Trade Auction Uncertainty!!

[KrystalRage]

So far, I've bid incorrectly and have seen others bid incorrectly
ive had auctions closed on me even though the rules say you can't

I really think that the rules need to address certain questions that some of us may have
Such as:

~ Can you reserve spots? (in any auction I don't think I've ever heard "I'm reserving the 3rd bid fellas")

~ Can you change the bid on the spot , meaning can you edit it? (Again I've never heard the 2nd bidder say "um guys, my 2nd bid will change to 15$ instead of 14.50$" otherwise the 3rd bid has to become 15.50 instead of 15$, just start a new bid by post. That way the thread will go to the top of the forum and let people who aren't signed up to notifications on it know that someone outbid them)

~ Can you or not close the auction once it starts? (It's happened, and I know that most you're allowed to withdraw the item. BUT not once someone has bid on it, otherwise it's called a reserve)

~ Aside from personal rules can it just be required to post the Official rules in the auction? (that way there's no "I didn't know the rules?" or "I didn't see them")

~ Can we put in "or" bids? (again never in any auction have I ever heard "I'll give you 100$ or two 50$ bills, or 4 25$ bills, or 176.4 cookies, or my dog or a steak, you pick". That just doesn't make sense to me)

~ Why can't we just put who's in the lead? Or at least the top 3 in order? (instead of putting the leaders in no particular order 'jim bob' 'billy bob' and 'bill Cosby'. Why can't you just say 1st is Jim then it's Cosby then it's billy bob. I know it's to the benefit of the auctioneer because you could have people outbiding themselves but it doesn't make sense)



I know there are rules and I know some of these issues have been addressed but I love auctions and bidding on them. I know these rules can be "restricting" but auctions are a gamble no matter what kind, if you don't like the rules then just put your pin for trade

I want to give a special thanks to goofy_moe (I hope I wrote it correctly) because you had a great idea, we just need to work and perfect it

Oh and can we rename the auction house name to Goofy Auctions?

Thanks for reading everyone, I don't want to start a hate thread I just want a few things straightened out I didn't want to post it in the other auction thread because I feel like my post would get lost in it all

 

[starry_solo]

I think some of the issue has to do with some of the auctions were ongoing before the new rules were announced.

 

[KrystalRage]

Some of them actually started way after they were posted, I know a few were before and I have no problems with those, just some of the ones after in which all this stuff happened

 

[Psycho Pixie]

firstly... "or my dog or a steak, you pick." :eek2::drool::shock::hsd: hahaha!!!!

but seriously. I agree:

• a couple auctions still closed early, can we make a rule that "If you break our rules, you cannot use the auction option."???
• The "Or" bids gotta go. thats a trade option offer, not a bid folks.
• I also like listing lead bidders in order. It allows bidders to see they did great, or horrible, without a guessing game. I didnt for the thumper pin because there were so few bids.

I just posted an auction for a decently sought after pin, can we use it as an example and refine things by picking it apart? Desiding what can be done to refine the auction process for fairness, lets look at the good, the bad and the ugly here?

 

[CrashMyParty]

I agree that all the auctions should have to post the official rules, that should a avoid a lot of issues like you said because they can't say they didn't know.

And can I just say that for me personally, I don't feel I'm getting great bids. I feel like the first few people will offer a few rack pins and then it sets the bar low for all the other bidders so everybody else bids kinda low. I know I'm not auctioning the most amazing pins in the world, but I still feel a bit taken advantage of sometimes.

 

[Goofy_Moe]

I will throw in my two cents here...

I agree we do not need a hate thread, but there have been issues with many of the auctions and how they are run...

These are just my opinions...

1st issue mentioned... Incorrectly bidding??? I am guessing your bid was not chosen over another based on your opinion of it's value??? I am not sure what you mean... But in my auctions we never base on value but on desire, so you may have lost to a lesser valued bid that we happened to like more...???
2nd issue... Closing an auction... I have always felt that if an offer is posted on ANY ITEM it IS a binding trade agreement...!!! No Auction should ever be closed...Period... That is a totally bullshit thing to do...!!!
3rd, 4th and 5th issue... Unlike a normal auction where the highest bid wins... Trade offers are very subjective to the persons desires... A position such as 3rd bidder has NO Revelance to winning since the auctioning party will take the time after bidding is closed to go back and review all bids... Reserving a space should just be ignored until an actual bid is put in place... Now the real problem is bid editing... You should never be able to retract a bid to a lesser valued bid, but again this is all subjective to the auctioning party... Alternate / "or" bids can enable you to possibly get a different package of pins together that perhaps the person may be more interested in... I have no issue with alternate bids as long as the original post is edited and the original bid still remains as an offer as well...
6th issue... Reserve auctions...??? Honestly... How can this be done??? Value is based on desire... I would pay more for a Goofy pin than most of you would right??? So how would anyone ever know if a reserve has been met??? These are what they appear to be... Pin Fishing Expeditions!!! Auctions are a risk...Live with it or do not do it... I have a 10 pin set up with only a bid of 1 pin... SO WHAT!!! I Took The Risk Right??? Yes I did and the pins WILL Ship!!!
7th issue... Leader boards... You Got me here... I started the whole top 3 in alphabetical order... Looking at it now, you are right in people possibly bidding themselves up higher... But if they want it that bad, those pins should have been included in the first place...LOL... Just kidding... I will change our policy to place the leaders in order... But I will still only place leaders up one time near the end of the auction and I will and have never pushed or harrassed bidders into increasing their offers... I think that is quite tacky...
and finally the last issue I see... Damm straight it should have been called "Goofy Auction House!!!"

