TOPIC: Going back to fewer auctions/non competing auctions?

Utaku Soto wrote: No worries at all! I started running sponsored auctions this year during the preorder runs as a way to help people access the benefits of running an auction that either didn’t have the time, or weren’t comfortable running an auction on their own.

In a sponsored auction, I connected with the sponsor to set the funding amount and then I run the auction like my other auctions (including ordering and repackaging), however the sponsor then funds the gap and gets all the random PYPs as well as any Golden Tickets. I also record the openings on video for the sponsor to ensure transparency on what arrives.

So far I’ve run 6 sponsored auctions this year and have had 3 Golden Tickets for the sponsors which has been awesome! I have 2 more people in queue and will be running them back to back this month and then opening it back up to the community! New sponsors will get priority over members who have already sponsored to try and give more people access to the benefits of running auctions.

Hope that helps!

… you n I are gonna hook up next year… I really want a golden ticket 😂😂 also, what is required of me to be able to run these myself? Maybe not a sponsor one since idk how to even begin that, but the others seem pretty straightforward.

Tyraël The Just wrote:

Utaku Soto wrote: No worries at all! I started running sponsored auctions this year during the preorder runs as a way to help people access the benefits of running an auction that either didn’t have the time, or weren’t comfortable running an auction on their own.

In a sponsored auction, I connected with the sponsor to set the funding amount and then I run the auction like my other auctions (including ordering and repackaging), however the sponsor then funds the gap and gets all the random PYPs as well as any Golden Tickets. I also record the openings on video for the sponsor to ensure transparency on what arrives.

So far I’ve run 6 sponsored auctions this year and have had 3 Golden Tickets for the sponsors which has been awesome! I have 2 more people in queue and will be running them back to back this month and then opening it back up to the community! New sponsors will get priority over members who have already sponsored to try and give more people access to the benefits of running auctions.

Hope that helps!

… you n I are gonna hook up next year… I really want a golden ticket 😂😂 also, what is required of me to be able to run these myself? Maybe not a sponsor one since idk how to even begin that, but the others seem pretty straightforward.

A credit line able to make an $8005.00 purchase from TD

Utaku Soto wrote: I have a feeling this thread and some comments have been directed at my shop and hopefully I’m helping add more to the community than detract from it. This is the reason I introduced sponsorships to my normal stream of auctions and am happy that so far have helped get 3 people GTs this year!

I did run back to backs recently due to the SkullCon push and will be running sponsored auctions back to back in July/August and have gotten great feedback so far! I hope this is a happy medium and it was great meeting everyone at SkullCon and the support.

My goal was to provide a consistent format at all times for the community and the option to have a single spot to combine shipments, especially when you miss out on the item you were looking for in one auction. I also have had good success extending the auctions in and out of the forums and I think I have helped some newer players find the forums that started with my site.

Your overly aggressive auction pushing has caused multiple other auctions to fail, including one of mine this year.

If you think this thread is directed at you there's probably a reason you feel that way and you might want to consider stepping back a bit and letting other sellers fund auctions vs running dozens of your own back to back.

Utaku Soto wrote: No worries at all! I started running sponsored auctions this year during the preorder runs as a way to help people access the benefits of running an auction that either didn’t have the time, or weren’t comfortable running an auction on their own.

In a sponsored auction, I connected with the sponsor to set the funding amount and then I run the auction like my other auctions (including ordering and repackaging), however the sponsor then funds the gap and gets all the random PYPs as well as any Golden Tickets. I also record the openings on video for the sponsor to ensure transparency on what arrives.

So far I’ve run 6 sponsored auctions this year and have had 3 Golden Tickets for the sponsors which has been awesome! I have 2 more people in queue and will be running them back to back this month and then opening it back up to the community! New sponsors will get priority over members who have already sponsored to try and give more people access to the benefits of running auctions.

Hope that helps!

