kBay is a combination bot and website that enables players of The Kingdom of Loathing to easily create and bid on auctions for in-game items.
How does it work?
kBay functions partly as an in-game bot (kBay #1430540) which listens for requests from players. Depending on the request, kBay will list a new auction, bid on an existing auction, delete an auction, or send all of the meat and items it owes to the user.
In addition to a bot, kBay is also the website you are currently viewing. This website acts as a place to view an auction's information or to search for any auction in progress.
How much does kBay charge?
All fees are charged to the auction lister. Bidding on an auction is always free.
kBay charges a 100 meat listing fee to create new auctions.
For auctions that sell, kBay returns your listing fee but charges a seller's fee:
kBay charges 1% of the first 100,000 meat of the final auction price.
kBay charges .5% of the next 900,000 meat of the final auction price.
kBay charges .25% of anything above and beyond the first 1,000,000 meat of the final auction price.
The miminum seller's fee is 50 meat.
Examples:
If an auction sells for 500 meat, kBay charges 50 meat (50 is the minimum fee).
If an auction sells for 70,000 meat, kBay charges 700 meat (1% of 70,000 is 700).
If an auction sells for 400,000 meat, kBay charges 2,500 meat (1% of 100,000 plus .5% of 300,000 is 2,500 meat).
If an auction sells for 5,000,000 meat, kBay charges 15,500 meat (1% of 100,000 plus .5% of 900,000 plus .25% of 4,000,000 is 15,500 meat).
How do I create an account?
You don't need to do anything to create an account. Simply start bidding or existing auctions or listing new auctions whenever you are ready.
Can I use kBay when in hardcore or ronin?
Yes! In addition to sending messages the standard way, kBay also accepts gift packages. This way, you may use meat from Hagnks when placing bids on existing auctions, as well as items from Hagnks to list new auctions. The text you would normally put in your kmail should be placed in the outside note of the gift package. The inside note will be ignored.
Once you are no longer in hardcore or ronin, receiving your items and meat is as simple as sending a message to kBay with the message "cashout".
Does kBay do anything to prevent auction sniping?
You bet! We hate snipers as much as the rest of them. To combat this horrible form of online bidding, any auctions that are bid upon within the last 15 minutes before they close will automatically have their end date pushed back to 15 minutes in the future. This way, as long as people are bidding on your auction, it will never end! Thus, listers are happy since their auctions sell for more, bidders are happy since they don't have to sit there madly bidding at the last possible second, and snipers are... well, snipers aren't happy. Deal.
How does kBay calculate the minimum bid for an auction?
To determine the minimum someone must bid on an auction, kBay takes a look at the current valid bid and and makes a decision:
If the current bid is less than 500 meat, the next bid need only be 1 meat higher than the current bid.
If the current bid is less than 1,000 meat, the next bid must be at least 5 meat higher than the current bid.
If the current bid is less than 10,000 meat, the next must be at least 10 meat higher than the current bid.
If the current bid is less than 100,000 meat, the next must be at least 100 meat higher than the current bid.
If the current bid is less than 1,000,000 meat, the next must be at least 500 meat higher than the current bid.
If the current bid is greater than or equal to 1,000,000 meat, the next bid must be at least 1,000 meat higher than the current bid.
Luckily, you don't have to worry about any of this. All you need to do is look at the "Minimum Bid" column on any auction listing page.
What are featured auctions?
In order to further reward the top users of this service, kBay will take the ten people with the highest user rank who also have active auctions and display one auction from each user on the front page of kBay. A user's rank is determined by adding the total amount of fees charged to that user. If you would like to raise your rank quickly without creating auctions, you may also donate meat to kBay. Donations increase user rank by the amount of the donation. To learn how to donate, check out the Kmail Syntax page.
What is the deal with kBay advertisements in chat?
Users are not allowed to advertise their kBay auctions in chat. However, the powers that be have graciously allowed the kBay bot to post an advertisement in /trade every 30 minutes. Currently, kBay will grab all of the featured auctions and the 10 auctions that will end soonest. It will randomly take one of those auctions and advertise it in chat. Once a particular auction has been advertised, it will not be advertised again for at least 3 hours.
For how much meat should I try to sell my auctions?
It does not make sense to try and auction an item off for more than it is currently selling in the mall. We recommend that you do a little research to try and determine what your item will likely sell for, and then set the minimum bid price appropriately. The Items of Loathing is a great site for doing this research.
Ok, how do I start?
Whenever you are ready to bid on or to create your first auction, simply head over to the Kmail Syntax page. This page will help you with all of the commands you need to know. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy our service.
