The Vintage Auction Galleries auction system allows sellers to operate their own private Stores. They can customize the appearance of the store and the categories used within it and include detailed information about their business and their stock. By default, a user's store subscription is disabled - as most users will not have any use for a store. Enabling stores is simple and instant and provides users with a choice of four levels of store:

Basic Store - up to 50 items, $9.95 per 30 days

Medium Store - up to 100 items, $17.95 per 30 days

Advanced Store - up to 500 items, $29.95 per 30 days

Expert Store - up to 1,000 items, $49.95 per 30 days

Apart from the number of items that can be stocked, there are no other differences between the store types.

Setting Up A Store - Subscription Setup

1. To get started with stores, go to the My Store section of the Members' Area and select Subscription Setup

2. At the top, you will see a summary of your store subscription status, showing subscription payment dates and the number of items presently listed. If you have not had a store before, the Store Status will be Disabled.

3. To setup a store, ensure the Enable Store check box is checked:

4. Select the type of store you wish to operate:

5. Click Proceed to activate the store and confirm your choices:

Your store is now ready for use, although you should probably consider adding some further information to it using the Main Settings, Store Pages and Custom Categories sections, which are explained below.

Main Settings

The Main Settings section allows you to customize your store and provide information about the kind of items you offer for sale. There are five fields you can populate (all are optional):

Field	Description
Store Name	The name of your store
Store Description	A description of your store - the kind of items you sell, your trading history, your business, etc This can be formatted and include links to other sites.
Store Meta Keywords	You should enter relevant keywords for your store here - words that people might search for if they were looking for the kind of items you sell. Separate each keyword (or phrase) with a comma.
Store Logo If you have a logo you would like displayed with your store listing, you can upload it here using the Browse and Upload buttons. You can also use a graphics file from another website by entering its URL into the Enter URL field and then clicking Upload. Store Designs Choose from a number of alternative store designs, to help make your store more distinctive.

Store Pages

The Store Pages section allows you to provide additional information about your store, including details of your special offers and shipping information. All of these sections can be updated at any point and changes made will immediately be applied to your store.

Field	Description
Number of Store Featured Items	Specify how many of your store's items you would like to highlight as "feature" items at the top of your store's home page.
Number of Ending Soon Store Items	All store items are listed for a fixed length of time. Specify how many "ending soon" items you would like highlighting in the Ending Soon section on the store home page.
Number of Recently-Listed Store Items	Recently-listed items can be highlighted in the Recently Listed section at the top of your store's home page. Specify how many of your most recent items you would like including in this section.
About This Store	Include additional information about your store, stock or yourself here.
Store Specials	Provide full details of any special offers you are running here.
Shipping Information	Include full details of your shipping policies here, such as postage methods, return policies and packaging information.
Company Policies	Include any further details of your company policies here.

Custom Categories

All items are placed in a category of your choice when listed in an online auction or as a store item. Within your own store you can choose which categories are available and you can create your own custom categories. Please note that custom categories can only be used for Store-only listings - so if you want to list your item in the general auction listings as well as in your store, you may prefer to use the standard categories that are available.

Setting Up A Custom Category

1. To setup a custom category, go to the My Store / Custom Categories section of your Members' Area:

2. Enter the name of your category into the Add Category field, then click the Save Changes button: You can add as many categories as you need in this way.

3. When you have finished adding new categories, click on the Generate Categories button to complete the creation of your custom categories.

Selecting Categories For Your Store

If you don't want to create your own custom categories you can choose to restrict which of the standard categories are available in your store instead.

1. In My Store / Custom Categories section of your Members' Area, scroll down to the Store Categories section:

2. Select the categories you would like to use by clicking on them (hold down

the Ctrl key at the same time for multiple selections):

3. Click on the -> button to add these categories to your store. Selecting your

own categories will automatically mean that only these categories are

available in your store.

Listing Items For Sale In Your Store

See Selling.

Viewing Your Store

1. To view your store, click on the Stores link on the main navigation bar:

2. Type the name of your store into the Store search box:

3. Click on your store's name to enter it: