To start an auction or to bid on an auction, you need to be a registered member of FishStock. To register, complete the application form and send it to us.
Once you have registered and have your password, you can set up or bid on an auction. For an auction to sell ACE, you need to start a standard auction. For an auction to buy ACE, you need to start a reverse auction.
Standard Auctions - This is where you are offering to sell ACE and bidders compete to buy the ACE from you. Each bidder places a higher bid than the previous bid until the auction closes.
Reverse Auctions – This is where you are wanting to buy ACE and bidders compete to sell their ACE to you. Each bidder places a lower bid than the previous bid until the auction closes.
Auctions can be for a single stock or multiple stocks from the same fishing year. However, you cannot place bids for individual stocks within an auction. All bids apply to the auction as a whole.
Before you start an auction, check to see whether there is already someone offering to buy or sell ACE for the stocks that you are interested in.
The Lister and Bidders in an auction are anonymous, but within a single auction, Bidders will have the same Bidder number for each of their bids.
All auctions are conducted under the Terms and Conditions of use of this website.
Creating an Auction
When you start an auction you will be required to provide the following information:
Auction Type: This can be a standard auction, where you are advertising ACE for Sale or a reverse auction, where you are advertising that you want to buy ACE
Fishing Year Start: This is the fishing year that the ACE that is being offered relates to. You can only include stocks from the same fishing year in a single auction.
Closing Date: This is the date on which you want your auction to close. Auctions can only close on FishServe working days. If you cannot select a particular date, it means that the date is not a FishServe working day.
Closing Time: This is the time that you want the auction to close. Auctions can only close during working hours.
Stock Code: This is the stock code of the ACE that is being offered. You can add as many stocks to an auction as you wish. For a standard auction, only stocks that you hold unrestricted ACE for will be displayed and the amount of unrestricted ACE will be shown. For a reverse auction you are only able to enter stock codes for stocks that belong to the fishing year selected.
Quantity: This is the quantity of ACE (normally kg’s) that is being offered. For a standard auction, you are not able to offer ACE for sale that you do not own or that has a caveat in place over it. The quantity must be entered in whole numbers only.
Calculated Deemed Value: This is the annual deemed value that would be payable on the amount of ACE being offered (assuming you hold no ACE for the stock). It is shown as an indication of the maximum value of the ACE being offered.
Starting Price: This is the price that you want bids to start from. A starting price must be entered, but can be zero.
Reserve Price (optional): In the case of a standard auction, this is the minimum price you are prepared to accept for your auction. If no reserve is set then you are contractually bound to sell your ACE to the highest bidder. If a reserve is set and the reserve is met or exceeded, you are contractually bound to sell your ACE to the highest bidder.
In the case of a reverse auction, this is the maximum price you are prepared to pay for your auction. If no reserve is set then you are contractually bound to buy the ACE from the lowest bidder. If a reserve is set and the reserve is met or exceeded, you are contractually bound to buy the ACE from the lowest bidder.
Buyout Price (optional): This is the price that you are prepared to accept from a bidder if they wish to conclude the auction before the closing date. The buyout price is only available when an auction has no bids. Once a bid has been placed, the buyout option is no longer available to bidders. If a bidder offers a buyout, you are contractually bound to sell/buy the ACE to the bidder.
At the time that you start a standard auction the ACE that you are selling will be transferred to FishStock. If the auction is unsuccesfful, the ACE will be transferred back to you at no cost.
Bidding on an Auction
All bids on FishStock use an auto bid system. This allows you to enter the maximum amount that you are prepared to pay for an auction (or minimum amount in the case of a reverse auction) and FishStock will ensure that your bid is the leading bid, until your maximum bid is reached (or minimum for a reverse auction).
If your auto bid does not meet the reserve price set for the auction, your bid amount will be the same as your auto bid amount.
Other bidders will not be able to see the amount of your auto bid. They will only see your leading bid amount. This saves you having to keep on checking the auction to see if someone outbids you.
Where two bids are received for the same amount, the bid received first is deemed to be the leading bid.
If the lister of an auction has set a buyout price and no bids have been placed on the auction, you have the option to place a buyout bid. This will conclude the auction at the time that the buyout bid is placed.
In a reverse auction, you are required to own enough unrestricted ACE to equal the ACE that has been listed.
All bids placed are exclusive of GST but GST is required to be paid on the winning bid amount.
After the Auction Closes
If there is a winning bid on a standard auction the winning bidder is notified of the amount they are required to pay, and when this has been received and cleared by FishStock, the ACE is transferred to the bidder and the proceeds given to the lister.
If the auction is a reverse auction and there is a winning bid, the ACE is transferred to FishStock Ltd. The lister is notified of the amount that they are required to pay, and when this has been received and cleared by FishStock, the ACE is transferred to the lister and the proceeds given to the bidder.
