Rules

Auctions are conducted by the Minnesota Aquarium Society (MAS) for its members.  Commercial sales are not permitted.  If you are not a member, you can join MAS at https://aquarium.mn/join.  Do not participate if you cannot drop-off or pick-up auction items at the time and place designated for distribution.  The distribution event is the Saturday morning after the online auction closes (9:30-11:45am) at Lutheran Redemption Church, Bloomington.  Shortly after the auction closes, sellers and buyers will receive an email with instructions.

Auction Dates/Times:

• adding items closes:  Tuesday, Feb 7 @ 10:00pm
• bidding closes: Wednesday, Feb 8 @10:00pm
• pay for items: by Thursday, Feb 9 @ 10:00pm  - use this link to pay
• distribution: Saturday, Feb 11  - 9:15am-noon  (drop-off 9:15–10:00) (pickup 11:00–noon)

• Register items for sale at aquarium.mn/auction/add. Sellers may start listing items beginning on a Wednesday, and all sales items must be listed by the following Tuesday.
• You must declare if the photos are of your fish/items or not.  Your response will be listed next to the photos.
• Each seller is limited to a total of 20 items as a seller.  (No limit on BAP/HAP items.)  Fish and shrimp should be double bagged in clear plastic bags. Plants may be single bagged, damp with minimal water - the do not need to be floating in water.  Glass or other breakable containers are not acceptable for bringing fish/plants.  Items that require re-bagging will be charged $2/item. 
• Sellers may set a Reserved Bid on any item for a fee of $2/item.  When you view your own item, you will see this option.  It uses the Autobid feature to force others to outbid your reserved bid.
• Shortly after the auction, you will receive directions to download formatted labels with buyer and selling price for each item in PDF. Print out the labels and apply them to the bags you've sold.  We recommend using Avery Presta® 94207, however the labels can be printed on plain paper and taped onto the bags.  All sales items must be labelled with our generated labels to ensure proper sorting and distribution. (If you do not have a printer, then hand copy the all the information you see from our online labels.) 
• Seller split is 75%. The remainder supports event costs and MAS programs. MAS will remit payment to you via PayPal. (If you are unable to use PayPal, let us know and we will accommodate.)
• Items that do not have a bid are considered “no sale.”  Similarly, items that do not reach the reserved bid (as set via the Autobid tool) are considered “no sale.”  (If a reserved price was declared, the seller still pays the auto-bid fee.) 
• Items that sell must be delivered to the distribution point for sorting Saturday morning (9:15 – 10:00 am).
• Hard Goods:
  • Picture and description required
  • Large and/or heavy items will be your responsibiility to carry in place in the large-item area. ("Large" is over the size of a 10 gallon tank, and "heavy" is about 20 pounds or more.)

BUYERS:

• Bidding begins as soon as an item is listed in the auction.  All bidding concludes 10 PM on the Wednesday after the auction started.
• All items have a $5 minimum bid. You may use the Autobid system to set a maximum bid. (Autobid will increase your bid at $1 increments over competing bids, up to your maximum bid.) 
• Shortly after the auction ends, you will receive a notice to pay for items you won via credit card or PayPal using https://aquarium.mn/pay. Payment is due on the Thursday immediately after the online auction closes. Late payments will be assessed a $5 fee.  Failure to pay for an item by Friday may mean the item will not be available at pickup and forfeiture of participation in future auctions. 
• Winning items should be picked up between 11:00 am – 11:45 on Saturday morning. SELLERS may pick up their purchased items as soon as we received and sorted all your items.  Items not picked up by noon are subject to forfeit.