Status check
 

Well this auction section has been alive for nearly 6 months now. Looks very lightly used to me.

I'm certainly glad I didn't spring for a commercial auction script to be incorporated here along with the attendant costs of purchase and installation.

Feedback on whether this section should stay or go bye-bye?

Hey, I know a good programmer that could set up a penny auction script for you. He does quality work, is a pleasure to deal with, and I bet he's gonna be needing the work pretty soon. Email Marty Kerstetter: radarman2000@gmail.com. :thumbsup:

Sucks that it didn't catch on. If it's not really hurting anything by being there, I'd say let it stay.

I like the auctions myself. Unfortunately I am not very interested in royals or amphibians so most auctions are pointless to me.

Another thing that makes me leary is the undisclosed reserve. I guess I don't trust people to be honest.

I dont think its common for reserve's to be disclosed prior to bidding. I do agree though, it would be nice if they started at a price they would actually let the animal or item go for though. I seen a few good auctions for great benefits but I worry a lot of people see it as an opportunity to try to "sell" more then "auction" items. Hopefully we can let it be, since its not hurting anyone like Dan said, maybe it will catch on better with a few more months.

I like it, got a great buy myself, and sold some items.. I think it is great for the smaller breeder/hobbyist to buy/sell/dump on a trusted site and I think it will only get better with time as more people catch on.

I like it.
I got some great shipping supplies dirt cheap and the animals I posted on my first auction sold without a hitch.

No, reserves aren't disclosed prior to bidding...but in a true auction format, they are entered in the system. Since this is a trial run, without a lot of bells and whistles, a few things are left to the honor system. I wouldn't bid on an auction without the reserve not being locked in, unless I really had faith in the seller's integrity.

What if you made all auctions "no reserve"? That would force sellers to start the auction at the lowest price they would take for their animal(s). I know personally I don't look at auctions that have a reserve, as I too feel a little uneasy bidding on one knowing the reserve isn't truly set in stone.

Another detractor from bidding imo is the varied lengths, times, bid increments, etc. Maybe there could be a way to make everything more uniform and consistent?

I agree with BCI Joe though, if it isn't hurting anything or costing too much money, leave it for now - it could still catch on.

In the very beginning when Rich was setting this all up, sending the reserve somewhere was something I had mentioned. I see no issue's with reserve's but I do feel it would be a much more reliable format if the seller emailed their reserves to a person or group of persons who were to be trusted. Kinda like auction moderators.
Obviously that would cause for more mods or even for the same mods to have more work. Being a trail run, I completely understand why Rich left some things alone to see how it all went. Unfortunately, with such little use I am doubting there would be any point for doing this anyway.

As far as reserves, bidding increments and time's go - I say leave all that how it is. The only auction site's I have ever sold or bought on are sites that allow people to do their own auction format. I believe being a free market and anyone being able to sell anything for whatever they want really makes it so the auction itself should be run to the auctioneer's liking. It's their animal, their price, and their reserve- or lack there of; so I don't see any reason to limit how exactly someone sets up their auction.

There should certainly be a seperate section for ball pythons since they will drown out any other snake auction which in turn kills of the motivation for people not selling BP's to post.


Also - there should be an infraction system set up for high bidders who fail to purchase the animals they bid on - it's quite annoying and really ruind the auction. i.e. The "winner" of my female spider bp bid $250 and is now nowhere to be found. He bid $250 and the bid before that was $205.... a $45 gap... that may or may not have been partially filled by other bidders..