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Not trying to start anything. Just stating the obvious. Her words, She is not going to honor the auction, however she will zap the pin. To me there was no need to try and start a rally for a rule change, when she is the one breaking the rules. I am trying to be civil yet point out the obvious.
 
I feel so conflicted with this. I have sold a lot on eBay in the past ( I tried my hand at the storage auctions...) and there were many an auction that ended with only ONE bid...and I ALWAYS start my auctions at $.99. They sucked. But I had to honor them. I think it would get SO confusing is we started a "minimum of "so many" bids....." or whatever. People seem to have a strategy as it is with auctions...could you imagine how weird it would get if we started implimenting other rules with them too??? Like....if I wanted a pin up for auction, and it's close to the end, and I am willing to offer a "grail" type pin for it, but there are no bids, or only one other bid...you so go in big...but then someone still bids more then you. It's like when you put in a max bid on the bay....You might be willing to spend $150 on the item, but right now the current bid is $5....why JUMP from $5 to $150 if you could get it for $5.25. That is the nature of the auction beast.
 
Welcome, and thanks for your question. Three bids, would give the person an option, I don't seek to reduce the possibility of receiving low bids, that's the risk we should take. It would prevent an auction from getting buried for too long, or from someone taking advantage if an auction that was forgotten.

I don't see this forum as a place like eBay, many people refer to it as evil-bay, imo we are a community of traders, we should seek to set up policies that promote that.

We all have lives, in addition to pin trading, and many of us, have health issues, or age issues, in my case, lol.
A system of something that would protect the auctioneer just a little would be nice. As it stands right now there is nothing.


If three separate bids are made the post received some exposure. If all three bids are low bids, oh well, I can live with that.
 
starry_solo said:
I think we should just get rid of auctions.
Click to expand...

But without auctions, how will Darris break the forum?

No, I like auctions, I think they're really exciting to watch, but this place has sooo much traffic and so many new threads being posted all the time, it's easy to be away from the forums for a day and find your thread buried on page 1200 of the sub-forum. And that's kind of a bummer -- without constant bumping, how do you keep up? I think what Mahrii is doing -- honoring the auction -- is the right thing to do, but it would be really amazing if we had a way to keep up with auctions by subject or date or something.

Not sure how feasible (re: stupid) an idea this is, but we DO have an event calendar on the main page... this might be too much work to maintain, but could we use a script or something like that to add end times for Auctions? That way, a user could click on the date and see any/all auctions ending on that day. :dunno: I dunno, just a silly idea.

Also, A+ DPF for not having this thread end up a giant drama bomb! Lots of good ideas and conversation here!! <3
 
I personally don't like the idea of a minimum of 3 bids. While this is a good idea in theory... It doesn't accomplish a whole lot.

The auctions are fine the way they are IMO. If you bump your auction once a day at different times each day, you will gain good visibility. If your auction doesn't receive many bids, that's tough, but it can happen.

I personally don't like long auction, I just wait until close to the auction closes to bid... I don't want to tie my pins up for a long time. While I don't like this, people have the right to do it of they'd like to.

Healthy conversation, but really, does anything NEED to change? I don't think so.
 
Well, thanks everyone for your input, I really am thankful that we have been able to discuss this. I think everyone has valid points.

Again, I wasn't looking for anyone to approve or disapprove of my decisions. Thankfully, we have the ability to make choices and also receive the consequences. Its one of the things that I love about our country.

My intention was to inspire conversation. I knew I could get peoples attention and engage them in a conversation.

Again, thanks for your input. I hope Admin can see the different views and consider whether any changes are needed or not.

I think its time to quit while we are ahead and I'm making the decision to close this post. Thanks to everyone who participated, love you guys!
 
I did the same thing. Forgot About an auction and never bumped it and it ended. I pm'd the prospective winner and asked them if I could extend it. They said "it's your auction do what you want" so I extended it. Then that person pm'd mods and asked for me to get an infraction. This same person trolls the auction house for threads forgotten and snipes a bid as low as possible but still enough to win. Said person is now a mod, so apparently DPF rewards that kind of behavior.
 

I like your idea using the calendar to highlight auctions. this would be something feasible to present to the moderators IMO. This would be useful to everybody to "watch" particular auctions to be able to focus on those auctions a person is truly interested in!! Great Idea
 
I'm glad it has been civil so far and Mahrii, it is your thread, so you may close it if you wish. I do not think any rule HAS to be implemented, but I believe that, as the auctioneer, you have the choice of implementing these rules if you want. I do think there should be a small section in the Auction rules thread that states what rules an auctioneer can choose that way nobody can put in their OP "only accepting Designer Princesses as bids" but whatever rules are posted, they don't HAVE to be followed in every auction. They simply give the auctioneer cushion room to feel safer if something like this happens ^_^
 
There is no practical way to solve the time zone problem and i accept that. It's actually part of the excitement (midnight feasts etc) to stay up late to watch/participate in the fun when a designer princess auction is up for grabs.
 
Glad you brought this up Mark, because I have seen this happen, and this is what I think we should look into.

