What is The Virtual Antiques Centre?
The Virtual Antiques Centre can be viewed as a pitch or cabinet in an antiques centre, except  its on the internet.  Dealers or collectors can choose the amount of "space" they need by deciding how many items they want to have for sale in The Virtual Antiques Centre and subscribe to a package that suits their needs.  People browsing the internet will be able to visit The Virtual Antiques Centre and view the user friendly online catalogue, find the item(s) that interest them and freely contact the seller(s) to make enquiries.

How does it work?
Each member has their own easy to use control panel which connects to our catalogue.  These control panels are avaulable 24/7/365, are completely secure and only allow you to control your own items and information.  You select the catagory that the item belongs in, type in a title, description, price in GBP ( or other currency if you wish ) and any other pertinent information that you might want, select a picture and our control panel does the rest - your item is instantly online for sale.  You can keep adding items until your item limit is reached.  If you want to edit anything you can do this easily.  Once you sell an item, you simply delete it and replace it with another item.  As long as you are a member of The Virtual Antiques Centre, you will always be able to have up to the number of items online up to your item limit no matter how many you sell and delete and there is no limit to the amount of time that the items stay in the catalogue.

Does The Virtual Antiques Centre sell any items iteself?
No.  The Virtual Antiques Centre only provides the online space for external dealers and collectors (members) to exhibit their items with a view to selling them to visitors or other members.  We do not ehibit any items that can be directly bought from The Virtual Antiques Centre.

How do I contact sellers to enquire about items they have listed
Simply click on the links below the item listing to find out more about the member who is selling the item.  If your email program does not accept the email link, then the members email is clearly displayed in the box below the item listing.  If there is no email address, then the member may have elected to use other contact methods which will be displayed in the other links in the box.

I have my own website, can I connect it to my items in The Virtual Antiques Centre?
Yes, just let us know and we'll send you the link which will automatically list all of your own items for your web sites visitors to see in the Virtual Antiques Centre.

Can I have The Virtual Antiques Centre connect to my website?
Yes, provide us with the information when you have your members account and we'll connect your items to your website for free - you may want to consider the Bronze packages as these are likely to be most suitable for your needs

I don't have a website, can I still use The Virtual Antiques Centre?
Yes, if you have an email address, then you can use The Virtual Antiques Centre.  If you would like more information, such as your telephone number, business address or if you would like to write a bit about yourself and include a picture, then you can choose either an information page within The Virtual Antiques Centre, or have your own professional home page and email both of which you can add to your business cards and other literature - see the silver and gold packages for these.

I don't have a computer, but my friend does and is willing to let me use it.  Is this OK?
Yes, as long as you have access to a computer, you can use The Virtual Antiques Centre.  We urge you to keep your passwords safe at all times though so that your control panel can't be accessed by unauthorised users.  The Virtual Antiques Centre cannot be held responsible for any unauthorised access to your control panel caused by leaving the control panel open or giving someone else your user information.

A group of us want to use the service under one account.  Is that OK?
Yes, we allow groups or consortiums to join as long as you as a group agree to our terms and conditions of use here .  Unless you have a business or joint credit card as a group, one of the group must act as the account holder and will be responsible for your account.  The Virtual Antiques Centre cannot be held responsible for any unauthorised access to your members account resulting from a failure of the group memebers to protect user information.

I don't have sufficient access to a computer and I would like to use The Virtual Antiques Centre.  How can I do this?
We are currently speaking to a number of participating Antiques Centres across the UK in order to offer "drop in" services.  Our list will be available shortly.  Also, you can elect to have an information page containing other contact details which don't require the use of a computer such as a telephone, or fax number , postal address or PO  box

What items can I list on The Virtual Antiques Centre?
You can list any antique or collectable item.  See our listing policy for more information.

What subscription packages are available?
We have several standard item limits avaiable (up to 10, 20, 40, 70, 100 and 200 items online at any one time) in 3 packages Bronze, Silver and Gold. 

• The Bronze package allows you access to your own control panel to upload you items and allows you to connect to your own internet site if you have one and provide an email address for potential buyers to contact you all of which will be displayed in your item listings. You even have another web field available for connection to ebay items or any other connection that you want if you like.
  
  
• The Silver package gives you all that the Bronze package does and additionally offers a special information page - which is like an internet homepage especially for you where you can add other details, such as a telephone number and postal address or business address, a profile about you, pictures of your shop or the sorts of items you sell within The Virtual Antiques Centres listings.  This page can be edited from within your control panel using our editor and accessed from all of your items. It will have the web address www.v-a-c.co.uk/yourname which you can use on all your business literature to point your customers to your Virtual Antiques Centre listings.  An example can be seen here.
  
  
• The Gold package gives you all that the Bronze package does plus your own professional web site name as a ".co.uk" (pending domain name availability) and an email address connected with your web site (eg. you@yourdomainname.co.uk - we design your home page to a general standard format with information that you provide and put it on the internet all in the set price.  When you are a member, you can add custom pages by request by contacting us from the dealer support desk for a quote which will depend on the complexity of your request.  An example can be seen here.

Can I upgrade my account?
Yes, all accounts are upgradable and downgradable.  Please contact us through the member support desk to request this.

How do I cancel my account with The Virtual Antiques Centre?
Simply go to the subscription page here and click the cancel account button, then follow the instructions.

How do I sign up?
Firstly you decide how many items you are likely to want to have displayed on the internet at any one time, then you select the subscription package which suits these needs.  If you are happy to use your credit card or paypal account, then you can follow the sign up process (this is carried out firstly through Paypal secure subscription service and then with a few additional bits of information through our site) and then your request for an account will be sent to us and you will have instant members access to our support desk and other members features.  If you prefer to send a cheque, then we can set up a yearly subscription for you - please download the request form here.   We manually process, create and modify the control panels for maximum security so there is a 7 day free period** before the credit card is charged or cheques are cashed during which time we will contact you for any information that we need to finalise your account (eg - additional information page details or home page details if you want to provide them) - if you have chosen a Bronze account, usually the account is operational before this time has elapsed.  Once your account is operational, you are a member and you can start to put your items online immediately using your own easy to use control panel.   They will be instantly viewable in the online catalogue along with the contact details, special information page or your own website depending on the subscription package you have chosen.  You will also have access to our members support desk where you can get help with your account, make special requests or provide us with information.
**with the exception of Gold accounts where we take a small deposit for domain name and server space purchase upon signup completion

Who can have an account with The Virtual antiques Centre?
Anyone can sign up for an account with The Virtual Antiques Centre as long as you agree to our terms and conditions which can be viewed here . If you complete the sign up process below, then it is assumed that you agree to abide by these terms and conditions while you are a member.

How much does it cost?
Our general subscription charges are set out here.  These are the only costs that you will be charged.  There are no sales commissions, additional item listing fees or any other hidden charges.