All payments must be received within 14 working days of the conclusion of an auction, in the case of an auction closing less than 10 working days from the last trading day of a fishing year, payment must be received and cleared by FishStock before the last trading day of that fishing year.
Payments for auctions can be made using the following:
- Direct deposit- BNZ - Account 02-0500-0577674-001
- Cheque- payable to Commercial Fisheries Services Ltd - (PO Box 297, Wellington 6140)
Please ensure that all payments include the auction number that the payment relates to.
Fees and Commission
A listing fee of $16.65 (Incl GST) will be charged when an auction is created. This is non refundable and is charged irrespective of whether the auction has a winning bidder or not. However, in the event of an auction having a winning bid, the subsequent ACE transfers for that auction will not incur a transfer fee.
Commission is paid by the lister of an auction at a flat rate of 2% of the winning bid amount and GST is charged on this commission. In the case of auctions where there is no winning bid, no commission is payable.
E.g. The winning bid on an Auction is $12,350.00.
The bidder will be required to pay $12,350.00 plus $1,543.75 GST (A total of $13,893.75)
The lister will receive $13,893.75 and will be charged a commission of $277.88 ($12,350 x 2% plus GST).
Fees and commissions table:
| Listing Fee | $16.65 (incl GST) |
| Commission | 2% of the bid amount + GST |
Your Account
This is where you can customise and maintain your FishStock account and view details about your account and your auctions.
Change Password: This is where you can change your FishStock password. You will need to enter your new password in both of the boxes and your new password must be at least 8 characters long and include both letters and numbers.
Agents: This is where you can view details about any agents that you have granted authority to bid and create auctions on your behalf. You are also able to see a list of clients on whose behalf you can bid and create auctions.
To register someone as your agent or to cancel someone's agent authority please contact us.
Contact Persons: This is where you can add and delete your contact persons. When you add a contact person, you are required to supply their email address. FishStock emails will be sent to all your contact persons.
Notifications: This is where you can customise which FishStock emails you want to receive. To receive the optional FishStock emails, place a tick next to each of those that you want to receive and then save your selection.
FAQs
Do I have to register to use FishStock ?
In order to start an auction or place a bid, you need to be a registered member of FishStock. You do not need to be registered in order to browse auctions.
What is the difference between a standard auction and a reverse auction ?
A standard auction is where the person starting the auction selling ACE and the ACE is sold to the highest bidder (if the bid exceeds the reserve). A reverse auction is where the person starting the auction wants to buy ACE and bidders offer to sell the ACE to them. The winning bid is the lowest bid (if it is lower than the reserve).
What does it cost to start an auction ?
The listing cost of an auction is $16.65. If there is a winning bid on an auction, the subsequent ACE transfers are conducted free of charge.
How do I pay for an auction that I have won ?
Payments for auctions are made to FishServe. Please ensure that all payments include the auction number that the payment relates to. They can be made using the following:
- Direct deposit- BNZ - Account 02-0500-0577674-001
- Cheque- payable to Commercial Fisheries Services Ltd - (PO Box 297, Wellington 6140)
How can I be sure that the person will sell me the ACE if I win an auction ?
Before an auction is started, FishStock ensures that the lister owns the ACE they want to sell and this ACE is transferred to FishStock at the start of the auction. Once the auction closes, the ACE is transferred to the bidder once the bid amount has been paid and cleared.
What is a winning bid ?
A winning bid on a standard auction is the highest bid that meets or exceeds the reserve, or a buyout bid.
A winning bid on a reverse auction is the lowest bid that meets or is lower than the reserve, or a buyout bid.
Can I sell more than 1 stock at a time ?
You can list as many stock as you want in one auction on condition that the stocks belong to the same fishing year.
Can I bid on only some of the stocks in an auction ?
You cannot bid on individual stocks within an auction. Bids are for the total contents of the auction.
Can I withdraw an auction ?
If no bids have been received on an auction, you may request FishStock to withdraw the auction. However, if bids have already been placed on the auction then the auction cannot be withdrawn.
Do I have to sell the ACE I offer up for auction ?
If there is a bid on the auction that is a winning bid, you are contractually bound to sell the ACE that you have put up for auction.
Can someone start an auction or bid on my behalf ?
You can authorise someone else to bid on your behalf by signing them up as an agent. To do this you will need to complete the application form.
Who pays the commission on an auction ?
The lister of the auction pays the commission. In a standard auction, this is the person who is selling the ACE, in a reverse auction, it is the person who is buying the ACE.
Why do some auctions have bids for the same amount?
If there are two bidders who have placed a maximum bid for the same amount, both bids will be shown. The bidder whose bid was placed first is deemed to be the leading bid.
Is GST payable on bids
Bids are placed exclusive of GST, but GST is payable on the bid amount.