VBD2 is closed. Please go to https://vbd3.co.uk instead.

Big Al wrote:

mcnair55 wrote:

Big Al wrote:How can one get the general range of what the shipping cost would be, prior to bidding? Sorry if I'm missing the obvious.

Alan

I am sure the easiest way would be to weigh the package up and look up the chart of the countries mailer concerned and in my case would be the Royal Mail,much like the ebay system.

Thanks for the response. I suppose I could look up the Royal Mail and understand it, but we're likely to have sellers from around the world, strange and far-away places like Australia who speak a language incomprehensible to me. What do I do then? And I have no way of knowing the final size or weight of the sellers parcel anyway. So I don't know how I could place a bid on an item without this critical shipping cost information.

Alan

G'day Al
well I'm a stunned mullet, fair dinkum mate, not sure why you can't understand the old Aussie strine as its as easy as putting a snag on a sanger. Study it for a short while and she'll be apples and there will be no worries.
But just in case if yer mud pies ain't working to well - Aussie Post - http://auspost.com.au/index.html

Nick, I AM a PHP programmer and even I wouldn't want to mess with the core code of the auction site. Applying simple mods is one thing - they usually come with fairly clear instructions and you don't need to know what the code actually means to apply the changes - but any serious changes to the way a program works should be left to a proper programmer. You can find people on Elance or oDesk who will bid for the job - you do have to write a very specific brief of what you need though. They are often quite low cost.

However ... the specific platform chosen, phpauctions.net, doesn't appear to be worth the effort of trying to get to work properly. There is no support and I haven't been able to find anyone offering mods. It was originally launched in 1999 as a high-ticket script, but was very buggy and full of security risks. It would appear that the developers abandoned it some time around 2007 and their website is no longer running.

I am sorry to say that I think it is going to cause you a lot more trouble than it is worth.

Two of the better platforms (going by what I read as I haven't used either of them myself) are phpProBid, http://www.phpprobid.com (£110 + VAT) and WeBid, http://www.webidsupport.com/ (free). The latter had some issues a couple of years ago, but hopefully they have been addressed by now.

Martin

I am not a computer exert in any way, shape or form, but Martin obviously is (as evidenced by all his hard work in rescueing the archibve) and therefore I think we should listen to his considered, expert, professional opinion.

Martin is basicly repeating what I have said few pages and posts back.. Although I stated it is 'averagely' good base, now that I have personally tested it, it is totally and absolutely not worth the effort at all. It's just that bad

However as I am a PHP programmer myself I can do an auction script, either from a base or from scratch, sure is time consuming, but unlike other possibilities I wouldn't ask for money. I have myself tested all kind of available auction systems and came across few that are absolutely good for the job, so if Nick wants, he can PM me any time to have it discussed.

Thanks for your input Martin and Racingfreak, I am tempted to just pull the auction site and try one that Martin suggested.

Also as you know we have a lot of spammers trying to join, What is the best way to delete their accounts, ban by email address or ban by isp ?.

nickjones wrote:Thanks for your input Martin and Racingfreak, I am tempted to just pull the auction site and try one that Martin suggested.

Also as you know we have a lot of spammers trying to join, What is the best way to delete their accounts, ban by email address or ban by isp ?.

It is a fine line between making it hard for the spammers to post and still letting legitimate members join.

There are two approaches:

1. Install a more secure captcha mod (the basic ones have long been cracked by spammers). https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/mod/ ... ha_plugin/ has a high rating from users and could do the trick.

2. Install a mod that makes it easier for moderators to ban people. Right now we are deleting unmoderated posts and some of us are blocking the poster's IP addresses. That will help. Banning individual usernames is a bit pointless because these pond-slime scum spammers only use each name once anyway.

I would try #1 first. Too many modifications at a time can mess up a forum!

Martin

Moyboy wrote:G'day Al
well I'm a stunned mullet, fair dinkum mate, not sure why you can't understand the old Aussie strine as its as easy as putting a snag on a sanger. Study it for a short while and she'll be apples and there will be no worries.
But just in case if yer mud pies ain't working to well - Aussie Post - http://auspost.com.au/index.html

Hilarious, Moyboy! Thanks for the best laugh of the day. I tried to run that through Google translate, but ended up with more gibberish. My best friend is an American-Englishman, so maybe he might speak both of our languages and could translate for me.

Thanks for the Aussie Post link, too.

Alan

Martin Avis wrote:It was originally launched in 1999 as a high-ticket script, but was very buggy and full of security risks. It would appear that the developers abandoned it some time around 2007 and their website is no longer running. Martin

Uh-oh... looks like I'm going to need to be changing some passwords. Ugh...

I will be pulling the auction site later tonight so please don't post any new auctions. Ebay, in their wisdom have decided not to pay their affiliates for the traffic we send them so there is an opening for a decent diecast auction site to take the traffic from ebay. With your help it can be the Vintage British Diecast Auction site, a new and improved VBD Auction site will be open very soon.

As I said, I'm not a computer/programming expert but, on the basis of the comments made by those who profess to be, that strikes me as being a very wise decision, Nick.