is in place to bid the absolute maximum they are willing to pay for an item right from the start and let the proxy bidding system work for them. By placing a proxy bid at your maximum limit, someone else can outbid you only if they are willing to spend more for the item than you are. If someone places a last-second bid that isn't high enough, they almost never have enough time to get back in and place a winning bid before the auction ends.

At the completion of a Reserve Price Auction, if the reserve price has not been met, neither the high bidder nor the seller are obligated to complete the transaction.

Closed auctions are saved for a period of 45 days. We assume that after this period the related transaction has been completed, so all records are automately deleted. Please note that there is no way to restore any data after this period.

There are several systems of "proxy" bids; i.e. the system bidding for you automatically. The system in the Phonecards Auctions software is called "MaxBid." Think of 'Max' as someone who stays and watches the auction 24 hours a day while you're off doing more interesting stuff. You activate 'Max' by entering the highest amount you are willing to pay for an item into the "place bid" box. The system will then bid for you, bidding only enough to make you the high bidder. If someone tops that bid, good old 'Max' places another bid for you and so on up to the maximum amount you've specified. Under no circumstances will 'Max' ever bid MORE than you said. But the system will send you e-mail about an outbid and you can give 'Max' a few more bucks to play with, if you like. Just enter another bid amount.

Yes, our system supports bid raising. Just go to the bid section and enter a higher value than your previous MaxBid. The system will recognize you as the highest bidder and will raise your MaxBid accordingly. In Bid History, a new bid from you will appear, showing the same value of your previous bid.

This means that your bid is below the minimum price the seller is asking for. Just place a bid higher than his starting minimum price.

If you are the only bidder:
You are bidding in a Reserve Price Auction. A reserve price is the lowest price a seller is willing to sell the item for. It should be higher than the minimum bid price and is usually kept secret from buyers. If your maximum bid is equal to or higher than the seller's reserve, your bid is raised to meet it. For example, let's say the minimum bid amount is $15 and the seller's reserve is $50. If you place a maximum bid of $75, your bid will jump to $50 and the words "reserve met" will appear on your item's page.

Sellers use reserve prices to stimulate interest in their items. By starting the bidding lower and adding a reserve price, the item will generally receive more bids. Please note that if you bid on a Reserve Price Auction and your bid does not meet the reserve, you have no obligation to purchase the item from the seller.

If there is at least one other bidder:
There are two possibilities:

1. You are bidding on a Reserve Price Auction and your maximum bid either met or exceeded the seller's reserve amount. See the paragraph above.
2. Another bidder placed a higher maximum bid. When this happens, your bid will increase because Phonecards Auctions bids on your behalf up to your maximum bid.

The reason could be that your web browser might have cached that page. Which means that it has the page in a cache directory on your computer. Simply click the reload button for your browser.

Yes, just check the appropriate box when you are bidding. Instead than your username, a generic "A Bidder" will be displayed. However, the seller has the possibility to view your real username at any moment, both during the auction and after its ending.

If you have any questions about an item, by all means contact the seller and ask him or her (not us!). Just click on Ask seller a question, a link that is included on every item's page. Fill the form, asking about condition of the item, payment and shipment terms, or anything else not already spelled out in the item's description, then send it. The seller will receive your questions by e-mail and will contact you.

You can retract a bid you've made in an auction only under exceptional circumstances. For example:

It's acceptable to retract a bid if...

It's NOT acceptable to retract a bid if...

Please do not abuse this system, or use this interface for anything which might violate the rules of auction participation. When you retract a bid, your IP number is logged and a message is sent to the site administrator as notification of the removal of your bids on auction item; then your bids could be reinstated if the reason for removal is unacceptable to the Terms and Conditions of auction usage.

Phonecards Auctions notifies you via email when you have been outbid. Do you still want the item? Are you willing to pay more for it? Then you'll need to bid again.
In your outbid notification email, click on the link to the auction or cut and paste the url into your browser. This will take you to the auction. Enter a bid higher than the current high bid.
You may also view all the auctions you are bidding on by entering the "My Phonecards Auctions Page".

In certain cases, you may be outbid but later reinstated as the high bidder on an auction. This may occur if the highest bidder cancels the current bid, and makes you the current high bidder. In the event that you are once again outbid, you will again be notified.
Please remember that you are responsible for any bids you have placed until the close of the auction. Even if you are outbid on an auction, there is a small chance that your bid could be reinstated.

The system automatically sends the buyer (highest bidder) and seller of the item e-mail when the auction ends. The buyer and seller then are responsible for making their own arrangements to conclude the deal by payment and shipment. This auction merely offers a venue for buying and selling. We will not, nor cannot, be held responsible in any way for any lack of performance by any and all parties. We simply provide a place that allows people to buy and sell. HOWEVER, do let us know of any problems. We can and will banish anyone who abuses our auction.

Congratulations! You won the auction. What should you do next?

Once your auction starts, you can append additional information, but you may not edit the title or description. Sellers may not update their reserve prices once the auction has begun.

When you edit an existing auction you may:

To edit or cancel an auction, simply go to the bottom of your auction page, enter your username and password in the appropriate boxes, and click on "Modify Auction".
Please note that if you cancel an auction, all edventual fees related to paid services such as Bold, Gallery, etc., should be considered lost and you cannot ask for a refund.

