Registration is free and simple and only takes a matter of minutes. As a bonus we'll give you 15 credit on activation of your account to be used against all fees! To start the signup process, click on the Register link at the top of this page. Only users with the age over 18 years are able to register. The next step is to fill in all your contact information and select your newsletter preference. Next choose a Username (this will be your unique identity on the auction) and choose a memorable Password Finally, check all your details, please take time to read our Terms & Conditionsand click on the Register button. You will shortly receive a confirmation e-mail with a link to activate and complete the registration process. Please be assured that we take the privacy of your details very seriously, please refer to our Privacy Policy for clarification
How To Sell
Once you have signed up for an account, you will be able to sell items through the site. In order to do that, you will have to click on the Sell link. If you have a store enabled, you will be first asked to choose where to list the items, you can choose to list in the auction only, in your store only or both. You can then select the main categoryof the product or service you want to sell. This feature has been made in order to ease the subcategory choosing process. No items can be sold by choosing only the main category; you will have to choose a subcategory for it. You can then select a second categoryif you wish; a charge may be made for this depending on the admin setup.
The next step is entering the item Name and Description.
Then onto the Auction Settingspage. Here you can select Auction type, Quantity, Start Price, whether to activate Buy Now or to set a Reserve Price. Also, you will be able to choose what type of Bid Incrementto use, the progressive one implemented into the site, or a custom one. If you choose the custom one, you will have to enter an increment value. You can select any Featuringfor your auction to give your item more exposure. You can select the Duration of the auction from the preset ones or enter your own custom times. We have an "Auto relist" feature that can be enabled or disabled, you can specify the number of relists up to the maximum set by the site admin. You can have one main picture and up to five additional pictures, simply browse to the required image(s) on your computer. Select you location and confirm your postal code
Next step is your "Shipping and Payment" page. You can choose who pays for Shipping Expenses, the buyer or the seller, and you can indicate here if you are willing to ship your item Internationally. If you have entered your Paypal Direct Paymentregistered e-mail addressin your account details, you can choose to accept direct payment for this item. You can also select any additional payment types that you are prepared to accept. Enter your postage and insurance costs if applicable, select shipping method and add details of your payment and shipping policies. If any setup fees are applicable, they will displayed here, read and agree the Terms and Conditionsand click "next step". The next page will display a preview of your listing, you can click "Previous Step" to go back and recheck and/or amend your listing or if everything is in order, click on the "Submit" button,and you will be redirected to the payment page, or a confirmation page, depending on you credit status or if no fees are applicable to the listing. If your account is in debit in excess of your allowed credit limit, the auction will be activated once the payment is confirmed by the payment gateway, otherwise the auction will be activated instantly.
How To Bid
If you have spotted on item you would like to place a bid on you can do so quickly and easily by following these steps: -
(1) Login to your account If you have not registered you can do so within 5 minutes
(2) Visit the auction page
(3) Towards the bottom of the auction description page you will see a Place Bid box, you can use the shortcut to the bidding box if you wish, which is located beneath the thumbnail photo of the item.
(4) Enter in your bid, note you must bid above the minimum bid required
(5) Click on the Place Bid button
(6) You will then be asked to confirm your bid, once you have done so your bid will be entered, if successful you will receive a confirmation message. If you bid fails to outbid the current high bidder you will be offered the option to place a higher bid. Proxy bidding can aid your chances of winning an auction and help avoid you being outbid at the last moment. To place a proxy bidenter in the maximum price you are willing to pay for the item. If another user places a bid on the same auction automatic bids will be placed on your behalf in accordance with your maximum bid amount. With proxy bidding you will pay the lowest possible price until someone else places a higher bid. There is another way of bidding: Buy it now auctions. Buy it now prices are set by the seller, if you agree with that price, you can click on the Buy Now button which is displayed on the auction details page. After clicking on the button you will be re-directed to a confirmation page. On a standard auction that auction will end instantly as the item has been sold via Buy it now. On a Dutch auction, you can enter the amount of items you wish to buy (depending the quantity available).
If you purchase less than there are available in total, the auction will remain open with the number of items left available after you have purchased the amount you want.
