Auctions

[Alolan_Apples]

So recently, I hosted an auction that sold a pastel disco ball egg that lasted six days. Despite getting more bids than my bat potion auction and a couple bids towards the end, hardly anybody bidded for it most of the time. I wonder what factors would cause auctions to be unpopular.

Case in point, my latest auction. Details:

- My starting bid was reasonable. For a collectible that sells for 1.1k to 1.8k TBT, I chose 1,000 TBT as my starting bid.
- The buyout (3,000 TBT) wasn?t a price I expected. I set it to prevent the bid from going too high, not because I want that much.
- It lasted six days.
- One of the rules explicitly stated that there is no snipe guard, a measure that extends the auction a few minutes longer in case of last minute bidding.
- Another rule says that you cannot withdraw from the auction. This rule isn?t implemented to trap bidders, but to make sure bidders kept their promise.
- Only one collectible was being auctioned, and it was auctioned close to the Egg Hunt.

Just letting you know, I am grateful over how the auction went, and I admit that it was my most successful (and most profitable) auction since the party popper auction in 2015, but I would like some tips on what to do in future auctions and find out which of these factors made my auction inactive for a while.

At the same time, you may also use this thread to discuss your past experiences with auctions, either as bidders or as auctioneers. If you have any questions about auctions, you may ask them here too.

 

[Zane]

Just speaking from personal preference I know I'm a lot less likely to participate in an auction when it lasts for longer than a couple days. I'm impatient for one thing, and for another it's harder to predict when I'll have time to actually be online to bid & try to win when the auction lasts so far into the future. :] Although there's obviously benefits to keeping an auction up for longer (more people get a chance to see it, etc)

 

[Jacob]

I think having a snipe guard will make any auction more successful. People waited until the very last minute before bidding so the price wouldn't go high. Making sure there is at least 30 minutes after the final bid to close it could help prevent that!

 

[Wildtown]

i had a very successful auction on a kaleidoclover...

 

[Alolan_Apples]

I think having a snipe guard will make any auction more successful. People waited until the very last minute before bidding so the price wouldn't go high. Making sure there is at least 30 minutes after the final bid to close it could help prevent that!

There’s actually a reason why I don’t allow snipe guards. In reality, when an auction has a set end time, it ends at the time it is set. Sniping may seem “unfair” because some bidders don’t expect someone to snoop in to add a bid at the last minute, which makes them feel that they’ve been screwed out of it, but it’s unfair by legal definition to change a set time to something else after the auction starts. I get that by not having the snipe guard, people would wait until the last minute to keep the price as low as they can, but I’m more about integrity. Also, it wouldn’t matter if they’re trying to prevent the price from going too high. The buyout is set at 3,000 TBT, so even if it went too high, it won’t go any higher.

Just speaking from personal preference I know I'm a lot less likely to participate in an auction when it lasts for longer than a couple days. I'm impatient for one thing, and for another it's harder to predict when I'll have time to actually be online to bid & try to win when the auction lasts so far into the future. :] Although there's obviously benefits to keeping an auction up for longer (more people get a chance to see it, etc)

You are right that extended auctions have their benefits. I may consider shorter auctions in the future, but sometimes, I have them extend for a week. I chose an extended one this time because it’s close to the end of the month, but my auction length is random.

 

[Alienfish]

i had a very successful auction on a kaleidoclover...

Yeah but you drove up the price because almost no one was selling when I was interested from beyond that lol

 

[idiotdoomspiral]

to auction collectibles lower than the usual price is the best way to start an auction. otherwise i dont think theres much point in an auction when u can just sell it. also changing the title with a __ minutes left while bumping it is a good way to remind people to bid again/participate
tbh its kinda sneaky to bid at the very last minute (to clarify i mean literally like the final seconds of the auction) it really discourages me from participating in them in the first place since i know theres a good chance its going to happen. i dont think snipe guards should be mandatory since people should be allowed to be flexible with their rules but i think people should think about those kind of rules when making one
i also think buyouts should be more minuscule since i think there should be a real point/goal to them (scaling more the more the collectible is sought after)
not really sure about increments to be honest, but i think it would be better if they were less controlled (having a minimum but not a maximum, and the minimum being higher the more valuable the collectible is) like if the buyout was close, someone could just go for it.
not sure about when they should end either. probably would work best if 0.1-2k things lasted for a couple of days while sought after ones would be about 3-6.
with my experience pretty sure ive auctioned 2 collectibles (forgot what they were lol only thing i remember is that they got sold for a little above the normal price)

 

[Miharu]

I think if an auction were to last for more than a couple of days, there will be a lot of inactivity in the auction until it's closer to the end date. It's really nice to have a buyout to prevent it from reaching too high, but I think if you were to set the buyout at 2k for your disco egg (or the amount you actually want for it ), more people may bid within the time frame.

If there's a collectible I want, I personally like to s/b and bid a little, but once it gets close to the amount I'm not willing to spend, I'll stop bidding and I'll just end up waiting until last minute to bid for the collectible since tbt isn't easy to come by haha. I've also noticed with auctions majority of the people who do want to bid, will wait until the last minutes or seconds of the auction to bid since it's more convenient.