Question about silent auction bids

[BG4]

Discussion about silent auction bidding..

Has anyone attempted to run an auction where max bids are submitted to a auctioneer..  the winning bid would only be one increment above the second highest bid..  sorta like how EBAY does it....

I usually end my auctions at 10pm EST. ... This puts bidders in the EU and other country's at a disadvantage because it is maybe an odd time and miss the Auction end....

I was thinking of ways that might work.... would anyone consider this type of auction format

What problems might popup....

[jambola2]

It's possible that extending the auction end time whenever a bid is placed could help.
Means that nobody can jump in at the last second, and theres a chance that it will get extended to EU time.
10 PM EST is around 2 AM GMT. As most countries are a bit ahead, it'd be 3-5 AM GMT.
If it gets extended by a couple of hours by interested bidders, EU people would have a chance to put in a bid as they wake up.

The silent bidding that you suggest too could be done by just PMing the person running the auction, who could then post the bids on their behalf.
If necessary, a signed message from the bidder could be given to the auctioneer, with the max amount so that the auctioneer could prove that he had authorization to make bids on the bidders behalf.
Possibly could ask that the address should have atleast the maximum bid amount available.

[BG4]

How about a 24 hour "no snipping" extension... They are usually 15 minutes..... Would people have a problem with such a long extension time..... Like a whole day..?

[subSTRATA]

It's possible that extending the auction end time whenever a bid is placed could help.
Means that nobody can jump in at the last second, and theres a chance that it will get extended to EU time.
10 PM EST is around 2 AM GMT. As most countries are a bit ahead, it'd be 3-5 AM GMT.
If it gets extended by a couple of hours by interested bidders, EU people would have a chance to put in a bid as they wake up.

The silent bidding that you suggest too could be done by just PMing the person running the auction, who could then post the bids on their behalf.
If necessary, a signed message from the bidder could be given to the auctioneer, with the max amount so that the auctioneer could prove that he had authorization to make bids on the bidders behalf.
Possibly could ask that the address should have atleast the maximum bid amount available.

i like this suggestion; bids could be made by providing a signed message from an address containing funds, and a message stating the bid for the item. the seller could, in turn, provide occasional updates by posting in the thread about the current highest bid. its a neat idea, but i see no benefit of using a silent auction over what is done now.

as far as problems go, it would be up to the seller to provide constant updates on the price and manage the flood of messages into their inbox. without a platform to manage bids like ebay, i think doing it on the forum would be a bad idea solely for this reason, and it will likely be an issue with popular items.

[BG4]

The only benifits would be for people on the opposite time zone from the Auction end time.... I would like to see people not get out bid because they are asleep because of a end time that's early in the morning or during work hours.

I agree the updating could become a headache. ..  unless only one max bid is accepted per user...  But that's not good either....

24 hours extentions after last bids could also become out of sync and end at a bad time too....but it would give world wide oppertunity for last bid.....

Just looking for ideas

[subSTRATA]

maybe just set the ending time to be convenient for both sides of the world; as youre in the eastern time zone (US), there is anywhere from a 5 to 10 hour difference to EU. maybe setting your auctions to end around midday your time would give EU bidders a better opportunity, as midday your time would be nearing bedtime in EU. not really a whole lo that can be done about it though.

[jambola2]

The only benifits would be for people on the opposite time zone from the Auction end time.... I would like to see people not get out bid because they are asleep because of a end time that's early in the morning or during work hours.

I agree the updating could become a headache. ..  unless only one max bid is accepted per user...  But that's not good either....

24 hours extentions after last bids could also become out of sync and end at a bad time too....but it would give world wide oppertunity for last bid.....

Just looking for ideas

24 hours sounds like a lot though.
Somewhere in the range between 4-12 hours seems good, and I think 8 hours is ideal.
Even if an auction ends at 5 AM for me, I could post a bid at around midnight and rebid at 8 AM if necessary.