So, do you get anything from these sponsored auctions?
...other than solidifying your status as the auction guy?

From a buyer perspective, I’d rather deal with as few auctioneers as possible. If everyone sponsored their auctions though a consolidated auctioneer like Soto, it would be the best setup for me. The biggest advantages are combined shipping and rolled bids.

Combining shipping across auctions lets you try to target and lowball specific trade goods or items and not worry about getting stuck paying shipping on $4 in plank.

Rolling bids let me stick to a price and not risk winning more than I need when bidding in multiple auctions.

Rolling bids is a big deal. It's great for auctioneer as it creates activity day one, and people like to back winners. But, people often want something specific and/or are looking for deals on particular types of tokens. In either case, not muddying up the situation with bids in multiple auctions at the same time gives much more clarity on what will end up happening - when, how many/much.

If the average forum member cared about this they would be supporting the other auctions. But while some auctions are having a hard time being successful, and I might be wrong about this, but it feels like overall more auctions have been successfully funded then ever.

It really suggests to me that a single contact, combined shipped, fast moving auction is what people want. Personally it’s what I want. I am not really interested in or bid on your average auction. But run multiple back to back and let me combine shipping, and I can pickup items without worrying about bidding wars, or not winning enough to justify shipping, if I get outbid by too much just grab the next one.

I spent more money on auctions then I ever have before, and frankly a queue or fewer auctions won’t make me spend the money on those auctions, I will instead spend it in another method.

Scaling up, running auctions back to back with combined shipping, and rolling failed bids, is the easiest way to make auctions run successfully. Personally I feel like the bidders who so far have been voting with their wallets are really who get to decide who gets to run auctions. I don’t really see anyone who purchases from the auctions and has no desire to run them asking for less auctions or a queue.

Kenban wrote: If the average forum member cared about this they would be supporting the other auctions. But while some auctions are having a hard time being successful, and I might be wrong about this, but it feels like overall more auctions have been successfully funded then ever.

It really suggests to me that a single contact, combined shipped, fast moving auction is what people want. Personally it’s what I want. I am not really interested in or bid on your average auction. But run multiple back to back and let me combine shipping, and I can pickup items without worrying about bidding wars, or not winning enough to justify shipping, if I get outbid by too much just grab the next one.

I spent more money on auctions then I ever have before, and frankly a queue or fewer auctions won’t make me spend the money on those auctions, I will instead spend it in another method.

Scaling up, running auctions back to back with combined shipping, and rolling failed bids, is the easiest way to make auctions run successfully. Personally I feel like the bidders who so far have been voting with their wallets are really who get to decide who gets to run auctions. I don’t really see anyone who purchases from the auctions and has no desire to run them asking for less auctions or a queue.

This is actually a really good idea, I was brainstorming about how to track this and I thought of a small hitch. If in this situation, all your bids lost except a few trade goods, but you wanted those failed max bids to start on the next. If I’m the next 2 auctions ended in the same result and your rolled bids being out bid, how could those running the auctions make it more friendly to those who are smaller spends as well as the bigger ?

Kenban wrote: If the average forum member cared about this they would be supporting the other auctions. But while some auctions are having a hard time being successful, and I might be wrong about this, but it feels like overall more auctions have been successfully funded then ever.

It really suggests to me that a single contact, combined shipped, fast moving auction is what people want. Personally it’s what I want. I am not really interested in or bid on your average auction. But run multiple back to back and let me combine shipping, and I can pickup items without worrying about bidding wars, or not winning enough to justify shipping, if I get outbid by too much just grab the next one.

I spent more money on auctions then I ever have before, and frankly a queue or fewer auctions won’t make me spend the money on those auctions, I will instead spend it in another method.

Scaling up, running auctions back to back with combined shipping, and rolling failed bids, is the easiest way to make auctions run successfully. Personally I feel like the bidders who so far have been voting with their wallets are really who get to decide who gets to run auctions. I don’t really see anyone who purchases from the auctions and has no desire to run them asking for less auctions or a queue.

