Announcement: Reminders Regarding R&C Auctions - Updated 10/28/08

[Noraboo]

Hello everyone,

After much discussion based on feedback from the R&C community, we would like to announce a change in R&C Auctions policy.

Bid retractions during an auction and bid withdrawals/cancelations by the auction winner after an auction has ended are no longer permitted.

The only exception to this is if the terms of the auction are changed after bidding. In such a situation, the high bidder must be given the opportunity to withdraw their bid.

Up to this point forum policy has allowed bid cancelations and allowed users to back out of an auction after they had won without penalty if they had not yet finalized the commission arrangement. However this policy has been abused excessively and as such is being replaced with the policy listed above.

When bidding on an auction, please be certain that you have the funds available to bid and are fully aware of the auction's terms.

Auction holders also have a responsiblity to be reliable and not cancel the auction unless circumstances prevent you from having the time to complete the art offered. Please respect your bidders and realize that they have time and gold tied up in bidding, just as you have invested time, so please do not cancel auctions frivolously.

Please contact an R&C moderator should you have any questions.

Thank you.

[Noraboo]

Another brief reminder for art auction hosts and artists. ^^

Please remember the following:

You cannot use a mule account or sockpuppet in order to bid on your auction and raise the price. This is scamming, and scamming is a very serious offense. Please be honest in your auctions and let only interested, unique accounts bid on your auction.

Also, if you are participating in an auction or hosting an auction, you cannot also bid on that auction. This is a conflict of interest and can lead to questions about the fairness of the auction and the chances for uninvolved users to win it. This still applies to group auctions with many individual artists up for bidding - if you are part of a group auction, please refrain from bidding on the slots of other artists in your auction.

Thank you!
Gaia Administration