Does anyone here have experience with this? My biggest question is what kind of TOS you have to write for an auction site. What happens if one user sues the other because they've never paid, or over fraud? How do you as the webmaster get yourself out of being dragged into court over it?
I don't have such experience,but why not refer to some similar website to see how they write their TOS?
Read from the other sites. See what kind of terms and conditions they have. Try reading the relevant state/federal laws. It always helps to learn as much as you can. But at the end of the day you should probably seek professional legal advice. It is expensive, but the law is complex and hard to understand if you don't have the relevant legal background.
I wouldn't bother....auction sites are extremely hard to get going. Your better off making it a normal online shop I think. Good luck.
The most important TOS is that you're not responsible for the any transaction that done between user to user. And if user want the protection,then need pay the service charge such as pay 1% of the amount to you to hold the funds. You as middle man only release the fund when the buyer received the item.
One more omportant TOS you can add is, You agree that this TOS is subject to modifications and updates as and when needed. All the members will be notified of this via email. The admin is not liable for any transactions, deals or disputes between the users.
There is software programs you can buy to set up auction sites. Be prepared to have alot of sleepless nights doing support. Auction sites seem to draw some really brain dead people. There should be some kind of test to be able to join some of these sites. Read some of the forums and the silly questions people ask. How many of you know people that buy a computer and then they are an expert in their mind after 1 month because they learned they can actually do different things with a mouse.
Wrote an auction software years back (before ebay took over the number one German auction site) for a German niche auction .. art and antiques only. Still running strong. They engaged a lawyer to write the terms and conditions. Did cost some money but kept them out of legal troubles for more than 10 years now. Sometimes you simply have to invest at least some money ....
I had a go at running an auction site a few years back using PhpProBid software. For my TOS I made up my own based on what other sites used, however, this is no replacement for getting a laywer to check it over. As has been mentioned by others I found that running the site was very high maintenance. People listing copied DVDs, lots of customer support, that kind of thing. In the end I had to shut it down as I'm only a one man band and couldn't afford to hire anyone to help run it. I had no income form the site as the only way to promote it was to make it completely free to use. But that was a few years back and things have moved on. More people are becoming increasingly fed up with Ebay and the high fees they are charging, there is potential for others to gain some ground, but it will be a hard challenge.
Would have to agree with other posts - read other sites - get a good feel for what you want to be in there - then apprach an attorney to finalize it. Keep in mind that your goal is to CYA!
An important and simple solution in a wide range of TOS policies is the concept of mandatory mediation outside of court using a 3rd party agreed upon by both parties and damages limited to a maximum of XXXXX plus cost of mediation. This usually covers most issues and is a simple, fair, and expedient method of solving issues. Now, in the case of an auction--a small fee paid to you could make you the 3rd party mediator between buyer/seller and offer increased earnings. Then issues with the service from buyer/seller could be mandatory mediation as outlined.
The competitors for auction websites are HUGE. You're going up against eBay, and that by itself - is something that could ruin your whole business. As for the TOS, you can clearly state that you're "not held liable for possible fraud", and that you're only the middle men, and hold the funds. Yugo,