= The Auction House

The auction house is a **networked market**: post a listing at any auction house and it shows up
at every other one, so buyers and sellers across the world trade in one shared marketplace. You
run everything from the floor of an auction house with the **auction** command (short: **auc**).

Two things are worth knowing up front:
* **Money you win with, and money you bid, moves through your bank.** Sale proceeds are paid into your **bank account**, and an outbid or refunded bid is returned to your **bank** -- not your pocket.
* **Items you win or get back go to your locker.** A won item -- or one that comes back to you unsold or cancelled -- lands in your **locker** (Bill's Self Storage), not your inventory. Swing by your locker to collect it.

== Browsing

* **auction list** //(or just **auction**)// -- browse the current listings, 16 to a page. Add a page number to page through: **auction list 2**.
* **auction search //name//** -- show only listings whose item matches //name//. A trailing number is the page: **auction search dagger 2**.

Each listing shows a **number**, the item, the current or starting price, any buyout, and how long
it has left. You can refer to a listing by its **number** or by the **item's name** in the commands below.

== Bidding

**auction bid //#|item// //price//** -- place a bid, e.g. **auction bid 12 5 gold** or **auction bid dagger 3 silver**.

* Your bid must be **more than the current bid** -- or, if there are none yet, at least the **starting price**.
* The coins come **off your purse immediately** and are held in escrow, so you must have them **on hand** (withdraw from the bank first if they're deposited).
* If someone **outbids** you, your held coins are returned **to your bank**, and you're told so.
* You **can't bid on your own** listing.

=== Buyout

A seller may set a **buyout** price. Bid that much or more and you **win the item at once** -- the
auction closes immediately, the item goes to your locker, and the seller is paid. It's the way to
take something off the market now instead of waiting out the week.

== Selling

**auction sell //item// for //price// [buyout //price//]** -- list an item you're carrying.
//(**auction start** does the exact same thing -- use whichever reads better to you.)//

* Example: **auction sell steel dagger for 5 silver buyout 20 silver** -- opens bidding at 5 silver, and anyone who bids 20 silver wins it outright. The buyout is optional.
* **Listing part of a stack:** put a count first -- **auction sell 10 wool for 5 silver** lists ten wool and leaves the rest with you. The listing shows the count (//wool (10)//), so bidders see exactly how many units they're buying, and the whole pile is delivered to the winner.
* Every listing runs a flat **one week**. There's no duration to choose.
* Listing costs a flat fee of **1 silver**, paid from your purse when you post (it isn't refunded).
* The item leaves your inventory and is **held by the auction house** until the listing ends -- you can't use or drop it while it's listed.
* You can't list something you're **wearing or wielding** (remove it first), and **junk** can't be listed.
* The buyout, if you set one, can't be **less than the starting price**.

== Cancelling

**auction cancel //#|item//** -- pull your own listing before it ends.

* The item is returned to your **locker**.
* Any standing bid is refunded to that bidder's **bank**.
* Cancelling costs the same flat **1 silver** fee.

== When a listing ends

Auctions are settled shortly after their week is up (within a few minutes), whether or not you're online:
* **With a winning bid** -- the item goes to the **winner's locker**, and the sale price is paid into the **seller's bank**. Both are told when it happens.
* **With no bids** -- the item simply returns to the **seller's locker**. Nothing is lost but the listing fee.

== Command summary

^ Command ^ What it does ^
| **auction list [//page//]** | Browse listings (16 per page). |
| **auction search //name// [//page//]** | Browse listings filtered by item name. |
| **auction bid //#|item// //price//** | Bid (held from your purse; refunded to your bank if outbid; buyout wins now). |
| **auction sell //item// for //price// [buyout //price//]** | List a held item for one week (1 silver fee). //**auction start** is the same command.// |
| **auction cancel //#|item//** | Pull your own listing early (1 silver fee; bid refunded, item to your locker). |

== See also
* **[[Shops]]** -- buying and selling to shopkeepers
* **[[How to Play]]** -- moving, looking, fighting, resting, the basics