How To Pay
The preferred payment method for each item is entirely the choice of the seller. Should you decide to use an online payment system, PayPal is easy and secure. As a seller, sign up for a paypal account, it's free, then simply enter your registered PayPal e-mail address in your Costabargain account details in the Direct Payment box. On the successful conclusion of your auction, the winning bidder will be automatically directed to PayPal's secure site whereupon they can pay you for the transaction, including any postage charges, where applicable. You will then receive an e-mail from Paypal confirming the payment, enabling you to despatch the item quickly.
Here at CostaBargain we have a substantial advertising and marketing strategy and we are constantly working to attract new buyers and sellers from the Costa Blanca, surrounding areas and beyond. We have many members from the UK. However, because CostaBargain is in the Costa Blanca and is primarily structured for the easy and safe trading with people of the Costa Blanca and surrounding areas, you may find in many cases, it will be more convenient to deal face to face with your buyers and sellers, saving your buyers on postage costs and saving you the seller, on Paypal charges.
Paypal. Who?
First of all, what or who is PayPal? Their website http://www.paypal.co.ukis packed full of information but to summarise, in their own words; "PayPal allows any business or consumer with an email address to securely, conveniently and cost-effectively send and receive payments online...."
Basically, anyone with an e-mail address can send and receive payments securely online using traditional credit/debit card or bank account methods.
How to set up PayPal
Setting up a PayPalaccount is simple, however, setting up a PayPal account with a Spanish address so that the PayPal's site is always in English is, well, also simple. Just follow our quick and easy guide.
ii)Select your preferred account type - Personal, Premier or Business.
iii) From the "Select the country or region where you live" drop down box, select "United Kingdom".
iv) Then enter you personal details using your Spanish address with the exception of the "County" field. Here enter a county in the UK where you lived.
v) Then enter your Spanish Postcode.
vi) Enter your Spanish Phone Number.
vii) Then enter your Spanish E-mail address.
viii) Finally to complete the registration process, complete the security questions etc in the normal way.
Following these steps will open an account with PayPay that you can use on CostaBargain in the normal way. The only difference being, that every time you visit the PayPal site it will open up in English.
Members Area
Once you have successfully logged in using the login forms from the main page or from the login page (click on the login button from the page header), you will be redirected to the member's area page. This page is divided into ten tabs:
1) Bidding On this page, you will be able to see the items you are currently bidding on, as well as the status of the bids, items you have won, watched items and details of your favourite seller's stores. By clicking on the Auction Watch link, you will be able to add keywords for auctions you are interested in. An email will be sent to your email address every time an auction containing the keyword(s) in its name or description is submitted. By clicking on the "Item Watch" link, you will be able to keep an eye on an auction without having to place a bid. You will be kept up to date on the item's progress enabling you to place a last minute winning bid. By clicking on the View won item(s) Details link from either the "Items I've won" area or "Buying Totals " area, you will be able to see the details of the seller, and make contact with him via the "Message Board" in order to perfect the sale.
2) Selling There are four main areas available on this page.
The Opened Auctions area, where you will see details of auctions you currently have open; if no bids were submitted yet on an open auction, you are able to edit the auction.
The Closed Auctions area, where you will see the auctions submitted by yourself, and that were closed. You can choose to edit, delete or re-list a closed auction.
The "Auctions Not Started" area, where you will see details of auction you have created but are set to start at a predetermined future date and time.
The Sold Items area, where you will see the items you have sold, and by clicking on the View Sold Item Details link, you will be redirected to a page where you will see the details of the buyer. If an end of auction fee is set from the admin area, then the seller will have to pay for the end of auction fee in order for you to see the buyer details. The end of auction fee will automatically be deducted from the sellers' balance assuming that the balance is in credit or has not exceeded its credit limit. Click on "Message Board" to view buyer's full details and use this area to communicate with buyer. Should the seller get no response from the buyer, and no sale has been made, you can claim back the end of auction fee. By clicking on the Claim back end of auction fee, a claim back request will be sent to the sites administrator, and will be evaluated for fee refunding. From this page you can also change the status of the transaction, leave feedback, send an invoice, send bank details and delete the transaction from the database.
3) Reputation From this page, you will be able to see the feedbacks you have received, and leave feedbacks to other users.
4) Bulk Lister Temporarily Disabled
5) About Me Here you can write a little bit about yourself, and people viewing your auctions can see it. If you activate this page, you will deactivate your store if you have one.
6) Store Opening a Costabargain store is an easy way to have your very own virtual store. To create your store click on the "Store" icon in the members area, you will be redirected to the "Main Settings" page of the Store setup. At the very top of the page there are three links, "Main Settings", "Store Pages" and "Categories Management". You will be on the "Main Settings" page, follow the steps below to begin configuring your store.
i) Select "Enable Store" radio button.
ii) Choose account type.
iii) Then enter your store name, and description. (Note this is the text that will be shown below to your logo)
iv) Enter meta keyword for your store (optional). Enter words relevant to your store and products, this will improve your visibility to search engines.
v) Upload a store logo, you dont have to but it is highly recommended that you do.
vi) Then choose the Store Design. This is a new feature enabling you to customize from the list of templates. We will be adding more templates soon.
vii) Click on "Save Settings".
Now lets visit "Store Pages" by clicking on the second link at the top of the page. This is place where you can enter additional information regarding your store - About the Store, Specials, Shipping info and Company Policies. You can enter the number of Store Featured Items, Ending Soon Items and Recently Listed Items. This page is optional but highly recommended. When you're done click "Save Setting".
Finally, lets visit the "Categories Management" page. Here can select which categories you would like you store to display either from the site's pre-defined categories or you can create your own custom categories and subcategories to make your store unique. When you are done, again click "Save Settings".
You can now visit you store to preview how it will look.
7) Wanted Ads Wanted ads are a new and increasingly popular feature. As an advertiser you can list adverts for items you want and sellers can submit offers for items they are selling. It's a quick, simple and hassle free way of sellers being able to meet buyers demands. Advertiser (Buyer)<br>List a new wanted ad and wait for sellers to contact you with offers. If you receive an offer your happy with you can bid on the item! Sellers Browse the wanted ads and if you see one that matches an item your selling make an offer and tell the buyer you have just what they are looking for!
8) Details From here you can edit your personal information, except for your username. You can view all of your previous transactions from the "View your invoices" link. You can review and change your e-mail preferences from the "Mail preferences" link. Details of your account balance are displayed here. You can also change the password for the account. To enable Paypal Direct Payment please enter your Paypal registration email address. If the password and confirm password fields are left empty, the password will remain the same.
9) History A record of your account transaction with your up to date balance. Also displays your Username and member number.
10) Block Users This feature gives you the ability to prevent unreliable traders from bidding on your auctions. Add the username and you can even add a reason for why they cant bid on your action. Only use this feature if you are really unhappy with the trader.
Dutch auctions
On a Dutch Auction, the auctioneer has more items of the same product for sale. The bidder will enter a maximum bid he is willing to pay for an item, and the number of items he wants to purchase. The highest bidder(s) will receive the number of items they have bid on, and the remaining bidders will receive the number of items still available. Buyers are able to bid more than once for the same item.
Item watching
The Item Watch feature lets you keep a close eye on any auction without having to place a bid on it. This feature means you can be kept up to date on how an auction is doing and prepares you to place a winning last minute bid. You can watch any auction by clicking on the Watch this item link on any auction page.
Auction watch
The Auction Watch feature notifies you of newly listed auctions which contain keywords you have chosen. For example if you are looking for a Playstation 2 you could enter in those keywords from within your members area. Each time a new auction is listed containing the term Playstation 2 you will be notified via this web-site. You can enter in as many keywords as you like.
Feedback system
Once a sale has been processed, both the seller and the buyer will be able to leave feedbacks for each other. The feedback rating is from one star to five stars, and a feedback comment can also be left. The feedback can be left from the Feedback tab from the Members Area. The feedback can only be left once, and it cannot be edited afterwards. The site admin will reserve its right to delete malicious or untrue feedbacks.
Wanted Ads
Wanted ads are a new and increasingly popular feature. As an advertiser you can list adverts for items you want and sellers can submit offers for items they are selling. Its a quick, simple and hassle free way of sellers being able to meet buyers demands.
Advertiser (Buyer) List a new wanted ad and wait for sellers to contact you with offers. If you receive an offer your happy with you can bid on the item!
Sellers Browse the wanted ads and if you see one that matches an item your selling make an offer and tell the buyer you have just what they are looking for!
