TOPIC: Discount Lightning Auction 2020 $8k No.1 - Success / Closed

Welcome to my Discount Lightning $8k Order Auction.

This auction is run a little differently than others have been run recently. I have made these changes to make things sell faster, and at a lower price than other auctions.

Faster: As soon as this auction hits $7,500 in value it is funded and bids are final. Other auctions typically run through some deadline, leading to sniping after the auction has reached its funding threshold and higher prices.

Cheaper:

This auction will use a Multiunit auction bidding system. This ensures that every bidder pays the same, lowest price for identical won items. Other auctions typically are run in a way such that some winning bidders pay more than others for identical items.

No bid increments - in the auction system here you never pay more than the exact amount another bidder was willing to pay. Other auctions typically jump the second bid by some threshold amount ($1, $5?), resulting in winning bidders paying more than anyone else was willing to pay.

Transparency: While keeping bidder’s true identities secret with pseudonyms, at the end of the auction I’ll publish all the bids, so you can see how the bids stacked up.

In additional, I’ll offer free shipping to any winning bidders who choose to announce what their pseudonym was here in this thread.

How bidding works:

• A bid on a set of identical items is recorded as: (Bidder, Max Bid, Quantity, Time of Bid)
• A sorted list of all bids for an item is maintained sorted by descending Max Bid, ascending Time
• Winning bidders are allocated items by going down the sorted list and allocating items up to desired Quantity until all items have been allocated
• The winning bid amount is the Max Bid amount of the first bid to not win any items
  • All winning bidders pay the same amount

I'll update the currently leading bidders in this post, quantities, and the current bid price by pseudonym as new bids come in.

If you’d like to learn more, see the example below in the second post on this thread .

Threshold and Timelines:

• The auction will end as soon as I process a bid that puts the total value at or over $7,500, including the value of all items still at their reserve price.
• PyP choices are due at the time of payment.
• If the $7,500 threshold is not met by 10/25 the auction is not funded and will be cancelled.
• Items will be mailed to you within 1 week after my receipt of them from True Adventures. Be forewarned that some items (like adventure modules) are sent out by True Adventures much later than others.

Shipping: Within the US: $8 per customer. Outside the US: Actual shipping cost. You may choose to announce your pseudonym after the auction in exchange for free shipping to the US, or an $8 discount on shipping outside the US.

Payment: Is via PayPal and due within 3 days of me notifying you of your won bid. The amount that reaches my PayPal account must be the sum of your won bids and shipping.

Current Bids:

$7,515.46 of $7,500 goal: Auction Successful

2020 or 2019 UR Selection:
#1-3 : Lich - $100
#4-13 : Quasit - $100
#14-18 : Archmage - $100
#19 : Flying Sword - $100
#20 : Jackal - $100
#21-25 : Manticore - $100
#26-27 : Nightmare - $100
#28-29 : Vampire - $100
#30 : Griffon - $100
#31-33 : Salamander - $100
#34 : Unicorn - $100

NOTE: You may redeem 2 PyP selections for a complete C/UC/R ONYX Set. You may redeem 18 PyP selections for a complete C/UC/R/UR ONYX Set. Limit one such substitution per auction, priority will be given to winning bidders in order of highest bidder first, breaking ties on earliest bid.

6th Tooth of Cavadar:
#1-2 : Quasit - $60
#3-6 : Earth Elemental - $60
#7 : Griffon - $60
#8 : Manticore - $60

Orb of Dragonkind (Old) : RESERVE - $600

2020 3x Treasure Chip:
#1-16 : Wyvren - $10

Avernon's +3 Cherry Wine (Cures 3 HP and removes undead touch effects):
#1-2 : Griffon - $0.40
#3-32 : Imp - $0.40

2020 Complete Set of 3 Adventure Modules:
#1 : Yeti - $3
#2-8 : RESERVE - $3


Wish Ring: RESERVE - $240

Patron Pin and Corresponding Origins Access Code: Salamander - $70

Adventurer's Guild Buttons (access to bag check at Gen Con):
#1 : Yeti - $5
#2 : Archmage - $5

Hitchhiking Ghost: Shog (1 use, may equip additional rare waist slot item):
#1 : Vampire - $40
#2-4 : RESERVE - $40

Lenses of the Owl:
#1 : Imp - $0.50
#2 : Yeti - $0.50
#3-8 : Archmage - $0.50

Potion Condensed Healing:
#1-17 : Hippogriff - $1

Alchemist's Ink:
#1-4 : Cockatrice - $3
#5-14 : Nightmare - $3
#15-17 : Griffon - $3
#18-42 : RESERVE - $3

Alchemist's Parchment:
#1-6 : Griffon - $3.25
#7-12 : Archmage - $3.25
#13-17 : Owlbear - $3.25
#18-21 : Imp - $3.25
#22-51 : Lich - $3.25
#52-55 : Cockatrice - $3.25

Aragonite:
#1-12 : Unicorn - $25.78

Darkwood Plank:
#1-20 : Flying Sword - $1
#21-120 : Kraken - $1
#121-35 : RESERVE - $1

Dwarven Steel:
#1 : Imp - $3
#2-21 : Slamander - $3
#22-31 : Flying Sword - $3
#32-43 : Owlbear - $3
#44-49 : Griffon - $3
#50-62 : Cockatrice - $3
#63-65 : Treant - $3