Under these exceptional circumstances, as a seller you may delete the last bid received:

You are allowed to delete only the last bid and only with a valid reason that you have to specify. A message is sent both to the bidder and to the site administrator as notification of the removal of the last bid. However, the bid may be reinstated by the administrator if the reason for removal is unacceptable to the Terms and Conditions of auction usage.

To delete the last bid, simply go to the bottom of your auction page, enter your username and password in the appropriate boxes, and click on "Modify Auction".

Assuming you are the seller, it's very simple: just go to the bottom of your auction page, enter your username and password in the appropriate boxes, and click on "Modify Auction". You'll see the Bid History with all real usernames. Moreover, in your "My Phonecards Auctions Page", the real username of your actual high bidders is displayed in your "Selling" section. There is no way to see the real usernames of anonymous bidders if you are not the seller.

Congratulations! You have a winner. What should you do next?

At the close of auction, if you have not received any bids, or if your reserve price has not been met, you may resubmit your auction. When you resubmit an auction, it will be subject to optional services fees, such as for featured listing or photo gallery.

To resubmit your auction:

When you resubmit, consider making changes to your original listing. Evaluate the following:

After the end of an auction we no longer take part in the transaction between the buyer and the seller. However, as part of our continued efforts to improve the Phonecards Auctions community, we do what we can to discourage winning bidders from failing to complete transactions. Bidders should be aware that placing bids and failing to complete the resulting transactions could result in the suspension or termination of their account.

If sellers encounter non-paying bidders, they should complete this process:

1. Within 3 days of the auction close date, contact the bidder to arrange payment.
2. After 7 days of the auction close date, contact again the bidder if no answer has been received to the first e-mail.
3. If after 10 days from the auction close date, you haven't received any answer from the buyer yet, contact Phonecards Auctions administration forwarding the confirmation emails that you received both when you posted the auction and when it finished, and the other emails between you and the buyer concerning this matter. We will then send a message to the bidder trying to work things out.
4. After 30 days from the auction close date, if things have been not sorted out, go to the Feedback Area and leave a negative comment on the buyer. Consider also to blacklist him and advise other users writing in Collectors Forum.
5. Advise Phonecards Auctions administration, so that we'll decide if suspend or terminate the account of the buyer.

Offer the Item(s) to a Reserve Bidder.
If, although your efforts, you are unable to contact the winning bidder, then you may offer the item to the reserve bidder if there was more than one bidder. If there were no other bidders, we recommend that you resubmit your auction.
The reserve bidder is the second highest bidder but is not obligated to purchase your item. To get the email address of the reserve bidder:

You can ask for a refund of your final fees only if your high bidder didn't contact you or didn't answer your emails. If, although your efforts, you have been unable to contact the winning bidder for 15 days, then you can email us forwarding your confirmation email of the closed auction and asking for the refund. We will try to email the bidder and/or to investigate about his identity: if we are not able to check the bidder identity, we'll advise you, and you'll have to place a negative feedback on him, while we'll decide if suspend or terminate his account.
After this, a refund will be credited on your account for the final fee of your auction.

You can ask for a refund after 15 days but not past 30 days of your auction's close:

1. If, although your efforts, you have been unable to contact the winning bidder for 15 days after the closure of the auction;
2. if after 15 days of your auction's close you have comunicated to Phonecards Auctions that you are unable to contact the high bidder, and you have forwarded us the confirmation email of the closed auction;
3. if Phonecards Auctions has been unable to contact the high bidder or to check his identity;
4. if you have placed a negative feedback to the unidentified high bidder.

You can't ask for a refund:

1. if the contact with your high bidder has been successful, but you have not been paid, for any reason. After giving the buyer and the seller the possibility to contact each other, we no longer take part in the transaction, so all is in your hands;
2. if over 30 days have gone since the closure of the auction;
3. if you have not followed the right steps above.

Your account status is a running list of all your account activity. Account activity falls into one of two categories — debits or credits.

A debit on your account represents the money you owe Phonecards Auctions such as Premium Services Fees or Final Value Fees. Debits are listed on your account status and your monthly invoice as negative numbers.

A credit on your account status represents your payments or fee reversals. These credits in your favor are listed on your account status and your monthly invoice as positive numbers.

Invoicing occurs on the first day of each month and includes the previous month's account activity. An e-mail invoice is sent to you at that time.
You are responsible to pay any amount due, whether or not you receive the email invoice. You may check your account status at any time.
You are also responsible for paying on time. Payments are due on the last day of the month. Late fees will apply, and your account may be suspended for non-payment.

You have many different options — credit card, money order or cash.

Credit Card: There are two ways to pay by credit card. You can place your credit card on file for automatic monthly billing or use the online one-time credit card page.

While placing a credit card on file automately ensures you immediate unlimited credit, one-time credit card payment request is received by e-mail and needs to be processed manually. Thus, after your request, some days could pass before the amount is credited in your account.

If your account balance reaches a debit of $-20.00, or if it has been negative for over a month, your account is blocked until payment is received, or a credit card is placed on file for regular monthly payment. Storing a credit card on file will prevent automatic blocking even if you owe more than $20.00.
If you anticipate your monthly activity to exceed $20.00 and you wish not to place a credit card on file, it is recommended that you pre-pay your account accordingly to ensure uninterrupted service.

We actually accept Visa, MasterCard, and CartaSi.

As Phonecards Auctions is based in Europe, all credit card transactions are made in Euros, the European currency. Due to the convertion from US$, little differences may occur, accordingly to daily rates.