Ship of Fools: Auction: the rules and how it works

Thread: Auction: the rules and how it works Board: Auctions / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Simon (# 1) on :

Here are the rules for how the auction will work. Please read these carefully before taking part, even if you're an old-timer on Ship of Fools. This board works differently to the rest.

Auction timings – the Auction opens at 12 noon (UK time) on Thursday 18th August, and closes at 12 noon (UK time) on Friday 2nd September.

Eligibility – all registered members of the boards over the age of 18 are eligible to bid.

Bidding threads – bidding for the Lots will take place on special Bidding Threads posted on the Auction board. Each Lot will have its own thread, and all the Lots will be open for bidding simultaneously.

Public bidding – all bids will be made publicly, and no private bids by PM or email will be accepted.

Group bidding – consortium bidding or PMing someone to offer financial help is allowed. However, please note that the person placing a winning bid takes responsibility to buy the Lot and must arrange payment within seven days of the close of the auction. In other words, the bidder alone takes responsibility for his or her bid, even if it's being funded by several people.

Comments on Bidding Threads – if you are posting on a Bidding Thread, your post must make a bid (unless you are the Auctioneer). You are welcome to include brief comments as part of your post, but posts which do not contain a bid will be deleted.

Peanut gallery – posts commenting on the auction can be made on a special thread which will be posted at the opening of the auction.

Currency – our bidding currency is US dollars.

Smallest amounts – bids must be in whole dollars (i.e. no bids in cents). Bids may advance by as little as $1.

Cross-posting – if two or more members post exactly the same bid, the earliest bid will be taken as the valid bid, while the other/s will be discounted. In the case of cross-posts which result in a lower bid appearing after a higher one, the higher bid stands.

Double winners – if at the end of the auction someone ends up with the highest bid on two lots, they will be given a choice: would they like to keep both wins, on the understanding that they will use only one of them (e.g. and give the other to someone else as a present)? This allows people to win more than one lot, but it means they can only use one of them as a board identity. If they want to keep only one of the wins, they will be deemed to have won the lot for which they bid the higher amount. The remaining lot will then be offered to the second highest bidder for that lot.

No editing posts – posts on Bidding Threads cannot be edited. Any post which has an edit time-stamp may be discounted and deleted.

Starting Price – each Lot will be posted with a Starting Price. Bids below the Starting Price are not valid.

Reserve Price – each Lot will also have a Reserve Price, which we are not making public. Lots which fail to reach the Reserve will be retained by Ship of Fools and not sold.

Winning bids – Bidding Threads will be closed soon after 12 noon (UK time) on Friday 2nd September, and posts confirming the winners of Lots will be posted on each thread soon afterwards. The winning bid for each Lot will be the highest offer which has a timestamp within the closing time limit.

Winner must buy – if you win a bid, you are obligated to buy the Lot by paying Ship of Fools the winning price.

Payment – payment for winning bids should be made within seven days of the close of the auction. A special payment page will be provided.

Consent – if you post bids on the Bidding Threads, you are indicating your consent to the above rules.

These rules may change before the opening of the auction, but changes will be clearly flagged on this thread. Meanwhile, feel free to post comments and questions here.

[ 25. August 2005, 08:35: Message edited by: Simon ]

Posted by Chapelhead (# 1143) on :

For clarification...

What happens if an enthusiastic bidder ends up with the highest bid on two lots? Will they be deemed to be liable for both bids, even though only one number is usable by any one person?

Posted by jlg (# 98) on :

What if the winner fails to cough up the cash?

Posted by Auntie Doris (# 9433) on :

quote:
Originally posted by jlg:
What if the winner fails to cough up the cash?

They get slung overboard and their numbers auctioned off to the highest bidder!!! [Snigger]

Auntie Doris x

Posted by Fen Church (# 9899) on :

Some of the numbers have cool names (Big Brother, and so on). Do the cool names come with the number? What about the Avatars?

Posted by Papio. (# 4201) on :

Simon has stated that, should you win, you are able to change your name and avatar to that of the lot you have won, keep the ones you already have, or come up with new ones.

IIRC.

Posted by Sine Nomine (# 3631) on :

Uhm...how does one bid on the bidding threads if they're locked? What am I missing?

Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :

Presumably bidding hasn't started yet. One assumes that at the designated time, the threads will be opened and bidding will commence...

Posted by Pyx_e (# 57) on :

They open at noon uk time (21 minutes), go for a campari and get your credit card warmed up.

