Q. what's the easiest way to find something that may be of interest me?
A. The auction site homepage now has all available categories listed at centre/top. Simply 'click' on a category and this will take you to the entire listing with subcategories (such as 'stamps', 'postal history'. 'picture postcards', etc) being accessible using the active links down the LH side of the page. To return to the master list of categories, at any time click on the 'house' (homepage) icon which is situated at the LH end of the black Navigation Bar (or anywhere on the TSA Auction Website banner at the top of the page).
Q. How can I find a something a little more specific?
A. To do this you can try using the SEARCH or ADVANCED SEARCH functions. It will enable you you to search for keywords such as 'datestamp' or 'QEII' ..... you will have to experiment a little...... as in life, the quality of an answer is dependent upon the quality of the question!
Q. Are there any imposed limitations when searching for items?
A. You cannot search for words with less than 4 characters e.g.. you can search for 'KGVI' or 'QEII' but not for 'KGV' or 'QV'. Sorry, but this limitation is fairly standard for many search engines as requests of only two or three characters will usually give you too many responses with many being quite irrelevant.
Q. Where are the lot numbers?
A. Every item offered in an auction has a LOT NUMBER at the end of the title e.g. (Q299) and at the beginning of the description e.g. [Q299]. If you see an item that is of interest to you it's a good idea to take a note of the number so that you can find it promptly later using the simple or advanced search facilities. Another method to keep track of items is to 'watch' them ...you can do this by selecting the 'Watch This Item' function that can be found in the light yellow box to the right of the lot title. You can check your 'watched items' whenever you choose by visiting the MEMBERS AREA and selecting BIDDING>Watched Items.
Like with most online auctions, every item also has an AUCTION ID (e.g. 100962) which can be found to the left of the page under each lot title. This can be used the same way as the aforementioned lot numbers.
Q. Why isn't everything set out like in a printed auction catalog with the lots in numerical order?
A. The software I am using does not allow me to provide the traditional presentation ...neither do eBay, Oztion, TradeMe and the vast majority of online auction sites. As every item is located in a category such as AUSTRALIA which has sub-categories such as COVERS>Rates and Interesting Frankings it should take less time to find an item of interest that it would by flicking through a 'traditional' printed catalog. If you are not used to online auctions it may take you a little while to get used to it but after some practice I am certain that you will see what I mean about the shorter search times.
The term "Max. Bid" has caused a little puzzlement for some site users to date.
Unfortunately, for the potential buyer, it doesn't mean that's all that has to be bid to win the lot! :-((
"Max. Bid" = CURRENT BID or the CURRENT STARTING PRICE.
I have listed this as a "needs to be fixed" item when I get a php programmer to sort out some of these 'glitches' in the not too distant future.
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