In Microsoft Internet Explorer, choose Tools, Internet Options, General, Temporary Internet Files, Settings, "Every Visit to the Page". In Netscape, Edit, Preferences, Advanced, Cache, Document in Cache is compared "Every Time".

• You need a High Speed Reliable Internet Connection to bid Live. The reason? The bidding pages refreshes itself with new bid increments every .8 seconds. To test the speed and reliability of your Internet connection go to SpeedTest.net and run the Begin Test. You should have upload and download speed greater than 1 Mb/s and ping speed less than 100ms.
• Sometimes I click and nothing happens. This is a security safeguard. Every .8 of a second, the page refreshes with new updated bidding information. Most of the time, the bid increments can change during this time. It should take about a tenth of a second for the refresh to happen, and during this time, if you click where a button (is/was), the button is disabled, as the bid increments are changing. When you see the bid button change color as you click it, then you know it "took".
• My Browser Locks Up. If your network is using proxy services, or some other filtering, that will slow down the internet traffic to your browser. As Bidding needs updated information, every second, a small delay by your proxy server or filter will clog up your browser and eventually cause it to lock up. You an turn off some kinds of filtering and proxy services with your browser.
  • In IE, the setting would be Tools, Internet Options, Connections, LAN Settings, makes sure none of the boxes are checked.
  • In FireFox, Tools, Options, Advanced, Network, Connection Settings, No Proxy.
  • In Google Chrome, Tools (Wrench Symbol), Options, Under the Hood, Network, Change Proxy Settings, LAN Settings, make sure none are checked.
• Images Blink. Different Browsers handle the display of images differently. In IE, the images blink, In Firefox and Google Chrome they do not.
• You should also be clearing browsing history and caching when you exit. You can set this in your browser also, In IE, it would be Tools, Internet Options, General, [ ] Delete Browsing history on exit.
• Live bidding is a real time application. In order to deliver real time information, the internet screen must be refreshed. We do this every .8 of a second. It takes about a tenth of a second to refresh the screen. During the refresh, the new button values may have changed, so they are disabled -- which explains why sometimes you press a button and it doesn't do anything. Actually odds are that 1 in 10 times, when you try to press a button, it is being refreshed and it will not work. This is to protect you from bidding a number that you don't intend to bid. Also the buttons change values real quickly, in a tenth of a second, so it is very possible that your eye doesn't notice that the value has changed. Some other bidding systems address this by just having one "Bid" button. If you press it you are bidding the number the auctioneer is calling -- not in our opinion a good solution. Of course these factors create the opportunity for you to click on a bid inadvertantly. That is why we have the retract bid button.

• I am completely New to StampAuctionNetwork.com. What do I do? Click "Register" at the top of StampAuctionNetwork®, fill out the form, make sure you check the box for the auction firm you want to bid with, wait till you are approved, then go to the table of contents page for the auction you wish to bid in, and pick "Join the Public Auction in Progress".
• I am registered at StampAuctionNetwork.com, but havn't been approved. What do I do? Login at StampAuctionNetwork.com, pick "Update Registration", check the box of the auction firm, wait till you are approved, then go to the table of contents page for the auction you wish to bid in, and pick "Join the Public Auction in Progress".
• I am registered at StampAuctionNetwork.com, but still havn't been approved. What do I do? If you have checked the auction firm and they still havn't approved you, you will have to contact the Auction firm directly.
• I am registered at StampAuctionNetwork.com, approved by the auction firm and ready to go. What do I do? Just login at StampAuctionNetwork.com, go to the table of contents page for the auction you wish to bid in, and pick "Join the Public Auction in Progress". You will be assigned a paddle number and you will be ready to bid.
• How do I turn on the Audio? Once you have joined the auction, you will see a link that says "Live Audio". Just click it. It has its own help file that will explain any problems you might encounter.

Live Bidding at StampAuctionNetwork! Picture in your mind a Public Auction. At the podium stands the Auctioneer. This person sells each lot by taking bids from the auction floor, the bid book (absentee/mail bidders), the phones, and the Internet. Internet bids are handled by the Internet Auction Manager. This person sits at a screen and does several things. First, they push buttons to indicate the current opening or selling price of each lot that is being offered. In addition, they act as an agent and execute the Internet bids.

If you have ever been to a Public Auction, you know that everything happens very fast. Your connection to the "floor", is by the actions of the Internet Auction Manager, As fast as they are, they are always going to be a second or two behind the auctioneer, as it just takes that long to listen and react. For that reason, don't delay your bidding when your lot comes up. You need to let the Internet Auction Manager know that you are interested in a lot by bidding.

Some Advice. Agressive bidding lets the Internet Auction Manager know that you are a serious bidder. You may want to bid a couple increments so that the lot falls to you and so that the Internet Auction Manager sees that you are bidding competitively. In other cases, you can gain some of the advantages of being a book bidder. For instance, if the lot is at $400 and you are willing to go to $500, you can bid $500. The Internet Auction Manager can then bid as your agent, and if the floor goes to $500 and there are no other book bids at $500, they may be able to secure a "Prior 500" bid for you, beating a tie bid on the floor.