Also, this would not add any new leader boards or needless bumps, 3 bids, or two bids would be the minimum required to have the auctioneer have a choice. If there is only one bid and they want to accept that one bid, its fine, but with a minimum of 2 or 3 bids it gives them a choice of either accepting the bid or relisting it.

We could request all we would like in an auction, we can say we don't like so and so pin, but the reality is that there is nothing we could do if that is all that is bid. Notice in this auction, seconds after the first bid was made others jumped right on top of it. At least this way, we provide a minute feeling of protection in that at least we can choose from more than one offer and that if you wait until the last minute others can at least see it and not have it buried.

I remember this happening Mark, so once again, thanks for bringing it up.

 
I remember seeing this auction earlier. I had wanted to bid, but all my good pins were tied up in other auctions. By the time those auctions ended and my pins were freed up, I was busy and forgot that a bunch of auctions I was interested in were ending. There were a tons of great auctions all in a row last week. I wonder if other forum members had a similar problem of having pins offered elsewhere and then just forgot to bid.
 

When I first read the tittle and first few post, I was WTH? The person should win the auction. I think I was third but just stated "I missed this?" After reading everything, the outcome by you by reading this thread stated you will send the pin to the winner. My outcome was the auction was to be honored. Not cancelled and zapped. You are a "friend" to many on these boards. I see this thread as not to bring awareness to Auctions but maybe enough members would have rallied to your side and say "it's ok not to honor the auction" but the majority vote was for you to give up the pin and therefor will eventually send the pin out.

In the US courts you just pleaded "no contest".

Yes the new comments for future Auctions are good in terms of the bidders but it still remains the same. You posted with the current rules in place and agreed by putting a pin up for auction. It's your auction. It's a pin your offering to give up - even if its a single scraper Hidden Mickey that one. You state what you like/dislike and choose from all the options. As many stated, I myself have won many eBay Auction because the seller spelled Surprise as "Suprise". And yes, the seller honored their Auction and I got a pin for 99 cents with free shipping and positive feedback was given both ways. The rules are not meant to be broken but the can be changed for the better as many members are stating on this thread.

In conclusion of the addition of Auction rules, there should be a template that everyone can copy the link instead of restating partial segments of the rules. Just like when you download something, there is a box you check that says "I have read...." And once checked you may put up a pin to auction site and also one for the bidders to check prior to a bid.

I do not think you should take an infraction but to openly honor the Auction and post on the thread the winners name. This thread could take president if no new rules are implemented and your allowed the infraction. Someone could just state, "yes I cancelled the auction, I didn't get the pins I wanted" - "she did it and all she got was ....... so ill take that too.

If the Auction is not honored and a winner is not stated then a negative feedback is warranted and an infraction given. Not a zap.

Now back to my beer and ham.
 
Kupo, thanks so much. It means a lot to me that although we disagree in some things we can still respect one another, and I don't mean just you, but everyone in this conversation. I just want to make another point clear, I don't mean at all to say that I don't think an auction should never get bids that are lower than the pin being auctioned. Heck, I love a bargain and getting a good deal as much as the next person.

Honestly, I am just thinking of how to better our forum. The person who ends up winning like this, doesnt end up making any friends. In all honestly, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
I had a situation where I won an auction because my bid was the best of the lot but there were only two bids. I chose to give the person the option to not go through, given the situation, I have had others tell me that as well.

Thanks so much



 
I think that Mahrii does make some very good points. While I dont know what the person bid in her auction, there's always the chance of having that happen and having someone bid low, unappealing pins that are not comparative to what the pin is worth. While everyone brings up the fact that you can win things for extremely cheap on ebay. It's also the fact that the seller has the choice to put it up for whatever price they see fit. If they want to put it for a dollar, they can. With the auctions here, that's impossible. We are not bidding money, but other pins and often times the worth of the pin lies with what the auctioneer wants. What if they do want some of the rack pins because they dont live next to any of the parks? But that's not the only thing they want?

I like the idea of at least three bids before selling. I also read suggestions about stopping bidding before the time. Well that just makes that the new end time, but maybe if it's no new bidders in the last ten minutes or so? People can change or add to their bids in that time, but someone cannot bring in a new bid?
 
How about a section in the rules that say that if there arent any bids within the last 30 minutes before the auction, or if there is only one bid, that the auctioneer reserves the right to relist?
 
Mahrii said:
How about a section in the rules that say that if there arent any bids within the last 30 minutes before the auction, or if there is only one bid, that the auctioneer reserves the right to relist?
Click to expand...

No. Many current auction get the best pins in the last 1 minute. If 1 sole person bids then 1 sole person wanted what you are willing to give up. If your not comfortable to exchange your pin for a HM? Then don't offer a pin. That's an Auction. Best offer wins even if its 1 offer.
 
Mahrii said:
How about a section in the rules that say that if there arent any bids within the last 30 minutes before the auction, or if there is only one bid, that the auctioneer reserves the right to relist?
Click to expand...

This would fall under the 2 -3 bid minimum and would not need to be a separate rule.
 