Just my 2 cents...

 

[KrystalRage]

The thing about incorrectly bidding was referring to the "or" bids and others like that, not based on who won or lost

 

[huertajv]

I love this!

 

[Goofy_Moe]

One more thing people... I called it Goofy_Moe Auctions for the play on the word Goofy... This was originally intended for fun... A perfect example of this is my favorite auction thread ever... Grim's Bag o Crap Auction... If you read through his offers and see how this can be a fun thing and not always about the dollars and cents, I bet we would have far less issues about rules and such... Again these are just silly offers to trade pins and stuff right??? If it is about the money then stay in the For Sale section...

 

[Psycho Pixie]

can we make a vote/poll to have the auction house named after Goofy_moe?

~Heres why i don't like the OR offers. Other bidders do not know what they are really bidding against. Am I bidding against trader#1's ABC offer or trader#1's XYZ offer? It make a difference.
~Setting a reserve allowance was something discussed in chat for a while the other night, and I am sure PM's are flying with the MOD's to come to a solution. But Goofy is right... How can we place a reserve on a percieved value? I state clearly in my auctions that I place value on trade vs wants and edition size. NOT on how baddly I want the pin. But others will base it in want value, or ebay value, or popularity of character, or or or... whatever.

 

[KrystalRage]

Good idea psycho pixie
ill ad a poll right now

 

[unibear]

I don't have a problem with "or" bids, but I wish they would be labeled "Bid #1", "Bid #2", etc. Several bidders on eBay bid more than once in a row, and you can see in the Bid History. If they're in the lead, it appears as the same bidder listed twice with the same price.

Regarding the Leader Board, I think auctioners should have to do this. AND if the leader board shows you in 2nd or lower place (i.e., not the lead bid), then you should be off the hook and free to offer your pins to someone else. After all, the 1st place bidder is not going to be allowed to retract their bid, and the auctioner has already said your bid is not going to beat their bid. Just like on eBay, if you are not the leader then your $ should be free to go elsewhere (granted eBay does allow bid retraction, but it is exceedingly rare).

 

[Psycho Pixie]

I don't have a problem with "or" bids, but I wish they would be labeled "Bid #1", "Bid #2", etc. Several bidders on eBay bid more than once in a row, and you can see in the Bid History. If they're in the lead, it appears as the same bidder listed twice with the same price.

Regarding the Leader Board, I think auctioners should have to do this. AND if the leader board shows you in 2nd or lower place (i.e., not the lead bid), then you should be off the hook and free to offer your pins to someone else. After all, the 1st place bidder is not going to be allowed to retract their bid, and the auctioner has already said your bid is not going to beat their bid. Just like on eBay, if you are not the leader then your $ should be free to go elsewhere (granted eBay does allow bid retraction, but it is exceedingly rare).

Hmm... listing or bids as bid #1 or #2 would work to me. Also perhaps if the OR bidder is in the lead, mention which bid is the best on the leader board to avoid confusion?

Also definatly think the 2nd, 3rd etc place bidders should be off the hook to bid elsewhere.

 

[caligirlUCR]

I think that you guys might be overthinking this a bit. I think that them posting the leaders is plus but not a requirement. Also the "or" bids give more options to the person whos choosing. Which is always good. These are supposed to be fun - too many rules will make it not as fun . . . .

 

[KrystalRage]

I think that you guys might be overthinking this a bit. I think that them posting the leaders is plus but not a requirement. Also the "or" bids give more options to the person whos choosing. Which is always good. These are supposed to be fun - too many rules will make it not as fun . . . .

You already get choice if more than one person bids
if you want more choice than one person then just place it in regular trade forums

Theres a fine line between auctions and trades but nevertheless there's a line

 

[Cicada]

Concerns noted, and I'll bring it up with the rest of the team and see if anything can be done.

 

[KrystalRage]

Concerns noted, and I'll bring it up with the rest of the team and see if anything can be done.

much appreciated