INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS - kAuction, eBay Auction Software

1.  You should close all other programs 
2.  Run the setup for kAuction.  On CD it should start 
    automatically or double-click kauction.msi on the CD.  
    For downloads, go to where you downloaded the file 
    and double-click it.
4.  kAuction files will then be installed.  You can choose a 
    location for the files, but the default works perfectly.  
    Just leave it at the default settings unless you have a 
    reason to switch locations.
5.  You should then receive a message indicating that kAuction 
    has been successfully installed.
6.  You can then open by clicking Start->Kinem Software->kAuction.
7.  Get started!  Check everything out, click everything, leave 
    the mouse cursor over text boxes, labels, buttons for pop-up 
    'tips'  It's very stable, so don't be shy.  Just be sure to 
    fill in all of your User Information before attempting to 
    start any auctions.  Click Tools -> Settings/Options on the 
    menu to fill in your user information.


 
GETTING STARTED 

Here are the general steps in getting started with kAuction once
the software has been successfully installed.  Note: this 
information and more can be found in kAuction's 'Help' file. 

1.  Open the program by clicking, Start->Kinem Software->kAuction.
2.  Open the 'User Info' form by clicking the 'User Info' button 
    on the 'QuickStuff' tab or by clicking 
    Tools->Settings/Options on the menu.  
3.  On the 'User Information' tab you must enter your eBay 
    username, password, and email address on file with eBay.
    Accuracy is very important, as kAuction uses this info
    to automate all of your auction tasks.  
4.  Then fill in your name and address, as it will be used 
    for preparing invoices, etc. 
5.  On the 'FTP settings' tab, enter your FTP information for 
    uploading pictures.  See 'Help' and 
    www.kinem.com/picturehelp.htm for more help on setting
    up your picture FTP.
6.  Next, on the 'eMail Account' tab, fill in your email 
    preference and if you are using SMTP, fill in the server
    information.  If you use Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora,
    Netscape for email you should choose the MAPI option.  
    MAPI information is handled by your email software.  AOL 
    users choose the SMTP setting unless you have a Hotmail 
    account and Outlook Express set up for MAPI. See 'Help' 
    and www.kinem.com/aolemail.htm for more info on AOL email.  
7.  Then check your auction defaults and layout by clicking 
    View->Auction Defaults on the menu or by clicking 
    'Auction Defaults' on the 'StartAuction' tab.
8.  You must enter a location in your 'Auction Defaults' before 
    listing any auctions.
9.  You can add backgrounds, background sounds, and change the 
    way your auctions will look at anytime.
10. Pick your Hit Counter preference on the 'Hit Counter' tab.
    The easiest is the free Andale/eBay hit counters.
    Go to www.andale.com and set up a FREE hit counter account.
    An 'Andale' button is available on the 'QuickStuff' tab to 
    view all your hit counters and total bids on your items. 
11. Also, before emailing any bidders, you will need to enter
    your default emails by clicking View->Emails
    on the menu and your tax info by clicking View->Tax Table
    on the menu.  
12. Check your system time and date.  Set the time if necessary,
    because kAuction uses the time and date for many processes.
    kAuction will set the time for you if you are connected to
    the internet.  Double-click the clock in the top right corner
    or click Tools->Set Time on the menu.
13. Sign in to eBay.  Make sure to check the box that keeps you
    signed-in.  eBay requires cookies in order for you to perform
    some tasks.  They may also ask you to sign-in AGAIN when you
    try to do certain tasks, so make sure you check the box to
    stay signed-in again when asked.
14. BE SURE to adjust your Internet Explorer.  
    See Getting Started->Adjusting Internet Explorer in the help file.
15. You can now start an auction!  View the 'Help' file for more 
    info on how to start your first auction or view the 
    steps below.
16. For the latest updates, check www.kinem.com/updates.html or
    www.kinem.com/beta.html



STEPS TO SUBMIT AN AUCTION:

