Question about Hosting my First Auction: Olafs!

Hi guys! So I have a few questions.

I want to hold my very first auction! Wheeee! I have participated in a couple, but never held one before. I've read through all the rule and suggestions in the stickies and think I feel up to it.

So I grabbed the full set of WDI Olafs this morning. Here are my questions.

1) Are people even interested in these being up for auction? Since non-CMs couldn't get them unless they had a friend in the parks I thought it would be a fun way to give pin community members a chance at them without having to pay out the nose, and maybe grow my own collection

2) Would people prefer them bid as an entire set, or individually (I would hold a separate auction thread for each pin in this case, I couldn't handle the multi-bidding confusion I saw on some bid auctions)?

3) If people prefer the whole set bid, I don't want any of them for my Frozen collection with the exception of Olaf on Main Street with the ballon and mouse ears. Main Street is my favorite part of the park. If I did the whole set minus that one pin, would that drastically change your desire to bid on the set? If that is the make or break difference for a lot of people, I would consider putting the entire set up for auction and just getting Main Street Olaf another time for myself.

4) If anyone else got these and wants to auction them, want to comment here or PM me? If you would like, we can coordinate the auctions so they don't overlap.

Thanks for you input guys! Since this would be my first auction attempt I just want to craft an auction that would be successful for both me and for the bidders and create a really fun environment. I won't post the auction until they arrive. Please feel free to give me any other advice or let me know if I am doing something wrong since I'm still a bit green to pin auctions and the pin community at large.

IMHO, I would love to see them auctioned individually especially if the set is not complete. It gives more members a chance to win the auction and get a pin of their choice from the set.

1) Are people even interested in these being up for auction? Since non-CMs couldn't get them unless they had a friend in the parks I thought it would be a fun way to give pin community members a chance at them without having to pay out the nose, and maybe grow my own collection

I think you will generate some interest. Granted, they aren't Elsa or Anna, but some people still like Olaf.

2) Would people prefer them bid as an entire set, or individually (I would hold a separate auction thread for each pin in this case, I couldn't handle the multi-bidding confusion I saw on some bid auctions)?

I think people would prefer them as a whole set (might as well try to get them in one fell swoop). However, as noted in your question #3, you want to keep one of them so this probably isn't a good question to ask.

3) If people prefer the whole set bid, I don't want any of them for my Frozen collection with the exception of Olaf on Main Street with the ballon and mouse ears. Main Street is my favorite part of the park. If I did the whole set minus that one pin, would that drastically change your desire to bid on the set? If that is the make or break difference for a lot of people, I would consider putting the entire set up for auction and just getting Main Street Olaf another time for myself.

I still think trying to get 7 of the 8 at one time (rather than bidding on individual auctions) would be better. I think people would still bid on 7 of the 8 if it meant they could get 7 of the pins at once.

The problem I see with auctioning them off individually - that is, if you wait for one auction to end before you begin another - is that you might lose the momentum of the Frozen draw. That means it would take 7-8 weeks before the set is completely auctioned off. If you choose to do individual auctions, you may want to make them (1) shorter (3-4 days each) OR (2) have them overlap. That is, start your first auction on a Sunday (and ends Saturday), start your second auction on Wednesday (and ends Tuesday), start third auction on Saturday (ends Friday), start fourth auction on Tuesday (ends Monday), etc. That way, it would only take 3-4 weeks to be done.

4) If anyone else got these and wants to auction them, want to comment here or PM me? If you would like, we can coordinate the auctions so they don't overlap.

Well, as long as you don't overlap with the same pin/pose, it should be okay.

I think there would be a good amount of interest. It's not the sisters but people are crazy for anything Frozen.

I personally only really like the Olaf in New Orleans Square pin but I think they are all cute and creative enough where I could see people wanting to get the whole set. I say auction the whole thing. I get confused by the whole people bidding for different pins/whole set within one auction so I would stipulate that if you do the whole set, bids have to be for the whole set but that's up to you. If you feel like you can deal with it, go for it. Good luck.

Couldn't multiple pins be offered individually in one auction? I have seen others do that.

Thanks for the feedback so far guys! If I did the whole set (or even the whole set minus Main Street) I would have bids be for the entire set, not individuals or multiples. If I did individuals, I would make a thread for each pin, but as Starry mentioned doing 1 at a time would take too long, so I would probably post the threads in waves of 3. For example: A thread for New Orleans Olaf, a thread for Frontier Land Olaf, a thread for Tomorrow Land Olaf, all posted the same day with the same end date, then when those 3 auctions were done, do the next 3. That way each auction was it's own separate gig if I broke them up. I don't want to do one thread with them all (unless it's as a set) and have it be bid on as many as you like, because I find that gets WAY too confusing for both bidders and the auctioneer.

Persinette91 said:

Thanks for the feedback so far guys! If I did the whole set (or even the whole set minus Main Street) I would have bids be for the entire set, not individuals or multiples. If I did individuals, I would make a thread for each pin, but as Starry mentioned doing 1 at a time would take too long, so I would probably post the threads in waves of 3. For example: A thread for New Orleans Olaf, a thread for Frontier Land Olaf, a thread for Tomorrow Land Olaf, all posted the same day with the same end date, then when those 3 auctions were done, do the next 3. That way each auction was it's own separate gig if I broke them up. I don't want to do one thread with them all (unless it's as a set) and have it be bid on as many as you like, because I find that gets WAY too confusing for both bidders and the auctioneer.

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You can only run 2 auctions at a time. So if you don't mind doing that I would think you would have better luck auctioning off them individually then all at one time. I think you would get more people who would like one or two of them and get better bids then if you tried to do them all at one time. Unless you do the complete set.

Ahh, good to know! I must have missed the 2 at one time thing! Ok, if I do auction them off separately then I'll definitely respect the 2 at a time rule. Maybe I should just offer them for trade and forgo the auction all together. Decisions! >.<

Persinette91 said:

Ahh, good to know! I must have missed the 2 at one time thing! Ok, if I do auction them off separately then I'll definitely respect the 2 at a time rule. Maybe I should just offer them for trade and forgo the auction all together. Decisions! >.<

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If you trade them then you can be in control on what you get. In an auction it is up to the bidders.

I would definitely try trading them first and see what kind of offers you get. Any you do not outright trade, try a trade auction for.

If you're doing it to get wants, try trading first. If you're doing it for the fun, auction the set. In all honesty, I think many people are getting tired of Olaf (or Frozen for that matter). You'll definitely get bids but a whole set is risky. Not many people think they have enough good traders for a whole set and it's possible you'll end up with bids that won't make you happy, and in the end you HAVE to choose someone. Doesn't matter if you like none of the bids.

So yeah, I'd try trading first if you're not sure about this.

Definitely try trading first, especially if your wants list is pretty specific.