+1

kurtreznor wrote:

Utaku Soto wrote: No worries at all! I started running sponsored auctions this year during the preorder runs as a way to help people access the benefits of running an auction that either didn’t have the time, or weren’t comfortable running an auction on their own.

In a sponsored auction, I connected with the sponsor to set the funding amount and then I run the auction like my other auctions (including ordering and repackaging), however the sponsor then funds the gap and gets all the random PYPs as well as any Golden Tickets. I also record the openings on video for the sponsor to ensure transparency on what arrives.

So far I’ve run 6 sponsored auctions this year and have had 3 Golden Tickets for the sponsors which has been awesome! I have 2 more people in queue and will be running them back to back this month and then opening it back up to the community! New sponsors will get priority over members who have already sponsored to try and give more people access to the benefits of running auctions.

Hope that helps!

So, do you get anything from these sponsored auctions?
...other than solidifying your status as the auction guy?

Valid question.

Honestly, not really other than helping someone new out that might not normally do an auction and sharing the auction opportunities with others.

During the preorder cycle (when it was first introduced), it also gave people a way to continue to carry bids over from auction to auction, as well as combine shipping across multiple auctions while still supporting different community members that would sponsor auctions.

Larger goal was to help build a good reputation with the community and become a trusted resource that was part of the fabric of the TD community. I hope that has kind of happened, but as we can tell by this thread and discord, not all would agree.

A few thoughts:

1. It is simply not true the that “before the end of last year we almost always had people coordinate 8k auctions so there want more than one running at a time.”

You can go look at the history of auction threads to see this is true, and can also see it by reading the prior thread on this.

2. In my opinion, the only valid reason to support a system of limitations on forum auctions is for some reason that substantially benefits auctions bidders and buyers.

There are words for when a bunch of sellers form an agreement to cooperate, independent of what buyers want: cartel, collusion. There is also a reason why these terms have a negative connotation.

3. Bidders / buyers are showing their preferences by where they bid.

Auctions fail for exactly one reason: bidders did not find the offering interesting of valuable enough.

No one “owes you” your “turn” to run an auction.

No one is preventing you from running an auction whenever you want.

Auctions are not a limited resource that should be divided up among the sellers, for the benefit of the sellers.

Before endorsing a plan of seller collusion please state clearly how buyers benefit from this plan.

4. There are substantial benefits as a buyer for using the same auctioneer over and over:

* combined shipping
* trust based on demonstrated past operating of fair auctions and past fulfillment
* familiarity with bidding procedures and rules - which in the past has caused a lot of hard feelings when a buyer and seller aren’t in alignment

5. There are many different auction formats. Limiting auctions to one at a time presents the risk of stalling auctions in the forum as one with an format that buyers find unappealing drags on, blocking auctions that are more appealing.

6. BE NICE. BE COOL.

Trying to enforce made up rules on other forumites by disparagement, bullying, or treating them worse would not be nice, and would not be cool.


7. Constructive suggestion: if sellers really like this idea, no one is stopping you from:

* forming a completely voluntary, 100% opt in “guild of mono sellers” who agree that among their guild to run only one guild auction at a time, bound by whatever other procedures voluntary guild members adopt

* this guild should have as a core bedrock principle that absolutely no disparagement, bulling, or different treatment of other non-guild sellers, or buyers who bid in other auctions will be tolerated by the guild of any guild members

* this sellers guild could announce their approach and appeal to buyers, rather than trying to enforce their ideas on other sellers

* then buyers can choose whether they like the way members of the guild run things or not

Speaking for myself, I would bid in auctions put up by anyone - guild or not - whose structure met my preferences as a buyer.

Also speaking for myself, I would tend to avoid auctions of sellers who cast aspersions on other auctioneers for failing to behave the way those sellers dictate.