Each participant in an auction, whether a buyer or a seller, must register at the auction site. There is no cost to participate although sellers on most sites are required to pay a seller's fee for displaying their product on the auction site. All sellers must decide on an opening bid for their product. There is an opportunity to display a picture of the product if they choose. They must also decide how long they want their auction to last.
Most sellers choose seven days although the number of days can be less or more than seven.
Now the fun begins as buyers visit the various product displays and make bids on items being auctioned. Buyers are kept informed by email about the auctions they are participating in, whether they are high bidder or have been outbid. They are also contacted by the Auction when they are a winner of a particular auction on that website. At that point the buyer is asked to contact the seller to make arrangements for paying for the product and having it shipped to his or her address. Once the transaction has been completed the buyer and seller go back to the auction site to rate the party they did business with.