Enhancements Coming Soon to MineralAuctions.com!

May 23, 2023

NEW UPDATES – Effective June 15, 2023

With continuous improvement in mind, we recently conducted a user survey from a randomly selected group of active users on our website. Based on the generous feedback we received, we’ve developed some quality of life improvements to better meet the needs of our customers and are rolling out the first batch of updates. Please read the updates below for complete details of these important changes. A few minor changes have already gone live (as noted below). Previous updates that rolled out in late 2022 are noted underneath the new updates, for reference. 


BIDDING UPDATES – EXTENDED BIDDING TIME THRESHOLDS

Based on user feedback, we’ve made the decision to adjust our extended bidding time thresholds to reduce the thresholds. 

  • Adjusted cut-off for extended bidding from 5 minutes to 3 minutes
  • Adjusted the timer extension from 5 minutes to 3 minutes

PREVIOUSLY – If you placed a bid within the last 5 minutes of an auction, an additional 5 minutes was added to the remaining timer. For example, if a bid was placed with 4 minutes remaining on the clock, the new end time would have adjusted to 9 minutes. This would have repeated for any bid placed within the last 5 minutes remaining, until there were no more bids. 

NEW, UPDATED TIMES AS OF JUNE 15 – Now, the timer will not extend unless a bid is made within the last 3 minutes, and will only add 3 minutes to the remaining time. For example, if a bid is placed with 2:30 remaining, the updated amount of time remaining would be 5:30. 

This adjustment should help in the rare cases extended bidding continues for long periods of time and will quicken the pace at closing.


SHIPPING UPDATES – NEW FREE SHIPPING THRESHOLDS

Beginning on all orders on or after June 15, 2023, we are pleased to now offer free shipping for orders meeting specific value thresholds:

  • DOMESTIC SHIPMENTS WITHIN THE US: All orders valued at $2000 or more before any applicable taxes/shipping will now ship free.
  • INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS: All orders valued at $5000 or more before any applicable taxes/shipping will now ship free.
    **Please note: The Arkenstone is not responsible for any customs fees or taxes charged by customs offices in international locations. These fees are the responsibility of the buyer**

All orders below these thresholds will continue to be billed at our discounted cost (for FedEx options), based on destination location, package weight/size, and value. Due to the risk of shipment, we utilize insured and signature-required USPS Priority Mail or FedEx Express as these methods have the best success rates and protection for your purchases. Please see the Payment and Shipping Info page for more detailed information on what methods we use, based on location and shipment value.

We are happy to combine multiple orders in order to meet these thresholds, however due to Texas law, we are only able to hold shipments up to 180 days. Please discuss any holds at the time of billing to coordinate.


USER PROFILE DASHBOARD CHANGES

  • Added watchlist link to the top of the page for easy navigation when logged in. This change will also benefit mobile users, reducing time and steps to navigate to this page for an overview of watched items/items you are bidding on. This change is already live now! Reminder: any item you have placed a bid on will appear on the watchlist automatically, so you do not need to manually add them. You DO need to manually add items you are NOT bidding on, which is possible by clicking the the star in the upper-left corner of the image when hovering over a listing OR by clicking the ‘add item to watchlist’ button when viewing the individual item.

  • Updated the watchlist page on user profile to separate items based on whether they are currently live or closed. Additionally, live items will sort prioritizing items ending soonest first. Closed items can be viewed by clicking on the ‘closed auctions’ tab. This will keep your default watchlist clean of any closed auctions so you can focus on only active, live items. Items you are the high bidder on will continue to be outlined in green. Items you have been outbid on will be outlined in red. Items you have not bid on will have no colored outline.

  • Updated the bid history page to prioritize showing winning bids only by default. Added tabs to align with design across the website for consistency. Complete bid history can be viewed by clicking on the ‘all bids’ tab. 

  • Moved logout to user profile menu. To navigate to log out from the home page, click on ‘profile’ on the top of the page, and then select ‘logout’ from the menu. This change is already live now!


GENERAL UPDATES

  • Added ‘Collection’ as a search field for closed items. In this field, type the last name only to search closed items from a specific ex collection. Please note – the ex collection field was added to individual listings at the end of 2022, so items from auctions prior to this time may not display in these results. For items older than this, search via the general text search field for best results.

  • Added a link to custom base information to the bottom of each listing. To request a custom base be made for auction wins, please inform us during the billing process. Please note – custom base lead time varies depending on current volume and complexity/size of the order. This change is already live now!

  • Added new options to navigation menu under Auctions:
    • Changed the name of ‘Current Auctions’ to ‘Live Auction Items’
    • Auctions Gallery now displays current auctions in gallery view, with a tab to view closed auctions in gallery view for context and reference.
    • Added ‘Benefit Auctions’ to display benefit auctions separately. Closed benefit auctions may be viewed by clicking on the closed auctions tab.

  • Moved the contact form from the Billing and Shipping information page to the About Us page.
  • Enlarged photo/video size when opening to view larger on individual items to accommodate larger, higher resolution screens. These larger photos/videos should also allow for better inspection of items.
  • Removed timed cut-off for the display of ending bid amounts on closed items. Backdated display of ending bids to January 2020. Items older than this date will not display ending bids. Moving forward, ending bid values will be displayed for closed items indefinitely.
  • Added sort options to auction gallery view. When viewing individual auction pages, you will now be able to sort by a few options for easier navigation.

PROXY BIDDING REMINDER

We received some feedback and questions regarding our proxy bidding procedures. Please take a moment to review the proxy bidding section on the Bidding Rules page for details and examples of how this process works. 

Note: your proxy bid is the maximum you would like to pay for an item. However, this does not necessarily mean that is what you will end up paying. If you win an auction at a lower amount than your maximum proxy bid, you would pay the ending bid amount. With any additional questions, please reach out!