BlockRun.com - Bitcoin Auctions

[dipsy]

We've just launched http://www.blockrun.com , a play on penny auctions built on top on the blockchain.

- Each auction has its own bid address
- Auctions last for a certain number of blocks
- When blocks reach 0, each new bid extends the auction by 3 blocks
- There needs to be 3 new blocks with no transactions associated with that auction for a winner to be declared
- The highest bid wins, all other bids lose (we send winning, and losing transactions when you have been outbid)
- Winners are confirmed after 6 confirmations
- Winner creates a signed message to confirm they own the address

How it works: http://www.blockrun.com/how_it_works
FAQ: http://www.blockrun.com/faq
Auction for 5 coins: http://www.blockrun.com/auctions/5-bitcoins

Get bidding  

[bitcoinstarter]

We've just launched http://www.blockrun.com , a play on penny auctions built on top on the blockchain.

- Each auction has its own bid address
- Auctions last for a certain number of blocks
- When blocks reach 0, each new bid extends the auction by 3 blocks
- There needs to be 3 new blocks with no transactions associated with that auction for a winner to be declared
- The highest bid wins, all other bids lose (we send winning and losting transactions)
- Winners are confirmed after 6 confirmations
- Winner creates a signed message to confirm they own the address

How it works: http://www.blockrun.com/how_it_works
FAQ: http://www.blockrun.com/faq
Auction for 5 coins: http://www.blockrun.com/auctions/5-bitcoins

Get bidding  

Looking good guys! 

[dipsy]

Thanks 

[dipsy]

We have added "Confirmed bids" so that users can view previous biding history on the page:
http://www.blockrun.com/auctions/5-bitcoins

Any questions, or feature requests?

[schalk]

So if we lose the auction, we lose our bitcoins. What stops you from participating in the auction to ensure you always win, or at least so you sometimes prevent other people from winning?

[Grinny]

The most important sentence has a typo: 

Losing bids are not are not refunded, only the highest bid wins!

So..... everyone loses except you?

[dipsy]

In theory, if we were really clever we could bid on our own auction. But this is not in our interest as we want people to win, tell others they have won, and encourage more people to play. Also, that's just not how we operate as it's dishonest & not cool! We know we will probably make losses on the first few auctions and are happy to take the hit in order to get things going.

You'll notice that we have no winners right now as have just launched, but we're offering an BTC0.5 to winners who give a testimonial: http://www.blockrun.com/winners

@Grinny;
Thanks, we have amended the typo. The winner wins the product/coins for a low price, losers lose their bids, we either make a profit or a loss.

[dipsy]

5 Bitcoins currently about to close at BTC0.09:
http://www.blockrun.com/auctions/5-bitcoins

Get your bids in 

[gweedo]

5 Bitcoins currently about to close at BTC0.09:
http://www.blockrun.com/auctions/5-bitcoins

Get your bids in 

You do realize no one can win, since you only have 3 blocks until it is over, and confirmation takes either 3 blocks or more as I can see by the unconfirmed bids.

[dipsy]

Nope, of course somebody will win.

Each new bid that comes in at the end extends the auction by 3 blocks. The winner is the highest bidder before 3 blocks with 0 bids.

You can see from the page that the auction is now "blockrunning"; http://www.blockrun.com/auctions/5-bitcoins

It will count down 3 blocks, 2 blocks, 1 block, win. Unless of course a new bid gets accepted into a block, in which case the countdown will reset to 3 again.

[dipsy]

Only 2 blocks left to win a brand new Nexus 4:
http://www.blockrun.com/auctions/lg-google-nexus-4-16gb

So far we have given away BTC6 for a total of BTC0.123 

[Welsh]

Only 2 blocks left to win a brand new Nexus 4:
http://www.blockrun.com/auctions/lg-google-nexus-4-16gb

So far we have given away BTC6 for a total of BTC0.123 

We need proof. The 'Bitcoin' bids have been a few days now, I want to see transaction proof, and I want the person who received it to say that they received it.

[dipsy]

Sure:
https://twitter.com/greenglue/status/336649024549560320

On the chain:
http://blockchain.info/address/1Run2RUNo7bw1MB6dR2nNkdU1DNxE5Zwv

[Mitchell]

How can you profit of something like this? How do you pay for this?

[dipsy]

Only the highest bid wins, all other bids are lost. So, for example if somebody bid BTC3.00001 on the Nexus auction, the current high bidder (BTC3) would lose and BTC3.00001 would be the highest (and maybe winning) bid.

At the moment we are making a loss on each auction, but that's fine as we are just getting started. Eventually we hope that the sum total of all the bids on an auction will be worth more than the item for sale.

[Mitchell]

Only the highest bid wins, all other bids are lost. So, for example if somebody bid BTC3.00001 on the Nexus auction, the current high bidder (BTC3) would lose and BTC3.00001 would be the highest (and maybe winning) bid.

At the moment we are making a loss on each auction, but that's fine as we are just getting started. Eventually we hope that the sum total of all the bids on an auction will be worth more than the item for sale.

Hmm, I see. Well if your site gets big, you could earn some decent cash from it. Goodluck!

[yacare]

A few comments:

1- On how_it_works example, you have an adders to copy (step 2), but then it sends the bid to a different adders (step 4). That may confuse someone...

2- On my actual browser+resolution I can't see the full bidding adders (just part of it), and I can't select to manually copy (Ctrl + C). The copy button works, but it is not very clear/instinctive, maybe you can replace the icon for just "copy", and allow selection for manual copy as well.

[dipsy]

I agree that the address can be confusing, so we will change this.

If you double-click, you should be able to select the address. We'll also look at changing the "copy" icon to something more obvious.

Thanks for the feedback, it's much appreciated!

[yacare]

What happens if a bid takes a LONG time to get confirmed?
For example, if someone makes a winning bid, but id doesn't get confirmed before the 3 empty blocks for the previous confirmed bid?

Can the auction end with unconfirmed/pending bids?

[dipsy]

A bid is only valid if it has 1 confirmation. We show pending bids as an indicator of what is happening, but your bid must be in a block for it to count.

An auction can end with pending/unconfirmed bids as these are not yet in a block, so don't count. If the auction ends (after 3 blocks with no bids) and your bid gets confirmed a while afterwards, we will refund the bid.

If there is only 1 block left on the auction, you could add a miners fee to increase the liklihood of your bid being accepted into the next block.