1.  Click on the 'StartAuction' tab of kAuction's main screen
2.  Click on the 'Pick Item' button (either one) to open your 
    item records.
3.  Find the item you want to start an auction for.  You can...
      -Click on 'Add' (to add a new item) 
      -Click on 'Edit' (to edit the current one)
      -Scroll through the items to find the one you want to 
       start an auction for 
      -Tip:  you can use the 'Find' button to find a certain 
             item, or double-click the Record # label to jump
             to a certain spot in your records, or jump to the
             last record because the most recently entered 
             items will be at the end.
4.  Click on 'Browse' to find your picture(s) on the hard drive 
    if the item has pictures and they have not yet been uploaded.
5.  Click on 'Upload' and kAuction will contact your FTP space and
    transfer them.  (Wait a couple of seconds for the upload.)
6.  Enter auction listing information for the item, such as Days, 
    Min, Cat, etc.
7.  Click on 'Save' if the item records are open (from editing 
    or adding.)
8.  Click on 'Start Auction' to transfer the item information to 
    the 'StartAuction' tab
9.  Click on 'Auction Defaults'  That takes you to Preview of your
    general Auction Layout.  You can change the text color, 
    text size, picture placement, etc.  Also, fill in your 
    defaults on this form (like location, country, etc)
10. Click on the 'Backgrounds & Options' tab to select a 
    background if you want
11. Close the 'Auction Defaults' form
12. Click the 'Build Start Auction Form' button.  This will begin
    sending the auction information to eBay.
13. You can click 'Preview' to see your auction with pictures and 
    description now if you like
14. If you chose 'Auto Submit' when submitting the auction, the
    auction will be submitting for you and the auction item number
    will be retrieved for you.
15. If you did not choose 'Auto Submit' then, kAuction will stop
    submitting the auction when it gets to the eBay page that allows
    you to review the auction.
    Review the eBay page that contains your auction information.  
    If it's ok, scroll to the bottom and click on 'Submit'.
16. eBay will give you a confirmation page indicating that the 
    item has been listed.  Copy the Item Number from the eBay page
    (that is showing in kAuction's browser) and paste it into the
    'Item Number' box.
17. Click 'Auction Has Begun' to enter it into your database.

(Note:  you can enter as many item records as you want before 
starting any auctions for them.  kAuction store your item info
forever, so you don't have to start the auctions right away.  
I do it this way.  I enter my first new item by clicking 'Add' 
on the item records form.  I fill in the description, upload 
pictures, choose the category, minimum, etc.  Then I click 'Add'
again to enter another item.  Sometimes I work on 40-50 items at 
night (uploading pictures goes quicker for me at night) then 
start auctions for those items one after the other the next
day when I get time.)



STEPS FOR AUCTION END:

For one auction: 

1.  Find the auction.  If you have a small number of auctions 
    in the database, simply move through your auction records
    to find it.  If you have a large number of auctions, you
    can find the one that ended by clicking 'Find' and using
    one of the search options.  Searching on 'End Date' is a 
    quick way to find the auction that ended. 
2.  To retrieve the high bidder information, choose 
    'Get Bid Info' from the 'Do Auction Task' drop down list 
    box.  It will retrieve high bidder information for 
    the auction. 
3.  Email the high bidder by choosing 'Winning Bid Email' 
    from the bidders 'Do It' drop down list box. 
4.  (Note:  you can also choose 'Get All High Bids' from the 
     'Do Auction Task' drop down list box.  It will find the 
     auction that has ended and get the bid info for you) 

For a number of auctions: 

1.  Choose 'Get All High Bids' from the 'Do Auction Task' drop
    down list box.  kAuction will find all auctions that are 
    ended (according to the end date/time you have entered 
    in the database)  
2.  After all bidder information is successfully retrieved, 
    then you can email the winning bidders.  Choose 
    'Email All Bidders' from the 'Do Auction Task' drop down
    list box and kAuction will find all auctions that have 
    had the Bids Checked, but are not yet marked as 'Emailed.'
    kAuction will generate the 'Winning Bid' emails for you,
    one after the other.
3.  kAuction will also combine multiple winning bids into one
    email for you automatically. 

(Note:  kAuction calculates the auction final values fees at this
time also.  It adds the final value fees to the auction listing
fees and displays the total in the 'Fees' box.)