After implementing this in a non-critical online store, I realized it does have some major flaws.
Unfortunately, all the little hacks and tweaks I've made to the code to get it to suit my purposes are almost impossible to document.
I would advise anybody who isn't comfortable troubleshooting PHP code to stay away from this. I've taught myself PHP over the past 6 months, and it has helped me immensely with OSCommerce and customization.
A few mods I made to the auction module:
- PROBLEM: For a lot of my auctions, nobody would bid on anything, so I would have to go in every few weeks, and reset the auction.
- SOLUTION : I hacked it so that items on auction would stay on auction indefinitely UNTIL the 1st bid was placed. That would essentially ACTIVATE the auction, for a 10-day countdown. (if you are interested in seeing it - http://computershopauction.com/secure/index.php)
- PROBLEM: I didn't like the way bidding increments worked. I wanted the first bidder to have an advantage.
- SOLUTION: Hacked so that the first bidder only has to bid one penny to activate the auction. Each additional bidder has to follow bidding increments.
- PROBLEM: Visitors would see the "Bid" open box, without having to create an account or log in.
- SOLUTION: Hacked it so that if they are not logged in, all they see is "This product is on auction. To bid, you must first log into your account or create a new account. (Click Here)"
- PROBLEM: Prices people see throughout the site didn't accurately reflect the starting price or current bid on the product
- SOLUTION: Hacked a lot of the product listing coding to show starting bid or current high bid.
There were a lot of other coding tweaks and edits, and I would love to actually create a fresh module with everything I have learned over the past 6 months, but I just don't have the time.
Feel free to email me any questions about my implementation. Please don't ask me to completely solve any problems (I can't teach you PHP).