Elven Bismuth:
#1-2 : Owlbear - $14
#3-14 : Kraken - $14

Enchanter's Munition:
#1-20 : RESERVE - $3

Minotaur Hide:
#1-6 : Griffon - $1.75
#7-13 : Cockatrice - $1.75
#14-21 : Owlbear - $1.75
#22-32 : Imp - $1.75
#33-45 : Salamander - $1.75

Mystic Silk:
#1-30 : Owlbear - $1
#31-50 : Flying Sword - $1
#51-100 : Kraken - $1

Oil of Enchantment:
#1-3 : Owlbear - $15
#4-5 : Imp - $15
#6-11 : Treant - $15
#12 : Archmage - $15

Philosopher's Stone:
#1-20 : Flying Sword - $1
#21-26 : Griffon - $1
#27-90 : Kraken - $1

1000 GP:
#1 : Cockatrice - $16
#2-11 : Quasit - $16
#12-43 : RESERVE - $16

The Fine Print:
See the next post for details on bidding and other corner case rules.

Bidding Example:

There are eight 6th Tooth of Cavadar available.

There are four bids placed:
#1 Alice bids $39 on 3
#2 Bob bids $42.33 on 2
#3 Cindy bids $39 on all 8
#4 Dave bids $35 on 4

We sort the bids in terms of descending max bid, breaking ties on earliest bid placed:
Bob, $42.33 on 2
Alice, $39 on 3 (ahead of Cindy because Alice bid first)
Cindy, $39 on all 8
Dave, $35 on 4

Then we allocate the eight available items down our sorted list:
Bob is currently winning 2
Alice is currently winning 3
Cindy is currently winning 3 (out of her requested 8, but there are only 3 available after Bob, who bid more, and Alice, who bid sooner, get theirs)
Dave isn’t winning any

Then we set the price for all winning bidders based on the first bid to not win anything: that’s Dave’s bid at $35.

So currently the winning bids are:
Bob, quantity 2 for $35
Alice, quantity 3 for $35
Cindy, quantity 3 for $35

Other auction systems would also allocate the eight winning items the same way, Bob gets 2, Alice gets 3, Cindy gets 3. However they would charge each of Bob, Alice, and Cindy more than $35, and they might even charge Bob more than Alice or Cindy for identical items.

Detailed Bidding Rules:

1. Multiple bids from the same bidder at the same price on the same items will be consolidated into a single bid. The time of the consolidated bid will the latest time of any of the bids going into the consolidation.

Example:
Bid 1: Alice bids $90 on 8 PyPs
Bid 2: Bob bids $78 on 10 PyPs
Bid 3: Alice bids $90 on 3 PyPs

Results in Alices Bid #1 being combined with her later Bid #3:
Bid 2: Bob for $78 on 10 PyPs
Bid 3: Alice for $90 on 11 PyPs

2. A single bidder may not have bids whose combined quantity exceeds the total quantity available. If such bids occur, they will be adjusted by eliminating the quantity from the smallest bids until the quantity requested doesn't exceed the total quantity available.

Example:
There are eight 6th Tooth of Cavadar available:
Alice bids $25 on 1
Alice bids $30 on 6
Alice bids $35 on 3
Alice bids $40 on 1

Alice’s bids combine for a requested quantity of 11 but there are only 8 available.

Alice's bids are adjusted by eliminating bids in excess of the 8 items available, starting with the lowest bid amounts, yielding a final set of bids for Alice of:

Alice bids $25 on 1
Alice bids $30 on 6 4
Alice bids $35 on 3
Alice bids $30 on 1

3. I have placed RESERVE bids on some items at the start of the auction. These are the only bids I will place in this auction. RESERVE are implemented as 2 bids on the entire quantity available, at the reserve price.

Unlikely Scenarios:

I reserve the right to:

• Offer “second chance” options to losing bidders which they may accept or reject.
• Reject or cancel individual bids for any reason before payment is made.
• Cancel the auction entirely at any point prior to it being funded at the $7,500 threshold.
• Refund all payments made in full, and cancel the auction entirely, in the unlikely event that winning bidders back out and/or do not pay in a timely fashion after the $7,500 bidding threshold is met and the auction concludes.
• Update auction listings as True Adventures changes the listed components of an 8k purchase.

Nice job on the auction format. I likes. PM Sent.

PM sent

pm sent

You need to read this .

Druegar wrote: You need to read this .

You can't make me read

But seriously, everyone should read Druegar's warning and keep in mind the auction rules referenced in "unlikely scenarios" in post 2 which include the possibility of

* Update auction listings as True Adventures changes the listed components of an 8k purchase.

You may want to add a disclaimer about if pricing changes (not just what is offered). Of course, it could be all the packages are redesigned from the ground up (also not a terrible idea.)

Fred

We did it!

Bids are finalized.

I'll post the anonymized winning bids here in a moment as promised.

I'll be starting a new auction up as well for those who missed out.

I'll be contacting the winners for their payment and PyP selections in a bit.

As promised, here are the bid history for this auction:

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1C3SLKRLe71rBDzGtoAzXuC9uB0Q9JclT_V4GmHNabMQ/edit#gid=286320546

Winning bidders will have the chance to announce who they were in exchange for free shipping.

I’m imp.

I'm the Quaken, er, Kraken.

Fred