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Another horrible way to run your auctions!
9 years ago
Seriously I wish I could stop posting about 'dumb things' I see, but man are there SO MANY horribly bad ways to run things by super popular artists.
Most recent example of how not to run your auctions:
"Random ending time to discourage sniping!"
Yeah, seriously. Random ending time.
Paraphrasing:
"Auction ends on x day at a random time between x:55 and x+1:00"
Yes, this means there's still a 5 minute window where people know when the auction is going to close.
....And yes it sounds as dumb as it is, you have people bidding at that time and then suddenly being 'outbid' and 'losing the slot' because someone else bid a second later and the artist randomly closes the auction.
I think every single bidder for every slot got screwed over because someone else bid seconds later and then 'OH CLOSED'
I can't even BEGIN to express how infuriating this must sound to someone that loses the slot that way (disclaimer: I did not bid, and do not know any of the bidders). It just BOGGLES my mind that you would absolutely DESTROY the hopes of someone willing to fork out over 300 bucks for a single character slot that happens once every several months. This is not even 'oh i got sniped that's kinda shit' it's a 'wow the artist fucked me over with that 'random close' and I was trying to give him a lot of my hard earned cash? ...thanks for making me think I had a chance at all'
Holy shit people, are 'good artists' so stuck up they never check what other people do? I just don't get it.
"Wow what would you do then!"
That's why I ask that question, there's so, so many others that have already figured out the super simple method of "Auction ends at x time or 5 minutes after last bid." There's a reason it exists, there's a reason it's used, there's a reason it makes sense. Because it makes damn sense.
Wow would you look at that, it means you can't get sniped (if you really want the piece, 5 minutes is PLENTY to check if you're being outbid and the highest bid will get it. I mean, realistically the person with the highest budget will get 90% of the auctions. If you think 'random closing time' will help someone else get it.. that's stupid, the person with the deep pocket will just start really high and minimise the chances of most common bidders to apply for the slot regardless.
Man geeze, for being a pink dog I really get worked up by these things.
Most recent example of how not to run your auctions:
"Random ending time to discourage sniping!"
Yeah, seriously. Random ending time.
Paraphrasing:
"Auction ends on x day at a random time between x:55 and x+1:00"
Yes, this means there's still a 5 minute window where people know when the auction is going to close.
....And yes it sounds as dumb as it is, you have people bidding at that time and then suddenly being 'outbid' and 'losing the slot' because someone else bid a second later and the artist randomly closes the auction.
I think every single bidder for every slot got screwed over because someone else bid seconds later and then 'OH CLOSED'
I can't even BEGIN to express how infuriating this must sound to someone that loses the slot that way (disclaimer: I did not bid, and do not know any of the bidders). It just BOGGLES my mind that you would absolutely DESTROY the hopes of someone willing to fork out over 300 bucks for a single character slot that happens once every several months. This is not even 'oh i got sniped that's kinda shit' it's a 'wow the artist fucked me over with that 'random close' and I was trying to give him a lot of my hard earned cash? ...thanks for making me think I had a chance at all'
Holy shit people, are 'good artists' so stuck up they never check what other people do? I just don't get it.
"Wow what would you do then!"
That's why I ask that question, there's so, so many others that have already figured out the super simple method of "Auction ends at x time or 5 minutes after last bid." There's a reason it exists, there's a reason it's used, there's a reason it makes sense. Because it makes damn sense.
Wow would you look at that, it means you can't get sniped (if you really want the piece, 5 minutes is PLENTY to check if you're being outbid and the highest bid will get it. I mean, realistically the person with the highest budget will get 90% of the auctions. If you think 'random closing time' will help someone else get it.. that's stupid, the person with the deep pocket will just start really high and minimise the chances of most common bidders to apply for the slot regardless.
Man geeze, for being a pink dog I really get worked up by these things.
The whole "random end time" thing is actually:
Step 1: "Is my friend bidding at a low price?"
If yes, end auction RIGHT NOW
If no, proceed to Step 2
Step 2: "The bid has reached a moderate though fair price."
Is the person bidding a popular fur?
If yes, END IT NOW! You might get buddy-brownie points with said popufur and might be their friend and leach watchers from them!
If no, proceed to step 3.
Step 3: "The auction has been going for a while and the bids are reaching far past the hundreds, nearly four hundred!"
Did anyone question the validity of this auction and did anyone question if it was a scam?
If yes, END IT NOW!
If no, keep going until someone does.
"I see a friend or a character I really want to draw, I close the auction and award it immediately"