I have a couple of remarks for a few ideas in this thread:

1) Auction times. I am sorry that some of you don't live in the same time zone, but limiting auction times would make it harder for some of us to run auctions. (Families, work, etc)
2) Value for Value. Let's not even get into this, no one will ever agree of a value.
3) Minimum number of bids: This is a risk that all of us take. Again if you don't like the chance of being disappointed, don't auction.

I always try to run my auctions to end on the weekends at a time that is good for me (10 PM CST). This way I know I have nothing else going on to interfere with it.
 
reserve system.

a point system can be made that is relatively accurate ((PoDM's being the main problem due to the unique film frames)) We used one in the christmas zap auction and it worked decently. Not perfectly, but decently. I think it needs a tiny bit more tweaking to be more fair.

The way to use it as a "reserve" system would be to require a bid to be equal to or better than the pin being auctioned. So if a pin valued at 18 points is up for auction, any bid made would need to be 18 or better. It would stop people from severely underbidding.

With the point system we created and used in that auction, hidden mickeys averaged 1 point, so bidding a pile of hidden mickeys would not be a "good deal" to a bidder.

The auction should be honored. Unfortunatly, it looks like the pin was undervalued by the bidders, weather on purpose or on accident, or due to experience level.

Something to be aware of is that no matter WHAT is done, you cannot please everyone. Lets keep this thread clean and constructive!
 
I think that the auction rules are fine the way they are. If I put a pin up for auction, I take my chances. I am sorry that this auction got buried and as a result some potential bidders missed it, but ultimately it is up to the auctioneer to bump the thread.

I don't think that reserves are a good idea. "Value" is subjective.

I don't see a need for a minimum number of bids. If I bump my auction thread each day and only one person bids, then it's probable that only one person wanted it....again, that's the chance I take when I decide to auction a pin.

I do think that a maximum time for an auction is appropriate, just to keep the auction forum less cluttered, but the maximum should be 7 days...due to other commitments, some people may have more time to be on DPF on different days of the week than others, so 7 days would give an auction a fair chance at getting the attention of any potential bidders.

As for keeping track of which auctions are open and when they end, the auctioneer has the option of including the end time and date in the thread title. I would like to see auctioneers close their completed auction threads within 48 hours of the end of an auction ...posts congratulating the winner, etc. are great, but they bump the thread so that completed auctions are intermingled with open ones.

I also agree with most of the posters here: the auction result should be honoured. While I understand Mahrii's frustration, I'm not really comfortable with the idea of not honouring the result but it's OK because the bidder will still get the pin. The bidder won the auction, so the trade should proceed. I'm not saying that it's inappropriate to raise the issues in this thread. Clearly a number of people have differing views about what the auction rules should be, so it makes a lot of sense to have the discussion. ...but we can have the discussion even if the auction, which took place under the current rules, is honoured.
 
This thread should be closed now. The rules are fine and working until the rules did not fit your specific auction. It now sounds like your just throwing ideas out there that would have made your auction better. How old is the Auction House Threads?

The only rule I see as sustainable is a central ending time for world wide bids.
 


Glad you brought this up. Thanks for understanding that Im bringing up points. What I think I keep getting lost in translation is that I totally understand the fact that when you offer a pin for auction, it is a risk you take, and I would be totally fine to end up with a hidden mickey even if I had indicated no hidden mickey's wanted. It is not the value of the pin I am bringing up, as value is really in the eye of the beholder. It is offering a single little bit of protection or choice to the auctioneer, not to keep them from getting junk but from getting only one bid. We can and will never be able to compare ourselves to ebay, again, we are not a business, we are a community of traders that love our forum and want to enjoy trading with eachother and make it fun and enjoyable.

The bidders, are protected by the forum, the moderators, the rules. The auctioneer is at the mercy of chance.

With regards to your question about end time, I don't mean that there would be no new bids accepted after that time. I mean that if there are no bids for the auction at all until lets say even 5 minutes prior to the auction ending, that the auctioneer would be given the OPTION to end and relist.

For those who make comparisons to other auction establishments, such as ebay, remember, that even there the auctioneers are given the opportunity to cancel an auction, they have choices to list for a certain starting amount, they have options to pay for buy it now, for reserves, to offer best offers, to end a listing and relist it, and I am sure more. Both seller and buyer are protected by ebay and paypal as well. In our situation, only the person bidding seems to be protected.

Ultimately, we all have a choice in the forum anyway, we could do what ever we want and take the infraction, and go on with our daily lives.

My goal with this post was simply to get us to think about ways we could make this experience better.

I'm not worried about the pin that I'm losing, yeah, I paid a lot of $ for it, but its just a pin. I am hoping to prevent abuses in the future from this loophole. I didn't see how this loophole affected the forum until this happened.

I enjoy my time here, and I am looking to see how to offer some ideas to improve upon.
 
Master, with all due respect. We are having a discussion here, and doing so in a very constructive manner. I don't stand to gain anything with this thread as you are implying. I am looking to seek possibilities for improvements in the future. Offering ideas and giving input is our right, we are all being civil and very respectful of one another, so I see no reason for this thread to be closed.

I do respect your opinion that nothing needs to be changed, that is a valid point.

Thanks for your input.

 
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