P

Posted by Sine Nomine (# 3631) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Pyx_e:
go for a campari

Excellent idea at quarter til six in the morning. Think I will. Or perhaps not. [Biased]

(But thanks for the info. Brain not awake yet.)

[ 18. August 2005, 10:47: Message edited by: Sine Nomine ]

Posted by seasick (# 48) on :

When is the peanut gallery opening?

Posted by Simon (# 1) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Chapelhead:
What happens if an enthusiastic bidder ends up with the highest bid on two lots? Will they be deemed to be liable for both bids, even though only one number is usable by any one person?

The enthusiastic winner of two lots will first be given a choice: would they like to keep both wins, on the understanding that they will use only one of them (e.g. and give the other to someone else as a present)? This allows people to win more than one lot, but it means they can only use one of them as a board identity.

If they want to keep only one of the wins, they will be deemed to have won the lot for which they bid the higher amount. The remaining lot will then be offered to the second highest bidder for that lot.

So, for example: say you had made the highest bids on numbers 333 and 777, and your winning bids were $50 and $80 respectively. If you decided to keep only one of the wins, you would be liable for the $80 bid on 777, while number 333 would be offered to the second highest bidder on the 777 thread.

Hope that's clear, and thanks for the question.

Posted by Papa Smurf (# 1654) on :

what happens to the numbers vacated by the winners ?

Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Papa Smurf:
what happens to the numbers vacated by the winners ?

Nothing, apparently.

quote:
From the linked post (by Simon):
Your old posts would continue to show your old number, although your new avatar could appear on them, if you wanted, and your signature could carry a link to your new identity. Your old number definitely wouldn't become available for any future auction.

Posted by Pânts (# 4487) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Simon:

Comments on Bidding Threads – if you are posting on a Bidding Thread, your post must make a bid. You are welcome to include brief comments as part of your post, but posts which do not contain a bid will be deleted.

Shouldn't they be forced to make a bid of at least $1 higher than the previous bid? (Papio! [Biased]

)

Posted by Papio. (# 4201) on :

Ooops.

I didn's see the thing about not posting except to make a bid....

Please accept my apologies, Simon. [Hot and Hormonal]

Posted by Simon (# 1) on :

That's ok, Papio... I've deleted your non-bid posts. Don't do it again!

Posted by Papio. (# 4201) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Simon:
That's ok, Papio... I've deleted your non-bid posts. Don't do it again!

I won't. Promise.

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :

ooops - sorry - my last question's been answered. Not sure wehere it disappeared to anyway. [Hot and Hormonal]

Posted by The Coot (# 220) on :

I'd like to bid for a number higher than my present, but don't want to xfer to it if I'm the successful bidder. (Would like to have it marked as owned by me, with a suitably atmospheric nick [Biased]

, but would not use it). Is that able to be done?

Posted by Simon (# 1) on :

Yes, all of that's fine, Coot. If you win a number, you can then decide which one you'll "live in", and you can decorate the other one to your heart's content!

Posted by chukovsky (# 116) on :

Hmm, the concept of buy-to-let springs to mind...

[ 19. August 2005, 11:40: Message edited by: chukovsky ]

Posted by The Coot (# 220) on :

Are we allowed to put in 2 bids in a row?

Eg. change mind and want to offer more or feel that no-one else is going to make further bids and the going price is less than one's already decided threshold.

Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on :

In the event of you having the highest bid at the end of the day, I'm sure Simon wouldn't complain if the amount you pay over to the Ship is more than the bid amount.

Posted by Auctioneer (# 12) on :

Just a reminder that only the Auctioneer can post comments without a bid on the bidding threads. All other non-bidding posts will be deleted. Do feel free to comment on the Peanut Gallery thread.

Auctioneer
Auctions Host

Posted by jlg (# 98) on :

Or if I may presume to re-phrase it slightly: If you want to post a comment on a bidding thread, you'll have to pay for the privilege. [Big Grin]

Posted by Auctioneer (# 12) on :

Well, this auction is all about paying for privilege and getting to feel good about it because you're support a worthy cause. [Big Grin]

Posted by Simon (# 1) on :

quote:
Originally posted by The Coot:
Are we allowed to put in 2 bids in a row?

That's fine, Coot. But why stop at two? [Big Grin]

Posted by Simon (# 1) on :

I've posted on the Introduction thread about group bidding (e.g. forming a consortium or helping someone else to bid). Since this involves an addition to the auction rules, I'm noting it here. Check the new paragraph, "Group bidding", in the opening post of this thread.

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